Matter of Taste

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Every The Wine Advocate review
includes a tasting note that describes
the style, character and personality, and
quality of the wine, as well as a rating
and a recommended drinking window.
If available, the review will also list the
suggested retail price of the wine as
reported by the wineries and importers.
It will also name the importers. Reviews
will often also include a comment on
whether or not the wine offers good
value in the context of the market.
In short, The Wine Advocate
reviews aim to convey all the relevant
information readers require in order to
make informed purchasing decisions.
In 2002, The Wine Advocate launched
the exhaustive eRobertParker.com
website, offering readers even greater
access to detailed wine reviews and
more at a touch of a button. The
website archives issues of The Wine
Advocate dating back to 1992, but
perhaps even more valuable is the
website’s database of more than
240,000 (and growing) tasting notes
that are available to search across a
wide number of criteria. The database
is updated monthly with fresh
additions from The Wine Advocate’s
team of reviewers.
Building on that cutting-edge
success, in 2012 the Robert Parker
Mobile App was launched for Apple,
Android and Windows platforms,
providing subscribers with easy
access to the entire eRobertParker.
com database of tasting notes –
anytime, anywhere.
Other popular features of the
website include an interactive bulletin
board whereby subscribers can
connect directly with Parker and other
reviewers. A comprehensive Vintage
Chart rates vintages for every major
region of the wine world, with many
regions offering critical scores going
all the way back to 1970. The website
is also updated daily with entertaining
lifestyle features (including the
Hedonist’s Gazette of food and wine
articles), videos and more.
Parker has unambiguously stated that
he believes that the role of the critic is
to render judgments that are reliable.
They should be based on extensive
experience and on a trained sensibility
for whatever is being reviewed. In
practical terms, this means critics
should be, above and beyond all else,
independent.
To this end, The Wine Advocate
covers all travel, accommodation
and sustenance costs associated
with reviewing wines for its reports.
Reviewers are not permitted to accept
any gifts or gifts in kind from wineries
or any person associated with the
sale, distribution or promotion of wines.
Furthermore, The Wine Advocate
and the website eRobertParker.com
are purely subscriber funded and
supported, with no reliance on
advertising revenues.
Ultimately, The Wine Advocate’s
target audience is the wine consumer,
not the wine trade. While this
philosophy has, on occasion, been
misinterpreted by some in the industry
as aloofness, such independence
ensures the publication delivers
hard-hitting, candid and uninfluenced
commentary when and where it
matters most.
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