The wine biz PP (Pre Parker)

Were you “into wine” and / or ITB in the Pre Parker era?

Any other old war horses want to tell war stories to the youts about how it was actually possible to sell wine before RPjr came on the scene. Or that, oh my Gawd, you already loved Rhones in 1978 (5 years PP)?

15 views but only seven votes? It’s a yes or no question: were you or were you not already serious about wine before 1983-85 or so?

I am old enough to remember the TBP (Time Before Parker). It was wonderful. No one used oak. Only indigenous grapes were used. In fact, wine was only made in Persia around the city of Shiraz. But then Liza Minnelli came along and started making wine from Cabaret grapes. And then there was Joel Pinot Grigio, who invented white wine, but soon there was Bob Wood’s stripper daughter, Chardonnay. And then we had to invent oak. Luckily we found lots of it hiding in trees. And it was good. And there was joy in the land.

And then came Parker. And then there was only one wine made in all the world. And it was oaky. And it was unctuous. And it smelled of p a i n g r i l l e (because toast had not yet been invented).

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Flawed poll I am afraid Roberto. Of course Parker has influenced anybody who drinks wine and is less than fifty. The poll is basically asking how old everyone is.

So you are dismissing both the experience and the influence of all of us over 50? Be careful grasshopper…

Plus, this is blatantly untrue: “of course Parker has influenced anybody who drinks wine and is less than fifty.”

The overwhelming majority of wine drinkers have either never heard of or could care less about Parker. The sales of Yellow Tail, Santa Margherita, Smoking Loon and Two Buck Chuck are concrete proof or that.

I have always dismissed the experience of the 50+s, they are of course utterly irrelevant and should be ignored. They are going to be a drain on Medicare, Social Security, and according to my son, he will be working all his life to keep my generation happy.
BTW, I think it is obvious that the poll is for people on this board, not the casual drinker. I suspect anybody responding to it will know who Parker is and have been influenced by him.

Mark, there are many of us who know of him but have not been influenced in any way by him (other than having to pay more for certain wines). We don’t use ANYONE’S scores in our store or our newsletters and never had. We select every bottle bases on our palates, needs and budget. I can’t remember the last time I saw let alone read any part of a WA newsletter. And, many if not most of my wine buddies are also in that camp.

OK, here is my story. After some bad experiences in high school and college, I did not drink alcohol when I got to grad school. My first wife liked wine, so she said “Even if you don’t drink, you could be a gentleman and order the wine when we’re out in a restaurant.” So, being the engineering type that I am, I bought Consumer Reports book on wine. It was a good basic intro to wine. I found the topic fascinating. It tied in with my interests in history and geography and food.

Since I was in grad school, I found fellow grad students interested in wine. One had grown up in Santa Clara and introduced me to California wines. I particularly recall a Sebastiani Barbera that was quite tasty. Another guy was from Oklahoma. But he had done a Fullbright in Germany, married a German woman and learned a lot about German wines. So he taught me the basics of German wine. This was the late 1970s, so the 1975 and 76 vintages were on the market. I tried a bunch of each and slowly learned the influence that vintage can have vs. region and even vineyard.

During this time, I was living in the far northwestern part of Champaign, Illinois. A mile or so away was a wine store called Piccadilly. Last I looked, it was still there and the current manager (owner?) occasionally posts on erp. There were (and here’s the part you’ve been waiting for, Roberto) some guys who worked in this store who actually knew something about wine. They made recommendations. I tried a variety of wines and came back and told them what I liked and didn’t like.

By now (1979-80), I was buying wine books like crazy. My favorite was Hugh Johnson’s Atlas. Eventually I bought a whole series of atlases, and dozens of other books. I also began subscribing to the Wine Spectator, which was not yet a glossy magazine back then. It had tasting notes and general educational articles about various regions.

After grad school, I spent 2 years at Princeton. There I discovered wine stores with very high prices, and some further away from town with better prices. I remember a place just across Rt. 1 which had these great wines from Ch. Tahbilk in Australia for less than $3, if you bought multiple cases. I still have one bottle each of their cab and shiraz. Last time I tried one, they were still good!

In 1983, I moved up here to the Albany area. There was one good wine store called the Wine Shop, run by a man named Morty Schwartz. Anyone up here with a wine cellar bought their wine from Morty. He had all kinds of certificates from French wine societies and lots of good wine at good prices. Later, a larger store opened near the malls. I bought 2 cases of 1982 Leoville Poyferre from them for $9 a bottles in 1988, but this is where my story ends because I bought these wines using Parker’s ratings!

Now that I think about, let’s tell the whole story. My subscription to the Wine Advocate began with issue #49 in 1987. I still have every issue I received and still subscribe to the online version. I loved Parker’s writing style. His vivid prose and his 100 point scale. I am a numbers kinda guy. Too often I read notes without scores and think “Did you like it? Did you like it a lot or a little?” And I can’t tell.

