Yesterday it was announced that Robert Parker, considered by many to be the father of modern wine criticism, is hanging up his boots and retiring from his eponymous publication Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. Parker is credited with creatin
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The Judgment of Paris and the Rise of Wine Critics
In 1976, noted wine critic Steven Spurrier organized a blind taste test in Paris, with French judges selected to assess the quality of the top California Cabernet Sauvignons and Chardonnays against the best wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy. Each e
The Rise of the American Wine Market in the 1960s and 1970s
Returning for a moment to the unintended consequences of Prohibition in the United States, the segment of the alcohol industry that struggled the most after repeal was the wine business. Beer and liquor rebounded relatively quickly, but American