The famed 1976 Paris Tasting wasn’t a fluke.

California wines came out ahead in the 2009 Westchester Wine School tasting in Rye Brook, N.Y., too.

The 2009 tasting wasn’t quite as decisive nor will it be as famous as the one in Paris, and the 25 judges weren’t all wine professionals, although they were described as wine aficionados. But when the results were tallied, California wines proved they can stand proud among the wines of the world.

Ned Towle, director of the school and organizer of the event, used the same wines that were tasted in 1973 — current vintages, of course — with two exceptions. One of the original wineries, Veedercrest, is no longer in business, so he substituted Acacia chardonnay made from Winery Lake Vineyard in Carneros, source of Veedercrest’s grapes. The other was Spring Mountain Vineyard, which no longer makes chardonnay, so he substituted Grgich Hills Estate in recognition of Mike Grgich, who made the Chateau Montelena chardonnay that was the top wine in 1976.

They say history repeats itself. Towle reported that Chateau Montelena was also the top scoring chardonnay this year, but the 1976 red wine winner, Stags Leap Wine Cellars, didn’t fare quite as well, coming in fifth. The top-scoring wine, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, came in a close second in 1976.

Overall, California chardonnays finished 1, 2, 5, 7, 9 and 10, while the cabernet sauvignons were 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

California wines not only fared better in the scoring, but they were easier on the budget, too. Towle said the average cost of California whites was $32, while the French wines weighed in at $170 average. California reds averaged $75, compared to the French at $170.

The difference in prices led to one woman saying that her husband bought expensive French wines because he thought they were superior, but now she figured he wouldn’t spend as much on wine.

Towle told the Register he came up with the idea for the tasting because he was fascinated by the original tasting. “It wasn’t an easy sell, though,” he said. He charged $275 per person, and $225 for graduates of the Westchester Wine School program.

To add authenticity to the event, he also invited George Taber, the Time Magazine reporter who was the only media person in attendance at the 1976 tasting and who wrote a book, “Judgment of Paris,” to commemorate its 30th anniversary. Taber spoke to the group about the original tasting and recalled some of the details he witnessed and the conversations he had with Steve Spurrier, the British wine merchant who organized the original tasting.

Towle said he didn’t try to duplicate the exact experience but instead made it more of a “special situation” for the 25 people attending. “We had a buffet between the whites and the reds,” he said.

The wines were poured into glasses, so tasters had all 10 wines in front of them, but none were identified except by number. As they tasted, they discussed their views, and among the conclusions they reached was agreement that the American white wines had more oak.

Towle said that each wine was scored on a 20-point scale separately. “You could have scored all the wines the same number if you chose, he said. Following the instructions used by Spurrier, people were advised to score a wine based on its appearance, nose, palate and finish. I asked people to try to be consistent in how they scored the wines — it didn’t matter if you scored the wines high or low as long as you were consistent in how you scored the wines you liked best, next best, etc.”

The complete results, with the number of points received first:

White wines

1. 382.5, Chateau Montelena 2006

2. 378, David Bruce 2003

3. 376, Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 2005

4. 374, Domaine Drouhin, Beaune Clos des Mouches 2005

5. 370, Acacia Winery Lake Vineyard, 2005

6. 364, Domaine Ramonet Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet 2006

7. 354.5, Chalone Vineyard 2003

8. 352, Domaine Roulot Meursault Charmes 2003

9. 333.5, Grgich Hills 2006

10. 332.5, Freemark Abbey 2005

Red wines

1. 413, Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2004

2. 407, Ridge Monte Bello 2004

3. 406.5, Clos du Val 2005

4. 393.5, Chateau Haut-Brion 2004

5. 389.5, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. 2004

6. 385.5, Freemark Abbey Bosche 2002

7. 385, Heitz Martha’s Vineyard 2003

8. 376, Mayacamas Vineyard 2003

9. 354.5, Leoville Las Cases 2004

10. 348.5, Chateau Montrose 2002