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French and California winemakers marked the 30th anniversary of the storied Judgment of Paris tasting with another sip-and-spit showdown.

California won -- and by more than a nose.

The domestic wines took the top five of 10 spots, with a 1971 Ridge Monte Bello cabernet sauvignon from the Santa Cruz mountains coming out on top Wednesday.

"Today was a snapshot in time and all the stars were aligned properly. We had a lot of fun," said Peter Marks, director of wine at Copia, the Napa Valley wine and arts centre where the New World end of the tasting was held. A European panel of tasters met at a London wine merchant to give their rating.

The May 24, 1976, tasting known as the Judgment of Paris is considered a milestone in the American wine industry because it shattered the perception that the New World was capable of producing only cheap bulk wines.

It was put together by Steven Spurrier, an English wine merchant who owned a shop and wine school in Paris. Spurrier, now a wine consultant, was a co-organizer of Wednesday's rematch.

The tasting was done in two parts, with judges re-evaluating the original reds and then tasting a variety of modern reds and whites from both countries. (Whites don't generally age well and therefore were not part of the re-enactment.)

Back in 1976, it was a complete surprise when California wines outclassed the French. A Stag's Leap 1973 cabernet sauvignon was voted top red, and another Napa Valley wine, a Chateau Montelena 1973 chardonnay, took top white.

The 30-year anniversary tasting sparked controversy again, with some wineries on both sides of the Atlantic reluctant to have their new vintages tasted blind, a high-stakes game in which someone has to come out last.

In a compromise, the re-enactment tasting was blind, but the new wines were identified by country.

The top French white was a Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru des Pucelles 2002 Domaine Leflaive; for California, it was a Talley Rosemary's Vineyard 2002. The top French red was a Château Margaux 2000 and the leading California red was a Ridge Monte Bello 2000.

"It's just beautiful," said Christian Vanneque, who was a judge at the 1976 tasting and again Wednesday in Napa. "It shows that these California wines . . . did win also the test of time."