Wine Spectator

Home
Wine Spectator

Time for a truce on alcohol levels

W. Blake Gray
Features
4 min read
Is the battle over wine alcohol level over? Is it time to climb out of our World War I-type trenches? Last month, Constellation Brands unveiled a huge 8-country survey that asked regular wine drinkers whether they have bought, or would buy, lower-alcohol wine. Of respondents, 38% said they have and

Blind Tasting: Unreliable but Necessary

W. Blake Gray
Features
4 min read
Blind tasting is an artificial experience. Consumers don't taste wines blind, except as a game. If you really want to enjoy a glass of wine, you need to know what it is. Where it came from. Who made it. Its story. But blind tasting is essential for critics. It's the

Aging potential? What aging potential?

W. Blake Gray
Features
5 min read
This is a common sentence in wine reviews: "Should continue to develop for 10-12 years." You see it all over the Wine Spectator. In the Wine Advocate, it's characteristically more enthusiastic: "Explosive flavors of dark chocolate, hazelnut parfait drizzled with fresh Tahitian vanilla sauce and crushed, fire-roasted Bing cherries. Will

Natalie MacLean: World’s Best Wine Writer or Content Thief?

Palate Press
About
4 min read
Natalie MacLean is a well-known wine writer who self-publishes a subscription newsletter at NatalieMacLean.com, who proudly proclaims she was named the “World’s Best Wine Writer” at the World Food Media Awards. Unfortunately, Ms. MacLean appears to be building her reputation, and her business, on the work of others. Her website

In Defense of the Wine Spectator Top 100

Evan Dawson
Features
7 min read
Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of the Year will soon be unveiled, serving to make good wines unavailable or, if they're available, unaffordable. It's the time of year when interesting wines dry up for the average consumer. Am I right? Isn't this annoying? The 2012 list will wreak havoc on

The 30-Year War

W. Blake Gray
Features
5 min read
If sommeliers want to win their 30-year war with critics, they must harness the power of validation. Before the rise of Robert Parker, sommeliers had far more power in deciding what wines Americans drank. Many Americans hated and feared them. That's a major reason Parker became so powerful: he freed