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THE JUDGMENT OF PRINCETON

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In what has been called the most important wine event of the 20th century, wines from
California’s Napa Valley were evaluated alongside some of France’s best in blind taste tests
conducted in Paris on May 24, 1976. In what is now known as the Judgment of Paris, a wine
from Napa Valley was judged the best (of 10 tasted) in both the red and white competitions. To
put it mildly, the result stunned the wine world. For most people at the time, it was simply
unthinkable that wines from California could be as good as those from France. For example,

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upon hearing the results, one of the Paris judges demanded to have her scorecard back for fear
that it would become known that she had rated some of the California wines higher than the
higher-priced and better-respected French wines.1 The event was dramatized in the 2008 film
Bottle Shock.

The sole journalist attending the Paris event was George Taber of Time magazine. Thirty-
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six years later, Taber, with the help of two wine economists from Princeton University and
various New Jersey wine associations, would stage a similar event. But this time, the best French
wines would be compared with the best wines from New Jersey. That’s right—New Jersey.

People have been making wines [in New Jersey] since colonial days, although
after American Prohibition most of them were underwhelming sweet ones made
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with local blueberries and peaches. A small cadre of vintners, though, had been
striving in recent years to produce better wines using the world’s leading
viniferas.2

If all went well, Taber and the group knew this event would be called “the Judgment of”
some place, and with that in mind, they selected Princeton as the setting instead of other possible
New Jersey locations such as Newark, Jersey City, the Jersey Shore, Hoboken, and Ho-Ho-Kus.
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The tasting would take place at Prospect House on the Princeton campus, in what once had been
Woodrow Wilson’s (former president of both Princeton University and the United States) dining

1
George M. Taber, “The Judgment of Princeton,” Journal of Wine Economics 7, no. 2 (2012): 143–151.
2
Taber.
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This case was prepared from publicly available sources by Phillip E. Pfeifer, Richard S. Reynolds Professor of
Business Administration. It was written as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective
handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  2013 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation,
Charlottesville, VA. All rights reserved. To order copies, send an e-mail to sales@dardenbusinesspublishing.com.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in
any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission
of the Darden School Foundation.

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room, on the afternoon of Friday, June 8, 2012. Results would be announced later that day in the
Dodds Auditorium at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Nine respected judges (six from the United States, two from France, and one from
Belgium) were recruited (see Exhibit 1). Wineries from all over the state of New Jersey were

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invited to submit white wines (specifically, Chardonnays) and Bordeaux-style red wines to be
considered for the competition. A series of blind taste-offs was used to select the six New Jersey
wines in each category that would compete against some of France’s best wines (four reds and
four whites—Paris had used six Napa wines and four French wines in each category). The
French wines were selected in a manner similar to that used in Paris—meaning that they were the
best currently being sold in Paris wine shops. The four French reds competing at Princeton were
from the same four châteaus that had competed at the Judgment of Paris. Exhibit 2 lists the 20

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wines that would be tasted at Princeton.

If price was a reliable signal of quality, then Princeton would not be much of a contest.

The eight French wines ranged in price from $70 to $650 wholesale, with most in the
$100–$150 range. The New Jersey wines cost from $12 to $50, and the majority were under
$40.3
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The most expensive wine at Princeton was a 2004 Château Mouton Rothschild retailing
for nearly $1,000 a bottle. The 1970 vintage of this wine finished second in Paris to a 1973
Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.
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The Blind Tastings

On the afternoon of June 8, 2012, the nine judges sat three to a table (just as the judges
had in Paris) in the Prospect House dining room. Each had 10 glasses of white wine already
poured and labeled A through J. The order had been determined by pulling names out of a hat
(just as it had been in Paris). After a brief explanation of the 20-point scoring system (also used
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in Paris), the tasting began. There was very little talking, and most judges scored each wine one
after the other. Some judges went back and tasted each wine a second time before recording their
scores. It was also the case that some judges went back and changed some scores.

