He left a university lectureship to chase a hunch about a hillside. Six years later, his wine beat the greatest reds of France — and his own name, in Polish, meant “winemaker’s son.”
Of all the characters in the rise of Napa Valley, few are as improbable — or as consequential — as Warren Winiarski, the scholar who gave up the academy for the vineyard and, in a single afternoon in Paris, changed how the world saw American wine.[1]
From lecture hall to cellar
Winiarski (1928–2024) was lecturing in political science at the University of Chicago when he decided, against all conventional wisdom, to become a winemaker.[1] There was a certain fate in it: his Polish surname, Winiarski, means roughly “winemaker’s son.” He moved his family to Napa in the 1960s, learned the craft working under others — including at Robert Mondavi’s new winery — and in 1970 founded his own estate, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, on a promising patch of ground east of the valley floor.[1]
The bottle that beat Bordeaux
In 1976, a British wine merchant staged a blind tasting in Paris, pitting California wines against the best of France before a panel of eminent French judges. When the scores for the reds were tallied, first place went not to a great Bordeaux château but to Winiarski’s 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon — a wine from vines only a few years old.[2] The result, the Judgment of Paris, stunned the wine world and announced that California had arrived. A bottle of that Cabernet is now held in the Smithsonian.[1]
A six-year-old vine from a first-time estate humbled the aristocracy of Bordeaux.
The elder statesman of Napa
The victory made Winiarski one of the most respected figures in American wine, and he spent the rest of his life as a kind of elder statesman of Napa — a thoughtful, philosophical voice on the meaning of terroir and craft. He eventually sold Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in 2007 and devoted his later years to philanthropy and to land preservation, working to protect the Napa landscape he had helped make famous, until his death in 2024.[1]
| Before wine | A political-science lecturer at the University of Chicago[1] |
|---|---|
| Founded | Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Napa Valley, 1970[1] |
| The triumph | His 1973 Cabernet won the 1976 Judgment of Paris[2] |
| Later life | Philanthropy and Napa land preservation; d. 2024[1] |
More of the story
Winiarski’s triumph was the making of modern Napa Valley. Read the full account of the tasting in the Judgment of Paris, and meet a fellow Paris competitor, Ridge’s Paul Draper.
Related reading: the Judgment of Paris · Napa Valley and its history · Paul Draper of Ridge · the Wine History Timeline
Frequently asked questions
What did Warren Winiarski win?
His 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon took first place among the reds at the 1976 Judgment of Paris, beating famous Bordeaux estates in a blind tasting judged by French experts.
What did Warren Winiarski do before making wine?
He was a lecturer in political science at the University of Chicago before moving to Napa Valley in the 1960s to become a winemaker, founding Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in 1970.
Sources
- “Warren Winiarski” (former University of Chicago political-science lecturer; the Polish meaning of his surname; founded Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in 1970; his 1973 Cabernet’s 1976 Paris victory and the Smithsonian bottle; sale of the winery in 2007; later philanthropy and land preservation; died 2024), Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Winiarski
- “Judgment of Paris (wine)” (the 1976 blind tasting; Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet placed first among the reds), Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_of_Paris_(wine)
Want to read more?
Books we drew on and recommend for going deeper on wine history.
Maestro: André Tchelistcheff and the Rebirth of Napa ValleyJames O. Gump
9000 Years of Wine: A World HistoryRod Phillips
Wine Folly: Magnum Edition — The Master GuideMadeline Puckette & Justin HammackAs an Amazon Associate, Wine History Tours earns from qualifying purchases. This supports our research at no extra cost to you.
