Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Robert M. Parker ( born July 23, 1947 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA) is an American wine critic and author.

Parker is a qualified lawyer and has been running for almost 30 years professional wine journalism. His wine reviews with the numerical Parker points are internationally a significant factor in pricing on the wine market. He uses a 100-point system, where 100 points is the maximum score. American wine merchants draw their wines, for example, not only with the price, but also with the valuation of Parker as " PP 93 " (Parker - points).

Parker published his ratings in his bi-monthly newsletter " The Wine Advocate " and the books " Bordeaux ", " Rhone Valley " and " Parker's Wine Guide". His original domain were wines from France, especially Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Côtes du Rhône at the beginning. For 25 years, he also rated Italian and American wines. German, Spanish and Australian wines flow increased since 2000 in his reviews. For Parker employs a multi -headed Verkosterteam. Every year he published in his Wine Advocate a "Vintage Guide", in which he assesses the maturity and drinkability of the wines of the main producing areas, based on the current date.

Life

Parker is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, with a major in History and Art History as a minor. He then attended the University of Maryland Law School in Baltimore, where he graduated in three years with the degree of Juris Doctor. Over more than ten years, Parker then worked as an attorney for the Farm Credit Bank of Baltimore. He announced in March 1984, to devote himself full time to the wine review.

In 1975 he began to compose an independent consumer-oriented wine guide. Parker wanted to be representing the interests of consumers having to sell unencumbered by the need to wine. In 1978 he began work on his newsletter The Wine Advocate. The first issue was a side dish for mail distribution lists, which he had purchased from major wine trading houses as addresses. The newsletter had in August 1978 600 subscribers. To date, he is not financed by advertisements, but through subscriptions.

Parker learned worldwide attention when he called out the 1982 vintage of Bordeaux as a superb year, unlike many other critics who felt the year was failed to acidity and ripe. The debate over whether the year 1982 was a year of aging-resistant, continues to this day. But the wine market seems to have spoken, he raised the prices of these wines more than those following vintages.

Twenty years later, the newsletter " The Wine Advocate " had more than 40,000 subscribers in 38 countries. Nowadays many skilled agree that " The Wine Advocate " performing the most influence on the behavior of wine buyers and Trends laws, not only in the U.S. but also in France, England, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, Mexico, Brazil and the People 's Republic of China.

In addition to writing and tasting work for " The Wine Advocate " Parker contributed as writing editor for several periodicals, wine and food magazines. He wrote regularly as well as for the English magazine " The Field " and the wine critic for the French magazine " L' Express" has been the first time that a non - Frenchman took this position.

End of 2012, Parker announced that he will sell shares of its publication and retire from the editorship. The new partners of his company to his three hedge fund managers from Singapore.

Parker wrote eleven books on wine, the best sellers were not only in the U.S. but in their translated editions in France, Japan, Germany, Sweden and Russia.

In November 1985, his first book was published by "Simon and Schuster ". The Bordeaux-issue went into six editions, was a choice of clubs "Book of the Month", and garnered international acclaim from critics. An English edition about Bordeaux was at the London Society of Dorling, Kindersely Ltd.. laid. It won the senior Glenfiddich Award as Britain's Best Wine Book in 1986. Based in Paris solar company published the book on Bordeaux in 1989, and immediately published three editions. Still further, chose the French book club, the largest in the world, the book for the " Book of the Month " in January 1991. Foreign language editions of the Bordeaux - General has been transferred to Japan, Germany and Sweden.

1987 brought "Simon and Schuster " two more wine books by Parker out, " Parker's Wine Buyer 's Guide," and "The Wines of the Rhone Valley and Provence " ( German edition: Parker Rhône). The book spans the Rhône and Provence wines won the 1989 " Tastemaker 's Award ." As the best wine book of the year, which was published in the U.S., and the "Wine Guild 's Wine Book of the Year Award" in the UK

In April 1989, his second " Wine Buyer 's Guide" has been published ( German edition: Parker's Wine Guide ), and his fifth book on Burgundy came out in 1990. " Burgundy " was also published in France and in England. In the fall of 1991 came out a revised and significantly expanded edition of Bordeaux. She also appeared in Japanese, German (Parker Bordeaux) and French. 1993 came out the third edition of the " Wine Buyer 's Guide". 1997-1998 was the French edition of the shopping guide " Le Guide Parker " for 27 weeks in the ten leading group of best-selling books. 1995 saw the fourth edition of the Buyers' Guide, a book that was business and publishing success. In England and in France it has been repeatedly placed under the name of " The Guide Parker ". In 1998, his tenth book coming out, a third edition of the Bordeaux leader, and was transferred to Germany, England, France, Japan and the United States.

Parker rated wines and vintages in his 100 - point scale, are price ranges, and awards the wine producers from average to excellent 1-5 star.

Awards and recognitions

In 1993, the Parker "Wine and Vine Communication Award " from Moet Hennessy for its French editions on Burgundy and Bordeaux. 1995 Parker became the third honorary citizen of the wine-growing town of Châteauneuf -du -Pape in the Rhône valley. In May 1998, Robert Parker was honored by the James Beard Foundation, whose prices are the highest honors for authors in the food and wine industry.

