Wine critic

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A wine critic is a person who evaluates wine and describes it either with a numerical rating, a tasting note, or a combination of both. Their critiques, found in books, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, online, or in sales materials for wine, are often used by consumers in the process of deciding whether or not to buy a wine.

Contents

Journalistic criticism

Critics working for wine-related magazines generally review new releases, often in comparison with other wines from the same region, grape variety, or vintage. Occasionally, retrospective tastings will be published as well, tasting wines years or decades after their initial review was published.

Methodology

The tasting methodology of different outlets varies; for example, the American publication, Wine Spectator , has editors taste wines blind in flights of similar vintage and variety. Other outlets taste in similar fashion. [1] Different critics will use different descriptive scales, with the major US critics using a 50–100 point scale, and most newspapers using a 5-star scale.

Notable critics

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Parker (wine critic)</span> American wine critic

Robert McDowell Parker Jr. is a retired U.S. wine critic. His wine ratings on a 100-point scale and his newsletter The Wine Advocate are influential in American wine buying and are therefore a major factor in setting the prices for newly released Bordeaux wines. This made him the most widely known and influential wine critic in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweetness of wine</span> Subjective feature of taste of wine

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<i>Wine Spectator</i> American wine magazine

Wine Spectator is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertainment pieces. Each issue also includes from 400 to more than 1,000 wine reviews, which consist of wine ratings and tasting notes. The publication also awards its 100 chosen top wineries each year with the Winery of the Year Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jancis Robinson</span> British journalist

Jancis Mary RobinsonOBE, ComMA, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She provided advice for the wine cellar of Queen Elizabeth II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wine fraud</span> Fraudulent activity in the commerce of wine

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A wine competition is an organized event in which trained judges or consumers competitively rate different vintages, categories, and/or brands of wine. Wine competitions generally use blind tasting of wine to prevent bias by the judges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Broadbent</span> British wine critic (1927–2020)

John Michael Broadbent, MW was a British wine critic, writer and auctioneer in a capacity as a Master of Wine. He was an authority on wine tasting and old wines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Draper (winemaker)</span> American winemaker

Paul Draper is a California winemaker who has been the chief winemaker at Ridge Vineyards in California since 1969. Without any formal training in winemaking, Draper first gained recognition for his 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon when it placed fifth at the Judgment of Paris wine tasting. Draper has played a significant role in the history of California wine through his pioneering work in popularizing "vineyard-designated" wines as well as instigating the resurgence of old vine Zinfandel. Along with Ravenswood Winery's Joel Peterson, Draper is considered one of the most important figures in the history of Californian Zinfandel, rescuing the grape from obscurity and demonstrating its full potential as a serious wine. Draper was featured in a short film titled Terroir and directed by Christopher McGilvray which was shown at the 2017 Cinequest Film Festival.

<i>Decanter</i> (magazine) English wine magazine

Decanter is a wine and wine-lifestyle media brand. It includes a print and digital magazine, fine wine tasting events, a news website, a subscription website - Decanter Premium, and the Decanter World Wine Awards. The magazine, published in about 90 countries on a monthly basis, includes industry news, vintage guides and wine and spirits recommendations.

<i>The Wine Advocate</i> US periodical

The Wine Advocate, fully known as Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and informally abbreviated TWA or WA or more recently as RP, is a bimonthly wine publication based in the United States featuring the consumer advice of wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Suckling</span> American wine critic

James Suckling is an American wine and cigar critic and former Senior Editor and European Bureau Chief of Wine Spectator as well as European Editor of Cigar Aficionado. Suckling is internationally regarded as one of the world's most influential wine critics, and one of the most experienced critics of vintage cigars.

Stephen Tanzer is an American wine critic and editor at Vinous. From 1985 until he joined Vinous in 2014, Tanzer was the publisher of the critically acclaimed bimonthly International Wine Cellar, an independent journal read by wine professionals and other wine lovers in all 50 U.S. states and 34 countries, and the first American wine periodical to be translated into French and Japanese. Tanzer has particular expertise on the wines of Bordeaux, as well as other prominent wine regions, including Burgundy, California, Washington State, and South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aging of wine</span> Overview of the aging of wine

The aging of wine is potentially able to improve the quality of wine. This distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is perishable and capable of deteriorating, complex chemical reactions involving a wine's sugars, acids and phenolic compounds can alter the aroma, color, mouthfeel and taste of the wine in a way that may be more pleasing to the taster. The ability of a wine to age is influenced by many factors including grape variety, vintage, viticultural practices, wine region and winemaking style. The condition that the wine is kept in after bottling can also influence how well a wine ages and may require significant time and financial investment. The quality of an aged wine varies significantly bottle-by-bottle, depending on the conditions under which it was stored, and the condition of the bottle and cork, and thus it is said that rather than good old vintages, there are good old bottles. There is a significant mystique around the aging of wine, as its chemistry was not understood for a long time, and old wines are often sold for extraordinary prices. However, the vast majority of wine is not aged, and even wine that is aged is rarely aged for long; it is estimated that 90% of wine is meant to be consumed within a year of production, and 99% of wine within 5 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wine rating</span>

A wine rating is a score assigned by one or more wine critics to a wine tasted as a summary of that critic's evaluation of that wine. A wine rating is therefore a subjective quality score, typically of a numerical nature, given to a specific bottle of wine. In most cases, wine ratings are set by a single wine critic, but in some cases a rating is derived by input from several critics tasting the same wine at the same time. A number of different scales for wine ratings are in use. Also, the practices used to arrive at the rating can vary. Over the last couple of decades, the 50–100 scale introduced by Robert M. Parker, Jr. has become commonly used. This or numerically similar scales are used by publications such as Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, and Wine Advocate. Other publications or critics, such as Jancis Robinson and Michael Broadbent, may use a 0–20 scale, or a 0–5 scale either with or without half-star steps.

Antonio Galloni is an American wine critic. He is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Vinous for which he is also the lead critic covering the wines of Bordeaux, California, Italy, and Champagne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trisaetum Winery</span>

Trisaetum is a winery located in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Established in 2003 by Andrea and James Frey, the winery, pronounced "tris-say-tum", was named after the founders two children, Tristen and Tatum. The winery is still family owned and operated and produces small lots of critically acclaimed Pinot Noir and Riesling from its estate vineyards. Trisaetum's older vineyard, the Coast Range estate, is a 22-acre (89,000 m2) vineyard located in the southwestern corner of the Yamhill-Carlton District AVA. Trisaetum's winery is located on its newer 17-acre (69,000 m2) vineyard in the heart of the Ribbon Ridge AVA.

Monica Larner is a wine critic and author based in Rome. She is the Italian Reviewer for The Wine Advocate and eRobertParker.com, the bimonthly wine publication and website founded by wine critic, Robert Parker. She was selected in 2013 by Parker to replace the departing Antonio Galloni.

Neal Martin is a wine critic and author based in the UK. He reviews the wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy, South Africa, and New Zealand for Vinous. In 2012, Martin authored the award-winning book, Pomerol, widely acknowledged to be the definitive book on one of Bordeaux's least known appellations. In 2013, it won the inaugural André Simon John Avery Award and the Chairman's Award at the Louis Roederer Wine Writers Awards 2013.

References

  1. Franson, Paul. "How Magazines Rate Wines". Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2011.