Reviews for Emperor of Wine: The Rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr. and the Reign of American Taste

The average rating for Emperor of Wine: The Rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr. and the Reign of American Taste based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-03-29 00:00:00 John Efcvedc In a conversation at a macro-tasting the other day, the rhetorical question was asked about why do so many punters just stick to the same (often not particularly distinguished) wine? The answer fairly jumped to my lips without stopping for reflection, it seemed so obvious: fear. Wine is frightening to the uninitiated. Even to the fairly initiated, it can be pretty terrifying. Prices that multiply exponentially, things you need to know about how to smell it and taste it, lest you get saddled with a corked bottle… And yet, its attractions once someone "has the budget" or knows the ropes are there for all to see. What people want is someone who can help them overcome the initial hurdles. When it comes to expensive wines, this is even more important. That someone for many wine buyers at all levels is currently Robert Parker, the rather controversial "Emperor" of the title. This biography opens with Parker as a young law student who had practically never drunk wine before he was 21, going to visit his girlfriend when she was studying in France and being bowled over by the house wine at a cheap restaurant. The start of a beautiful friendship, indeed. It turns out this young, forthright, burly American had a nose in a million and hadn't known it before. That he also had an incredible memory made him a wine tasting machine, who now, more than 40 years later, has come to revolutionise the world of wine in a way that no one ever has before. The early 1980s saw a spreading of wine culture past its formerly tightly-held class lines. Wine knowledge was thus democratised, "home truths" were questioned, and Parker, telling it like it is, arrived at just the right time. Untainted by advertising or corporate ties, but on the other hand deeply enthusiastic, he was able to pass on the excitement of wine to this new audience. In a few short years, he became the main authority on wine, but it didn't happen without a serious work ethic. Parker worked extremely hard and created a perfect vessel for his straight shooting opinions: the Wine Advocate. What happened next is essentially the subtext of this book: Parker won the Midas touch for himself, the power to make and break wines, a responsibility he had never really sought. Add to this extraordinary situation the fact that he hates to be criticised in any shape, way or form, and you have a dramatic result, a thin-skinned Midas from the supposed bête noire (the US) of the country whose wines he so loves (France) forced to serve as the Emperor's thumb in those gladiatorial terroirs and doomed to have not just his brickbats (or even faint praise) efficiently converted into commercial death but his enthusiastic praise turned immediately into highly inflated prices: precisely what he had wanted to avoid when he set out with his earnest criticisms of overpriced wines. Some odd tense choices aside, switching between past perfect and past simple and present tenses without it being very clear why, this is a fairly engagingly-written account by one of the few people who could write This way about Parker after having seen him at close quarters throughout his whole career. And being American herself, but decidedly not a fan of the kind of dogmatic sententiousness and self-righteousness that can come from someone feeling their power not to have been sufficiently acknowledged, she is able to sum up the pros and cons of Parker very well, as well as providing a neat primer on certain aspects of winemaking and the wine business in general. Indeed, this serves as a pretty good overview of what has occurred since the 1970s and how the US, with its large consumer base and a lightning rod like Parker, has been able to exert so much influence on what the Old World does now with its wines.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-01-17 00:00:00 Michael Gray WINE GEEK ALERT. This may be a tough, slow read if you're not into: a.)Wine b.)Business of wine or c.)The influence of criticism. If you're into 1 or more of the 3 then you should read Elin McCoy's bio on the world's most powerful critic of any kind, the Man of Monkton, the big boy of Baltimore, Robert M. Parker, Jr. (not Robert B. Parker, the author). Basically Parker's blessing can help a chateau in Bordeaux sell millions of dollars of wine in hours. It can convert a fledgling cooperative in a backwater Spanish town into a thriving, modern business. Conversely, it can also make the world of wine a good bit more homogenized, numericized and dull. Read, drink and reach your own conclusions. For the french speakers who are interested in all this, you will definitely want to pick up a copy of Nossiter's Gout et Le Pouvoir which tackles the same issues, albeit in a much more opinionated, adversarial approach.