PARKER'S WINE BUYER'S GUIDE, 5TH EDITION : Complete, Easy-to-Use Reference on Recent Vintages, Prices, and Ratings for More Than 8,000 Wines from All the Major Wine Regions - Softcover

Parker, Robert M.

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9780684800141: PARKER'S WINE BUYER'S GUIDE, 5TH EDITION : Complete, Easy-to-Use Reference on Recent Vintages, Prices, and Ratings for More Than 8,000 Wines from All the Major Wine Regions

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0684800144 ISBN 13: 9780684800141

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1999

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Thoroughly revised and updated, this fifth edition of the Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide has been eagerly awaited by seasoned collectors and occasional drinkers alike. No one wants to waste his or her precious dollars on an unenjoyable bottle, and with Parker's advice in hand, no one ever will. Employing his famous 100-point rating system, Parker rates more than 8,000 wines from all the major wine-producing regions in the world -- including Austria for the first time ever. Each wine producer is evaluated separately, and Parker's independence allows him to be completely honest in his opinions. In addition, the book includes other essential information such as how to buy and store wine, how to spot a badly stored and abused bottle, and how to find the best wine values for under $10.

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Review:

Just who is Robert McDowell Parker Jr.? Readers--and there are lots of them--for whom the name Parker stands for consumer-friendly, no-nonsense, professional wine criticism can find out in the 1,703-page Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide, the fifth updated edition by the prolific publisher of The Wine Advocate consumer newsletter; author of classic books on Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhone Valley; and inductee into France's Legion of Honor. Not bad for a guy who was sending out free copies of his wine reviews to the Baltimore area in 1978. Robert Parker is now arguably the world's most respected wine critic--just try to find a retail wine shelf without at least one of his ratings proudly displayed. And now readers can see 8,000 of them between the covers of this ambitious volume.

Parker and his assistant use his 100-point system to rate Old and New World vintages and producers with single-palate objectivity and the aplomb of one of his early influences, Ralph Nader. It's no mystery why his periodical contains the term advocate: readers of the Guide will learn why the author never participates in wine judgings and doesn't accept freebies. Parker also weighs in on monster vertical wine tastings, nondrinking wine collectors, ego-driven "collector-spitters," wine producers' greed, wine writers' ethics and competence, and restaurant wine-pricing policy. And that's just in the guide's 40-page introduction! The chapter on Bordeaux beautifully dismisses the moldy 1855 Classification as "out of date" due to "negligence, incompetence, and just plain greed" and being "of only academic interest to the consumer." His judicious use of an exclamation point may also unearth a relative bargain: the wines of St. Julien "are frequently indistinguishable from" their higher-priced Pauillac neighbors, "so consumers take note!" But calling the tune doesn't preclude a couple of flat notes: the Guide is chock full of nonspecific cellaring recommendations. When do we drink, for example, our 1996 Sierra Vista Zinfandel? Parker suggests "over the next 1-2 years," but when to start counting? The wine's vintage? The Guide's date of publication? The year we read the entry? Parker also uses an unusual lettering guide to wine prices, and chapters aren't delineated well. So maybe it's not a Buyer's Guide at all--it's too heavy to tote to your local wine shop, and the vagaries of publishing prevent the inclusion of the latest available vintages. But what a read! Meticulously researched and brimming with thoughtful vinous commentary, this Guide demonstrates why the five words to send a wine lover gulping in breathless anticipation are "Parker gave it a 92." --Tony Mason

About the Author:

Robert M. Parker, Jr., has been the author and publisher of The Wine Advocate for more than twenty years in addition to his award-winning, best-selling books, Bordeaux, Burgundy, The Wines of the Rh�ne Valley, and the Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide series. He is also a contributing editor to Food & Wine magazine and a former wine critic for both France's L'Express magazine and the PRODIGY Electronic Services Network. In 1993, Robert Parker received one of France's two highest honors, La Croix du Chevalier de l'Ordre National du M�rite, bestowed on him by the late President Fran�ois Mitterrand. In 1999, during a ceremony at the Elys�es Palace, President Jacques Chirac bestowed its twin honor, La Croix du Chevalier de la L�gion d'Honneur.

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