The Wine Advocate Magazine Review

The Wine Advocate Magazine...
Is The King's Journal

In the supreme trinity of American wine magazines (Wine Spectator / Wine Enthusiast / Wine Advocate) the Wine Advocate is the most expensive of the lot.

But this 80-page bi-monthly publication has established a reputation that permits it to afford that luxury. Let me explain...

Resting on Robert Parker's solid reputation, the magazine has become a prime source for wine ratings everywhere, reviewing over 7,500 "high quality and value-priced wines" every year, according to Parker himself.

All About Robert

The Wine Advocate magazine's main differentiating factor is this extreme personalization, where everything revolves around Parker's persona. For example, the website is located at erobertparker.com, where you will be greeted by the wine guru's welcoming smile.

In an era of impersonal websites that cannot be traced back to any person or physical location, I found this association with an actual human being very reassuring. What do you think?

American Dreamer

Currently a household name in America, Parker began his career as an Attorney (how about that?!!), but a trip to France awakened in him the idea of writing about wine. The first issue of the Wine Advocate magazine appeared in 1978, and Parker has devoted his life to wine ever since.

The magazine now counts 50,000 subscribers and has been known to raise millions of dollars through its Philanthropy Fund.

Inside the Cover

The Wine Advocate magazine is a publication as simple as they get. Black ink on white paper, and no advertisements, hint at a concentration on only the essentials.

It is hard to believe, on looking at it, that this is arguably the most influential wine publication on the planet.

A Talented Nose

The main selling points of The Wine Advocate magazine are of course its wine ratings and reviews. Parker has developed a numerical rating system from 50 to 100 points, based on the American school's grading scale. Over the years, this simple system has become the canon for rating wines.

The Wine Advocate magazine and its wine reviews first became dramatically influential when Parker predicted the excellent quality of 1982 Bordeaux, which raised the prices of this wine spectacularly, as American buyers started purchasing pre-release vintages in bulk.

Still today, you'll find the scores given by Parker and his associates retain a strong influence on the wine market.

Though the focus of the publication is on the American market, Parker has recently hired highly reputed European experts, and he travels around the world for three months every year, sampling about 500 different wines each day.

This fact alone would make the man my hero: much as I love tasting wines, the idea of knowing what's what after tasting them by the hundreds is beyond me.

The Parker Connection

If you are interested in subscribing to The Wine Advocate, you actually have two options. You can subscribe to the magazine or to the website.

As a subscriber to the website, you will receive the publication's content 30 days later than subscribers to the magazine.

This delay can be disastrous if you are in the wine business, but if you are not in the market for making a profit, and just want to learn about the latest vintages and varietals, then the website subscription, packed with extra online benefits such as full access to their vintage chart, may be an ideal choice for you.

Subscription Pricing

The Wine Advocate magazine subscription comprises 6 yearly issues. The price for the US is $75, $90 for Canada, and $125 for the rest of the world.

On the other hand, the website subscription costs $99 for a year, $29 for 90 days, and $12 for a month.

You can also buy gift subscriptions for both of these products.

The Scoop on the Advocate

A recent study by American University students concluded that no one will read The Wine Advocate magazine for pleasure!

Its lack of pictures and lifestyle-related content (such as can be found on Wine Spectator) make it a periodical more akin to the Wall Street Journal than similar topic publications like Bon Appétit or Wine Enthusiast magazine.

As for the public, independent online reviewers of the Wine Advocate magazine tend to agree on its excellent quality and the apparent market domination of Parker's scores.

Nonetheless, they complain that Parker's distaste for Burgundy, among other varietals, makes his reviews of certain wines slightly unreliable. :-)

A Balanced Opinion

As a conclusion, I can say that personalization is great, but it also has its failings. Namely, personal preferences may get in the way.

My guess is, that if you really want to know about a certain wine's quality, you should contrast the Wine Advocate's review with The Wine Spectator's or the ones given by the excellent UK publication Decanter.

Chances are that if all of them are saying the wine is amazing, you are in for a treat, and there are moments of liquid perfection in store for you. :-)

To my mind Robert Parker is to wine what critic Roger Ebert is to film: whether they like their opinions or not, everybody will be talking about them. That alone makes a pretty good case for buying a Wine Advocate subscription.

It may have no pretty pictures, no mouth-watering wine and food ads, but it is packed with everything you need to know, if you really want to be a player in the modern wine world.