Comments on: Who’s your god-daddy? Hanna Agostini, Robert Parker and the question of influence

By: Simone

Simone — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 04:23:03 +0000

Well, Wendy, there really is little debate as to whether a Latour 2003 is something worth buying or not, is there? I believe those with deep pockets do their research in addition to reading what Parker says. There also is the question of investment value. Like it or not, Parker commands a lot of power in the business. His score dictates the price and future value of many of the wines people buy. As with stocks, investors want a return that is greater than the cost of capital. Therefore, when Parker speaks, investors listen to what will eventually add value to their diverse portfolios. This does not mean that they are clueless about what they may or may not drink 20 years from now. In fact, they know pretty well the difference between a Cantemerle and a Pichon Lalande.

By: wendy c

wendy c — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 04:38:23 +0000

I am a wine student, vineyard worker & pourer when needed for various events as well as a fellow blogger ‘Wine Rants NY’ on blogger.

Whenever I am asked for a recommendation the subject of scores comes up. Usually this is by my dentist or doctor that I know has too much money to spend on things that we wine folk wish we had.

I am a firm believer in what you like is good wine! It does not have to be 100 dollars or 100 points! The problem with this is that the general public that really don’t know much & have lots of money as well as fancy wine cellars to store these beasts in let critics decide what they buy!

By: Wine Biz Radio » Blog Archive » Wine Biz Radio: October 29, 2007

Wine Biz Radio » Blog Archive » Wine Biz Radio: October 29, 2007 — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:23:03 +0000

[...] Robert Parker and questions of conflict of interest surrounding the wineries he reviews [...]

By: Wine Scamp

Wine Scamp — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:52:46 +0000

He’s not a journalist, but the fact that his publication doesn’t take advertisements has long seemed to imply that Parker is more impartial than publications that do sell ads, like the Spectator, Wine & Spirits, Wine Enthusiast, Decanter, etc.

Of course, any critic has his or her biases, but it seems to me that the real indictment here is of the wine drinking public, so slavishly following ratings that one critic can influence the winemaking style of thousands of wineries around the world!

In the final analysis, I think it matters less whether payola or friendship is affecting your favorite critic’s ratings than whether he or she consistently leads you to wines that you love.