Over this past weekend, I wrapped up Robert M. Parker Jr.'s biography,The Emperor of Wine by Elin McCoy. It turned out to be a very entertaining read. For those unfamiliar with Parker, he's the guy who decides if a wine is good or bad. Not you, not your friend, not even the chef at your favorite restaurant. Parker is the be all and end all of wine. At least, that's what his followers would have you believe. This book was a trip back in time to the earlier days of wine tasting. When tasting notes were just that, notes. No numbers involved, strictly words. A handful of people tried scoring wines with a 1 to 20 point scale, but it wasn't very effective at conveying a wine's worth. Parker knew the numbers could be useful if they were presented appropiately, especially in America. He knew we all craved things that were perfect. And what score always meant perfection on that 4th grade spelling test, 100. Parker adopted a hundred point scale that became the standard in today's wine industry. Yes, Parker has an amazing ability to deconstruct a wine's scent and flavors. Yes, the wines he scores highly tend to be good wines. But are you seriously telling me, that if Parker gives it higher than 90 points I am going to like it? Or anyone else will for that fact. Parker understood that Americans crave numbers. We eat them up on CNN, The Today Show, and especially ESPN. Now people started eating up high scoring wines. If Parker gave a wine 92 points in the latest issue of his Wine Advocate, that wine was like Tickle Me Elmo at Christmas. Gone. I have always advocated that people not read to much into this numbers game. Yes, its nice to brag about a high scoring wine that you own. And I even subscribe to Wine Spectator, I like to read the articles. But please use the ratings as a guideline. You need to try and find what wines you like with your palate, not Parker's. And what better place to learn about what you like then our inaugural Wine from A to Zin Night on November 3rd. Flyers will be appearing soon! Till next time..."Where there is no wine there is no love."--Greek Proverb
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Playing the Numbers Game
Over this past weekend, I wrapped up Robert M. Parker Jr.'s biography,The Emperor of Wine by Elin McCoy. It turned out to be a very entertaining read. For those unfamiliar with Parker, he's the guy who decides if a wine is good or bad. Not you, not your friend, not even the chef at your favorite restaurant. Parker is the be all and end all of wine. At least, that's what his followers would have you believe. This book was a trip back in time to the earlier days of wine tasting. When tasting notes were just that, notes. No numbers involved, strictly words. A handful of people tried scoring wines with a 1 to 20 point scale, but it wasn't very effective at conveying a wine's worth. Parker knew the numbers could be useful if they were presented appropiately, especially in America. He knew we all craved things that were perfect. And what score always meant perfection on that 4th grade spelling test, 100. Parker adopted a hundred point scale that became the standard in today's wine industry. Yes, Parker has an amazing ability to deconstruct a wine's scent and flavors. Yes, the wines he scores highly tend to be good wines. But are you seriously telling me, that if Parker gives it higher than 90 points I am going to like it? Or anyone else will for that fact. Parker understood that Americans crave numbers. We eat them up on CNN, The Today Show, and especially ESPN. Now people started eating up high scoring wines. If Parker gave a wine 92 points in the latest issue of his Wine Advocate, that wine was like Tickle Me Elmo at Christmas. Gone. I have always advocated that people not read to much into this numbers game. Yes, its nice to brag about a high scoring wine that you own. And I even subscribe to Wine Spectator, I like to read the articles. But please use the ratings as a guideline. You need to try and find what wines you like with your palate, not Parker's. And what better place to learn about what you like then our inaugural Wine from A to Zin Night on November 3rd. Flyers will be appearing soon! Till next time..."Where there is no wine there is no love."--Greek Proverb
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