The tasting of the whites took slightly longer than half an hour. The judges left the room
while tables were cleared and the reds were poured into new glasses. The tasting of the reds went
just as smoothly. The judges left the room to socialize and take the short walk to the auditorium
to hear the results. (Exhibit 3 shows how the 180 separate ratings [20 wines × nine judges] were
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recorded into an electronic spreadsheet.) Would the Judgment of Princeton be just as important
for New Jersey wines as the Judgment of Paris had been for California wines? The scores and
time would tell.

3
Taber.

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Exhibit 1
THE JUDGMENT OF PRINCETON
Wine Judges

Judge Title Location

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Jean-Marie Cardebat Professor of Economics, Montesquieu University—Bordeaux IV France
Tyler Colman Writer, Dr. Vino blog (http://www.drvino.com/) United States
John Foy Wine columnist, the Star-Ledger; restaurant and wine cellar consultant United States
(http://www.thewineodyssey.com)
Olivier Gergaud Professor of Economics, BEM Bordeaux Management School France
Robert Hodgson Operator, Fieldbrook Winery United States
Linda Murphy Coauthor of American Wine; columnist, Decanter United States
Danièle Meulders Professor of Economics, Université libre de Bruxelles Belgium

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Jamal Rayyis U.S. correspondant, Gilbert & Gaillard United States
Francis Schott Owner, Stage Left restaurant; podcaster, The Restaurant Guys United States
(http://www.restaurantguysradio.com)
Source: All exhibits created by case writer.

Exhibit 2
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THE JUDGMENT OF PRINCETON
Wines Tasted

White
Wine Vineyard and Type Year Location
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A Heritage Vineyards Chardonnay 2010 New Jersey

B Unionville Vineyards Pheasant Hill Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2010 New Jersey
C Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 2009 France
D Joseph Drouhin Le Clos des Mouches Premier Cru 2006 France
E Silver Decoy Winery Black Feather Chardonnay 2010 New Jersey
F Bellview Winery Chardonnay 2010 New Jersey
G Ventimiglia Chardonnay 2010 New Jersey
H Domaine Jean Latour-Labille Meursault-Charmes Premier Cru 2008 France
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I Amalthea Cellars Europa VI Chardonnay 2008 New Jersey

J Domaine Marc-Antonin Blain Grand Cru Bâtard-Montrachet 2009 France

Red
Wine Vineyard and Type Year Location
A Château Montrose 2004 France
B Château Mouton Rothschild 2004 France
C Silver Decoy Winery Cabernet Franc 2008 New Jersey
D Heritage Vineyards Estate BDX 2010 New Jersey
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E Bellview Winery Lumière 2010 New Jersey

F Tomasello Winery Oak Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 New Jersey
G Château Léoville-Las Cases 2004 France
H Amalthea Europa VI 2008 New Jersey
I Four JG’s Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2008 New Jersey
J Château Haut-Brion 2004 France

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Exhibit 3
THE JUDGMENT OF PRINCETON
Judges’ Ratings

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Judge Wine Red/White Rating
Jean-Marie Cardebat A White 10
Tyler Colman A White 16
John Foy A White 16
Olivier Gergaud A White 14
Robert Hodgson A White 17
Linda Murphy A White 15.5

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Danièle Meulders A White 10
Jamal Rayyis A White 16
Francis Schott A White 17
Jean-Marie Cardebat A Red 15
Tyler Colman A Red 14
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
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Jamal Rayyis J White 12
Francis Schott J White 15
Jean-Marie Cardebat J Red 14.5
Tyler Colman J Red 11
John Foy J Red 17.5
Olivier Gergaud J Red 18
Robert Hodgson J Red 11
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Linda Murphy J Red 18

Danièle Meulders J Red 15
Jamal Rayyis J Red 16
Francis Schott J Red 17
No
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This document is authorized for educator review use only by GOUTAM SUTAR, Thiagarajar School of Management (TSM) until Feb 2021. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860