On 29 March 1999, the French President Jacques Chirac signed a decree that Parker got a Knight of the Legion of Honour. He was honored in a ceremony at the Elysee Palace on 22 June 1999. In 1993 the now late President François Mitterrand Parker had appointed Merit carrier. Robert Parker is one of the few foreigners who were all top two presidential awards in France.

Impact on the wine industry

Especially in the USA put numerous dealer in wine marketing on Parker points. A Parker rating of 90 points means that this wine in his judgment is a wine of high quality. This assessment often causes buyers to order such a wine, without having tasted it.

Even the famous " Grand Crus " of Bordeaux set for trading on Parker reviews. In order to better sell their wines, many wineries modify their manufacturing processes in the vineyard and cellar so that wines are made in that style, the Parker prefers high and points are awarded. To optimize the production of wine in the style of a friend of Parker Parker French oenologist Michel Rolland is often hired as a consultant who is a specialist full-bodied, deep fruit wines with lots of oak use. On the top of this style exaggerated some " boutique wineries " (→ garage wines) with the lowest income, which enjoyed in the wake of Parker's ratings of a great response.

Criticism

Controversially Parkers influence the debate among connoisseurs of elegant, finely structured wines. They criticize Parker's influence on European winegrowing culture, since he valued higher wines which comply with the taste expectations of American consumers. This often stood in contrast to the historically grown wine and taste wine traditions of many areas in Europe. Result is a slow leveling regional wine styles. Through this " Parkerisieren " schwänden finesse, complex structured wines increasingly from the offer. " Parker wines " are often concentrated ( "bold" ), to fruit-driven and possess a too high proportion of oak flavors, alcohol and extract substances.

The French lawyer Hanna Agostini was from 1995 to 2003 Parkers employee. First, they organized for him tastings in Bordeaux, and later translated into French Parkers newsletter. Agostini and Parker split up when it was announced that Agostini offered consulting services for wineries and retailers and this is said to have submitted their good contacts with Parker. In her 2007 book published in France " Robert Parker - Anatomy d'un mythe " (Robert Parker - Anatomy of a Myth ) raises doubts about Agostini Parker's righteousness and the independence of its wine assessments. So she claims, Parker spend only "seven days per year " in France. Parker's tastings would also not prepared by independent experts or paid staff, but from wholesalers in his circle of friends. Agostini also called name: Dominique Renard, Jeffrey Davies, Bill Blatch, Archibald Johnston and the well-known wine consultant Michel Rolland. In the magazine Stern published a short time later, a critical article about Parker, who commented a few statements from Agostini's book.

In the third edition of his Wine Buyer 's Guide 1993 Parker reported that among others, the winery Domaine Faiveley fill different tranches and would be exported to the U.S. taste less good than the tested him at the winery Faiveley sued Parker, in February 1994 was the trial before the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance resolved with a settlement.

As Parker end of the 1980s began with his work as a wine critic, it was new, that an expert tested and judged wines, without having been open for business involved with wine producers or traders. Also new were the blind tastings of Parker, as well as the fact that his newsletter The Wine Advocate contained no advertisements. Meanwhile, Parker employs a multi -member team tasting, some of which have commercial relationships.

There are studies that have investigated the extent to which Parker would dictate the wine prices. A bottle of wine upmarket gets therefore exactly the price equal to his rating in Parker points by Parker and his staff. Since no one attacking Parker directly, Colin Hay wrote in his study, dictating Parker the price, but its judgments are conservative and correspond well to the classification of Bordeaux wine estates of 1855.

For many top producers in Bordeaux strong price increases for Bordeaux - premium wines in the 1990s, also an effect of Parker's work.

Quotes about Robert Parker

" Imperial hegemony lives in Washington and the dictator of taste in Baltimore. "

"The lawyer from Baltimore clearly has an excellent nose. "

"All these wines [ ... ] were assessed by the critics Pope with the highest score 100 points, so perfect in his opinion. Of course, that's perfect nonsense. Firstly, such an absolute rating is radically subjective. " The wine you have to taste, not Mr. Parker ," my colleague Eckhard Supp times has given his readers quite right on the way. "

"In the U.S., Parker's influence ( and did of the Wine Advocate ) Has never been Greater. It Seems now increasingly clear That Certain Right Bank châteaux produce Their wines almost Exclusively for the U.S. market, restyling them to conform to whatthey take to be Parker's preferences. "

Selected Publications

• Parker's Wine Guide. Heyne, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-453-16305-2 ( Collection Rolf Heyne ).
• Parker Bordeaux. Hallwag Verlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-7742-6580-1.

Secondary literature

• Hanna Agostini, Marie F. Guichard: Robert Parker: Portrait d'un mythe - Anatomy d'un Mythe / Portrait of a myth - Anatomy of a Myth. VVB Laufersweiler Verlag, Giessen 2008, ISBN 978-3835910249, ( French version ).