So I bought Bordeaux from 82, 83, 85, and 86. I didn’t buy Bordeaux from 84 or 87 because Parker told me they sucked. I bought Laurel Glen Cab and Ch. Montelena Cab. I bought DeLoach Chardonnay and even met Cecil in Albany! I would read Parker’s notes and ratings to help me decide which wines to spend my money on. I bought a lot of Ravenwood Zin. I fell in love with Petite Sirah, even though Parker rarely rated it, though he often said he liked it.

In 1987, I went to a conference at Johns Hopkins. A fellow from Italy needed a ride back to the hotel. He was a professor at UCLA at the time, so I asked him if he missed Italian food and wine while living in LA. He said he did miss Italian food, but not the wine because in a city like LA you could get lots of good Italian wine. Later that year, I visited him at UCLA and shared a bottle of 1983 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Gallina. I LOVED it! Shortly thereafter, he returned to his position in Turin. In 1990, I visited him there. In one dinner, we had the 1982 Bruno Giacosa Rionda Riserva, and a love affair (with Bruno) was in full bloom.

I came back to the US. The 1988, 89, and 90 vintages of Barolo and Barbaresco were coming on the market one by one. I bought as much Giacosa as I could afford. Based on Parker’s ratings, I bought lots of Scavino 88, 89, and 90 Barolos for about $20 a bottle. I also bought Sandrone and Altare from these vintages, as well as some 85s that were still available. I also bought the 1985 Bruno Giacosa Rionda and was quite upset that the label was white and not maroon. It took me a long time to figure that one out.

In 1992-93, I did a sabbatical at UMass, Amherst, and lived in Northampton. At that time, home of Big Y wines. Perhaps the world’s greatest wine store then! I often hung out there in my off hours and tasted whatever was in the back.

Around this time, I was able to join a good tasting group here. These folks had very deep cellars, esp. in France and California. Not so much from Italy. So I put on a Barolo tasting for them, and a Sassicaia vertical. We had lots of Bordeaux and Burgundy and Cali tastings too. Mostly blind. Mostly well organized around a theme. I learned so much in these tastings.

As the new millennium approached, I realized that I had tasted far more wine with Robert Parker than with anyone else. I would often use his ratings to buy wine. Later when I drank it, I would compare my notes with his. Slowly, I calibrated my palate to his. I generally agreed with him on Bordeaux. I subtracted 3 points from any Rhone score (unless he used the term “bacon fat”, then I didn’t buy because it almost always came across to me as a sickly lard taste). I learned to ignore his ratings in Germany when the wines had acidity. Same for Italy. I bought Newton Chardonnay, but then realized it was best drunk with lobster because then I didn’t need butter! I found I agreed with him generally on Cali Cab. I still own nearly 3 cases of 1991 Montelena, for which I paid $25-30 each.

Over the last decade, I have continued to subscribe to the WA. I continue to find that I agree with Bob on left bank wines, but for me he overrates way too many right bank wines. I met Antonio Galloni through the Squires board. When he started the Piedmont Report, I immediately subscribed. I felt (and still feel) he is a gifted taster. Through the Squires board, I have met many other Barolo geeks and have had the good fortune to get together with them for great wine dinners. I also attended many excellent offlines organized thru the Squires board and met many cool people. I learned a heck of a lot from that board. That’s where I discovered Donnhoff (now the 2nd largest producer in my cellar after you-know-who).

There’s a lot to this story I’ve left out, but I tried to hit the highlights. I hope it illustrates that I owe a great debt to Robert Parker (and yes even to Mark Squires for his board), but I have tasted a lot of wines and thought about them. I have taken recommendations from critics, from friends, and from retailers. To learn about wines, I have tried to buy less expensive wines by the case, so that I can develop a feel for how they evolve over time. I have visited wineries and wine regions and learned so much from that. And I look forward to doing much more of all these things!

Ken, that post just made my evening. I’ve been trying to get over this damned flu for days (which is why my post count has probably doubled in the last week, heh), and with all the kerfuffle over eBob there’s been lots of train-wreck excitement but not tons of humor. What’s a woman to do when wine doesn’t even taste good?

Then along comes your post. Well done.

Great story Ken.

Mine is simpler. 1981, Brooklyn, in the shadows of the Verrazanno Bridge:
Out for dinner with a pretty young lady in a great restaurant. Asked the waiter about wine. He brings the list. I ask him some advice and he starts the condscending ‘you know nothing so let me make you look like a fool to this pretty young lady’ attitude.
I think WTF? Pick a known name like Bolla Bardolino, reflect his attitude in his tip and purchase the Hugh Johnson book the next day.

Purchased my first Eurocave 4 months later.

Great story, Mike.

