Who are the most influential wine critics for you?

Which wine critics do you most respect / trust (or are most influenced by) - choose up to 3

  • Neal Martin
  • Oz Clarke
  • Lisa Perrotti-Brown
  • James Suckling
  • James Halliday
  • William Kelley
  • Jeb Dunnuck
  • James Laube
  • Jancis Robinson
  • Matt Kramer
  • Antonio Galloni
  • Jamie Goode
  • Gary Vaynerchuck
  • José Peñin
  • Robert Parker
  • Andrew Caillard
  • John Gilman
  • Kerin O’Keefe
  • Peter Liem
  • Campbell Mattinson
  • Jeannie Cho Lee
  • Michel Bettane
  • John Livinstone-Learmouth
  • Monica Larner
  • Michael Cooper
  • Ian d’Agata
  • Alan Meadows
  • Jeremy Oliver
  • Alice Feiring
  • Bob Campbell
  • Clive Coates
  • Eric Asimov
  • Michael Broadbent
  • Stephen Tanzer
  • Hugh Johnson
  • A specific Cellartracker user not mentioned here (e.g. Jeff Leve, Otto Forsberg - Forceberry, etc.)
  • None
  • Other - feel free to name them in the comments

0 voters

A selection of wine critics, but which are most influential to you / do you respect or trust the most?

Choose up to 3.

I’ve specifically left out the option of individual Wine Berserkers as that’s rather insular. However if you know, recognise or indeed follow them from CT, then feel free to select that option.

I was going to leave off Robert Parker and Michael Broadbent, but have left them in for those that still heavily consume their past work (their words and the wines they wrote about). There is an ‘other’ option for the many others that weren’t included on this list of options, but feel free to call them out in the comments. Although this forum has a majority US posters, I have included a number of international options.

None is also an option.

You have omitted all of the German Critics. #1 for me would be Mosel Fine Wine.

10 Likes

I’d love to vote for Goode, but since this is about wine critics, I choose not to - I consider him very influential only within the realm of wine science. He is a solid wine critic, yet it’s often too hard to decipher from his comments - and nigh impossible from his scores - which wines are actually good and which are not. He tries so hard to find something positive from all the wines that all the wines he tastes seem to be in the range of “really, really good” to “bloody sublime”.

2 Likes

A reflection of my ignorance of the German wine critic scene, rather than any slight on them.

Jasper Morris, Bill Nanson and Steen Öhman (Winehog), all for Burgundy, Chris Kissack (Winedoctor) for Bordeaux and the Loire, none of whom are on the above list. From the list, John Gilman and Neal Martin.

4 Likes

Doug Wilder (Purely Domestic Wine Report) is a Berserker, and he’s not included???

1 Like

I voted for my top 3 among those listed, but MFW, Luis Gutierrez, and Eric Guido would have received votes or strong consideration had they been listed.

1 Like

****Yes, I would say Chris Kissack too, mainly for the Loire.

From the list, I chose Neal Martin and William Kelley - the latter in anticipation of his forthcoming Bordeaux coverage.

But for Bordeaux and the Loire, I would also add our own Robert A Jr., thanks to whom I have discovered countless wines from both regions, including some which weirdly enough are easier to find in Florida than a few hours drive away here!

1 Like

Agree on Eric.

No Wilfred Wong option? I kid, I kid. Not on the poll for me was James Moleworth, whose palate I respect and tastes align pretty well with mine.

2 Likes

John Gilman (Burgundy), Neal Martin (Bordeaux and Burgundy) and JLL (Northern Rhône).

I would add Jane Anson to the list, for her work in Bordeaux.

6 Likes

No worries!

If influential is solely focused on making a purchase I would add our very own Martin Zwick along side Mosel Fine Wines!

David Schildknecht is clearly the most knowledgeable German critic but I can’t recall when the last time I bought a wine after his reviews because they are so late.

2 Likes

I just love that Gary V is part of this poll. I don’t know all the critics, so I don’t want to skew the vote, but that did make me chuckle.

+1 for Luis.

Yup. He definitely should have been on the list.

1 Like

I voted for my top 3 based on current reviews, and not other articles/ books.

Looks like most people drink French wines.

He used to be much more timely when he was with Tanzer, but yeah things got out of sync (to put it mildly) later on. That said, David Schildknecht was probably THE MOST INFLUENTIAL critic in my development as a fan/consumer/advocate of German wine.

The interesting question is ‘what is influential?’

In one version, it is what takes you from 0–>100 in terms of buying a wine. In those terms, MFW or Deschorchados or other critics/publications focusing on areas where I have less knowledge or less strong preferences have a big influence. On the MFW side, it is keeping up with a classic but rapidly evolving area. For Descorchados, it is understanding what are effectively are new areas now.

On the other hand, critics like David or John Gilman have influenced me immensely in understanding wines or areas I’ve tasted or was already pre-disposed to tasting. I might not agree with John in many ways, but he influenced me on how to think about wine. Ditto having had the luck to taste with David in my early years of learning.

Right now, James Sligh of Children’s Atlas of Wine has a great influence on me not in terms of literal tasting, but understanding the history, context and culture of a wine or a wine region. That is immensely more valuable than most critics on the wine itself. Ditto alternate perspectives like Wine & HipHop or your (Robert) mixture of wine and music.

And Jane Anson is great, to echo someone above.

2 Likes

I selected three professional critics whose palates align with mine, but there are a number of people here and on CT that I trust similarly. That would have been my #4 selection.