In 1976 there was a wine contest in Paris where Californian wines beat French ones. The reporter covering the event was blacklisted for reporting it.

It’s indeed a funny idea, the French losing at wine to Californians. But if you know much about Cali, then you know that the Napa Valley wine is a pretty big deal. Though not as big in 1976, Napa still produced some good wine. During that time was the event known as the Judgment of Paris, when the French lost to the Californians. 

So upset were the French that some refused to take the result seriously and the reporter who was relaying the story was blacklisted from ever reporting again. Some even claimed it was an Anglo conspiracy. Today, France is actually producing TOO MUCH wine, resulting in a surplus. Prices are collapsing, and apparently there was so much wine produced in 2005 that 100 million liters of one type alone had to be distilled into ethanol. That’s 133 million bottles of wine. 

It’s been estimated that 30 to 50 percent of wineries might be forced out of business there. So grim is the situation that there have been protests and even suicides. Great Britain and the US have had burgeoning wine industries over the last few decades, while France’s have been slowly dwindling. 

(Source)