Parker's Wine Bargains: The World's Best Wine Values Under $25 [Paperback]

Robert M Parker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2009

Yes, you can buy world-class wine on a budget. With Parker's Wine Bargains, America's most influential wine critic offers a guide to the world's best wines priced at $25 or less.

Robert M. Parker, Jr., earned his international reputation and unprecedented influence as a dedicated consumer advocate -- if a wine isn't worth the money, he says so, regardless of the wine's pedigree. In Parker's Wine Bargains, for the first time he and his Wine Advocate team offer budget-minded wine buyers a handy guide to low-priced wines for both everyday drinking and special occasions.

Organized by country, the book lists more than 1,500 quality wine producers, as well as abbreviated tasting notes for more than 3,000 of the best value wines. The book includes significant contributions from Wine Advocate reviewers David Schildknecht, Antonio Galloni, Dr. Jay Miller, Mark Squires, and Neal Martin. Chapters include an overview of each country's wine-producing regions, highlight up-and-coming or underappreciated regions, and detail when wines can be consumed. Also featuring a vintage guide and lists such as "the best of the best," Parker's Wine Bargains is an accessible guide from the expert the New York Times deems "the critic who matters most."

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Being budget-minded in today’s wine market presents some real challenges. On one hand, a weak dollar and continued demand for wine tend to inflate prices; on the other, recession and overleveraged wineries depress prices. All of this makes for a volatile marketplace, and prices may change rapidly at the retail level. For Parker, a bargain wine is one that sells for less than $25. His main objective here is to recommend specific bottles from each listed region, but his influential, if controversial, 100-point rating system is notably absent. Within each country or region, Parker lists bargain wines by producer, describing each wine’s salient characteristics and giving an approximate price range. Indexes further assist in finding one’s way around this extensive catalog. Parker’s undisputed status as the preeminent wine critic gives cachet to any listing he produces, and his imprimatur represents a reliable standard for the consumer. --Mark Knoblauch

About the Author

Robert M. Parker, Jr., has been the author and publisher of The Wine Advocate for over twenty-five years. He has won countless awards, including two of France's highest presidential honors: in 1993, President Francois Mitterrand pronounced him a Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Merite. In 1999, President Jacques Chirac signed a decree appointing Parker a Chevalier dans L'Ordre de la Legion d'Honneur, and in 2005, elevated his title to Officier. He is the author of many books about wine, including Bordeaux, Burgundy, The Wines of the RhÔne Valley, and Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide. He lives in Maryland with his wife, Patricia, his daughter, Maia, and numerous basset hounds and English bulldogs.

Visit the author online at www.eRobertParker.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Original edition (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439101906
• ISBN-13: 978-1439101902
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #696,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert M. Parker, Jr., has been the author and publisher of The Wine Advocate for over twenty-five years. He has won countless awards, including two of France's highest presidential honors: in 1993, President Francois Mitterrand pronounced him a Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Merite. In 1999, President Jacques Chirac signed a decree appointing Parker a Chevalier dans L'Ordre de la Legion d'Honneur, and in 2005, elevated his title to Officier. He is the author of many books about wine, including Bordeaux, Burgundy, The Wines of the Rhône Valley, and Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide. He lives in Maryland with his wife, Patricia, his daughter, Maia, and numerous basset hounds and English bulldogs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good pocket guide to worthwhile inexpensive wines, January 11, 2010

By 

Michael A. Duvernois (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Parker's Wine Bargains: The World's Best Wine Values Under $25 (Paperback)

Parker started off in wine reviewing with an eye toward consumer value. He exposed wines that were well-known but ultimately inferior products and championed other wines that were excellent but obscure. Since then his ratings have been much argued over and his influence has been both decried and heralded. Well, whatever.

This is a book built on his original reputation, showing us wines that were good whether we had heard of them before or not. With a price cutoff of $25, this is not as "low priced" as some of the other wine bargain books out there, but I think the book is an excellent resource for wines that are both excellent on a budget and really good wines that happen to be inexpensive (often because no one had heard of them before). Parker tastes a lot of wines and has strong opinions on them, and both of those attributes help this book.

I would also note that the price ranges listed (and the $25 limit on wines for the book) represent some sort of nominal industry pricing and in my experience many of the wines are available at retail for randomly lower prices. And take the price of this ephemeral book as a small cost of avoiding a dodgy bottle of wine. (Note that the Parker tasting scores do NOT appear in this book. Just recommended wines, approximate prices, and some text about the wine.)

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A sloppy effort from the wine guru, April 13, 2010

By 

MobiusKarl - See all my reviews

This review is from: Parker's Wine Bargains: The World's Best Wine Values Under $25 (Paperback)

This book is Robert Parker's attempt to crack the inexpensive wine market, but it's a sloppy one, riddled with typos and mistakes, poorly organized, and filled with wines that are impossible to find for the average consumer. Plus, he looks for cheap wines that are made in a fake-expensive style: lots of oak chips, etc. He completely ignores red burgundy and gives short shrift to provencal rose, which is one of the best value styles in france. That's because Parker doesn't get rose, or burgundy. He likes his bordeaux and his big, dumb napa cabs.

Parker should stick to reviewing expensive wine -- that's his niche.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Basic Wine Guide for our Son, January 21, 2012

By 

Former Fed "Bob" (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Parker's Wine Bargains: The World's Best Wine Values Under $25 (Paperback)

I ordered this for my son who is starting to get interested in wine (my wife and I are long time collectors).

My brief scan before I gave it to him tells me it is a good starter book for the novice.