Rise of Napa Valley Wineries, The: How the Judgment of Paris Put California Wine on the Map

In 1976, the picturesque, agrarian Napa Valley was all but unknown to those who didn’t live there. That changed dramatically when Steven Spurrier and Patricia Gallagher decided to host a blind tasting of American and French wines in Paris. When wines from California defeated those of France, the world was shocked, an industry reawakened, and Napa Valley exploded in a frenzy of growth and development. Families who had farmed for generations battled to hang onto their l...