Warren Winiarski, whose 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon revolutionized the wine world by winning the famous “Judgment of Paris” tasting in 1976, has died at the age of 95.
Winiarski was a liberal arts professor at the University of Chicago when his interest in wine became an obsession. This coincided with the rise of the Napa Valley as a source of fine wine, and Winiarski headed west to join the movement.
He became the first winemaker hired at Robert Mondavi Winery in 1966, and by 1970 he had purchased an old plum ranch on the east side of Napa Valley, where he planted the grapes that would make that legendary Cabernet a few years later.
In May 1976, the owner of a Parisian wine shop and his partner organized a wine tasting for French wine experts. The blind tasting, held in Paris, pitted new California wineries against well-known French domaines, and the results shocked the wine world: California bottles received the highest scores. The tasting became known as the Judgment of Paris and secured the place of California wines on the world stage.
Winiarski's intellectual thirst and gentle nature were the stuff of legend, as was his commitment to protecting the Napa Valley from the encroachment of suburban sprawl. He was instrumental in creating the Napa Valley Agricultural Reserve in 1968, a pioneering land zoning ordinance that prevented excessive development in the area.
Warren Winiarski, left, then a wine consultant, and Stephan Ivancie, right, pour Napa County grapes into a hopper at Ivancie Winery in October 1970.
(Denver Post via Getty Images)
Winiarski mentored many aspiring winemakers who would become pillars of the California wine community. Abe Schoener, owner and winemaker of Los Angeles River Wine Co., would benefit from this altruism, as he received Winiarski's first industry internship in 1999.
He was immediately impressed by the culture of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. This “was expressed in the level of thoughtfulness and intelligent articulation brought to each decision. “Warren insisted that the people who worked at Stag's Leap were one community, with a glow of respect flowing in all directions and a sense that you were part of a rational order, aimed at the best possible outcomes,” Schoener told The Times. via email.
Opus One winemaker Michael Silacci made wine with Winiarski from 1995 to 2001. “He left no stone unturned in dreaming, planning and executing any task,” Silacci told The Times via email. “Warren had a clear sense of focus on his land, trees, plants and equipment. He mentored people by providing them with opportunities for growth that filled their lives.”
Winiarski sold Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in 2007, but continued growing grapes at Arcadia Vineyards. Always a pioneer, he was the first major winemaker to recognize the potential of the Coombsville appellation in the southeastern part of Napa Valley when he purchased that land in 1996. Winiarski placed all of that property in the Napa County land trust, so that will remain undeveloped in perpetuity.
Long before a wine's value was determined by a journalist's score or an auction gavel, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars was an implicit benchmark for California Cabernet Sauvignon and a beacon for the Napa Valley. They were wines of seductive expression that did not depend on pure power and extract to attract attention. They really talked about where they came from in a way that is rare today.
David Rosoff is a writer and wine expert who has overseen wine programs at several Los Angeles restaurants.