In 1985, I knew something about wine, but not much about Bordeaux. I was in Paris and we went to Lucas Carton, which had just reopened with Alain Senderens as chef. I asked for the winelist and was stunned to be handed a book. Page after page of great French wines. I was lost. I set myself a price limit and started looking for Bordeaux that met it. I saw the 1978 La Lagune within that limit. Unlike the others which were listed with weird designations like “Pauillac”, this one said “Haut Medoc”. I recalled from my college French that “haut” meant “high” so I figured this must be a good one. When I selected it, the Somm said “Excellent choice.” And he was right. It was fabulous. As soon as I got back, I went on a Bordeaux binge.

I started drinking wine in 1958. I got really serious about wine in 1961-2. My preferences and tastes in wines were achieved by trial and error without the assistance of reviewers and critics. I didn’t know about Parker and others until after I retired. We developed our cellar by having helpful wine merchants, sommeliers, and travels to France, Germany, and Italy as well as Napa, Sonoma, Amador County, and the Central Coast - trying and buying various wines. We were part of wine tasting and wine & food groups from the mid-80s on. By the time I started reading wine publications, my preferences and prejudices were well established. I did discover that although I enjoyed reading Parker’s wine reviews, my tastes were very different from his. That’s why scores are meaningless to me, but I could tell from Parker’s descriptions whether or not I would like a wine.

I started with Bordeaux, but the 1959 vintage in Burgundy, drunk in the early 60s, forever moved me from Bordeaux to Burgundy. By the mid-60s we were drinking Rhônes, Mösels, and Italians as well. By the late 60s we also had a few California wines. It’s been a fun and interesting journey.

2 great sources of learning for me as well. It was a great time indeed. I remember this guy named Parker taking hold during the 82 futures campaign. His reccos surely seemed like a help, but seeing those guys with the early WA’s in their hands while shopping always caught me as strange. My early plans included driving into town against rush hour traffic and picking my girlfriend up from work, then hitting Sherry Lehman or Garnet with $300 in my pocket while she sat in the car. Lots of browsing, chatting, and label reading.

The New York shops I remember visiting all had a very knowledgeable staff. I remember visiting numerous times with owner of that shop on Queens Blvd, Lou Ianucci(Sp?). He was guiding me in my Italian wine journey. Then I remember reading of his death in Italy. I had tried to continue being a regular of the shop but neither the staff, nor his wife just did not have either the time (understandable) or the ability to even remotely fill those shoes.

I find that although convenient these days, the shopping I do from my sofa is missing that certain ‘something’…

1973
3 Liter Hearty Burgundy
Could barely read

Life was Great!

A picture is worth a thousand words. That explains so much.

Is that a Riedel ‘Child Head Size’ Series stem? Popular in the early 70s
I see them on ebay from time to time…

Got into wine in the early 90’s, about when I turned 30 and moved to New York.

After moving to the burbs and starting to cook, my interest increased (the 94 Cali Cabs were a bad early addiction).

In the mid-to-late 90’s I began going to the Pacific Northwest fairly frequently on business and, always prefering local food (in this case lots of salmon), I was introduced to Oregon Pinot noir. Talk about love at first drink!

Didn’t read WA until at least the late 90’s. Was briefly ITB in 05 & 06.

Mike,

Nice post. I think that little “something” is what we all miss these days. Maybe that’s why we vent here sometimes. I actually worked for Mrs Iacucci right after Lou died and it was a sad situation. Nevertheless, I’ve met some great people there and there were still some amazing wines to be had. Yes, Parker was already ruling but it’s the personal relationships, the dialogue, the friendships built during a time when there was none of this that make for some great memories. Today, with a couple of clicks, you buy the wines you want but rarely speak to anyone and that, I think, is the price to pay for progress and convenience. Sad to some extent.

I guess you can call me a 2nd Generation Parker child. I started learning about wine and being ITB in 1992. Parker was certainly a critic of great repute by then, particularly with Bordeaux and CA, but tastings in Burgundy involving the 88-89-90 vintages had not gone well for him there so he was certainly not viewed as a flawless persona much as he is today. Also, this was a time when Parker was still emerging from the shadow of the 20th Century’s English critics who had put wine writing and criticism on the radar in the US, and they certainly still had supporters and fans in the US market.

I think that coming up during this time where he was respected but not revered always made me view his work with a grain of salt and encouraged me to formulate my own opinions as someone who was learning on the job and wanting to earn my stripes ITB. Sure, there were consumers then who were already goose-stepping to the Parker drumbeat, but it was really the advent of the internet and the big ratings in the late 90’s-2001 period that propelled Parker mania.

I have been fortunate enough to get to know Robert and Suzanne Finigan. Robert Finigan was a leading American wine critic pre-Parker. He lives in SF with his wife and has lots of wine and travel stories to tell. He told me about receiving a call from an up and comer who asked for his advice as to whether he should leave his job and publish a wine newsletter–this of course was Robert Parker.