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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Anyone who's been swayed by the point system when buying wine—selecting a "93" over an "86," for example—can blame Robert Parker, founder of the newsletter the Wine Advocate and now considered by many to be the most influential wine critic ever. McCoy, a wine writer for Bloomberg and Food & Wine, points out that Parker can ruin a winery simply by stamping a sub-80 label on its product. In this amalgamation of biography and American wine mini-history, McCoy delves into how Parker became such a towering figure. Parker discovered fine wine on a European trip during college; his growing obsession with the grape prompted him to start the publication that would later change the way wine was rated, bought and consumed. Between snippets of Parker's life, McCoy tries to set the scene for his rise by explaining how wine consumption boomed in the U.S. in the 1970s. The background is useful, but it and other distracting forays into social history sometimes make the work feel disjointed. Another failing is McCoy's sometimes hagiographic depiction of Parker. But these quibbles knock this otherwise engrossing book down by only a few points on the taste scale.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Wine critic Robert Parker, explains McCoy in this engaging new biography, is "the most powerful critic in any field, period." Parker's initial role was as a skeptic and consumer advocate, a kind of Ralph Nader of the wine world; one aspect of his straight-shooting approach was his now-celebrated 100-point scale for rating wine. But after more than a quarter-century of publication, Parker's newsletter has inevitably and ironically become the voice of the establishment, and Parker himself has come under attack for dogmatically imposing his tastes upon the wine-drinking public. More broadly, as McCoy shows, the influence of American consumers and critics on the world wine industry (traditionally dominated by the French) has grown by leaps and bounds. It is in tackling these broader themes that McCoy really shines: Parker as a man is mostly remarkable for his ordinariness, and McCoy occasionally overreaches in trying to dramatize the quotidian. She tells the larger story with panache and fairness, though, and has written a book that every oenophile should read. Jared Wunsch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews
Anyone who's been swayed by the point system when buying wine—selecting a "93" over an "86," for example—can blame Robert Parker, founder of the newsletter the Wine Advocate and now considered by many to be the most influential wine critic ever. McCoy, a wine writer for Bloomberg and Food & Wine, points out that Parker can ruin a winery simply by stamping a sub-80 label on its product. In this amalgamation of biography and American wine mini-history, McCoy delves into how Parker became such a towering figure. Parker discovered fine wine on a European trip during college; his growing obsession with the grape prompted him to start the publication that would later change the way wine was rated, bought and consumed. Between snippets of Parker's life, McCoy tries to set the scene for his rise by explaining how wine consumption boomed in the U.S. in the 1970s. The background is useful, but it and other distracting forays into social history sometimes make the work feel disjointed. Another failing is McCoy's sometimes hagiographic depiction of Parker. But these quibbles knock this otherwise engrossing book down by only a few points on the taste scale.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Wine critic Robert Parker, explains McCoy in this engaging new biography, is "the most powerful critic in any field, period." Parker's initial role was as a skeptic and consumer advocate, a kind of Ralph Nader of the wine world; one aspect of his straight-shooting approach was his now-celebrated 100-point scale for rating wine. But after more than a quarter-century of publication, Parker's newsletter has inevitably and ironically become the voice of the establishment, and Parker himself has come under attack for dogmatically imposing his tastes upon the wine-drinking public. More broadly, as McCoy shows, the influence of American consumers and critics on the world wine industry (traditionally dominated by the French) has grown by leaps and bounds. It is in tackling these broader themes that McCoy really shines: Parker as a man is mostly remarkable for his ordinariness, and McCoy occasionally overreaches in trying to dramatize the quotidian. She tells the larger story with panache and fairness, though, and has written a book that every oenophile should read. Jared Wunsch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews
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