First it is a wine.
And then not.
Off course not.
In Japan it is far more important than wine, I guess
I’ve been thinking a lot about what the effects might be. I see Sake suffering from some of the same problems that wine did 40 years ago when Robert Parker first got started. You have labels that no one can understand and you have a very Select Markets. When you go to restaurants sometimes there’s one on the menu but often there isn’t in places that it really would work better than other beverages. So in some ways it’s even more obscure than wine was at one point. The ratings like this may help restaurant, retailers and consumers better understand general quality. We shouldn’t describe the ridiculousness of 94 vs 93 points when the general consumer just wants to know if it’s 90+ points which can indicate it’s good or should I buy something else? So for that I’m excited ratings could help improve visibility and appreciation, especially in a time when sake consumption among the youth is declining in Japan but dramatically in increasing English speaking countries.
Why would this appointment have anything to do with Parker? Not his company any more.
Sake is closer to beer than wine so have no idea why Parker would review it. They don’t review beers to my knowledge. Sake is having a resurgence and maybe that is why they decided to do this but the attempt is lame.
He’s not
For those based in the NYC metropolitan area or who will be there on September 16, there is an event from 6:30-9:30 p.m. called “The Joy of Sake” featuring 408 Sakes along with some restaurants participating. If of interest, you can find out the details on the sake-world website.
Just as a data point, Parker himself did review sake many years ago in TWA, back when I still subscribed. His principle was his general principle: he judged what was in the glass according to his taste preferences. The fact that those reviews have been forgotten without a trace shows how far that principle cannot take you.
“But the days of reasonably priced sake may be numbered: one of the drivers behind the list, said Ernest Singer, Robert Parker’s representative in Japan and a veteran wine importer, was to enable the best sake producers to raise prices.”
Nope, quality is rising and the market is good so prices are rising commensurately. I would not expect any bargains any time soon,
Something seriously stinks here. Major kudos to W. Blake Gray for some truly high quality journalism:
It’s hard to imagine an explanation that could possibly be legit.
Holy crap. If what that blog descreibes is true, this is much, much worse than Dr Big J, and about as damning a thing to the new management of TWA as anything I could imagine. Hard to believe it could be true; hard to imagine it is made up. Wow.
That is a great blog post. It’s not particularly well-written, but he did his homework. Something definitely does smell fishy here…
Good news for little ol’ me: I don’t care for sake.
I have a good friend who is a major Sake importer and now distributor and I am forwarding all of this to her. I think she will find it very interesting.
gonna post it over there neal?
Already did
nevermind
just took a look, thanks
Wow. Just Wow.
The instant price gouging was kind of sickening as well
Price increased just happen in these situations - the alternative is for a couple lucky/fast people to snatch all available inventory, and then in all likelihood auction the stuff off at much higher prices afterwards. Who should get the profits? Speedy speculators, or retailers/distributors/importers who have invested time and money getting to know and market the producers? Long-term I expect that the producers will get the lion’s share of the upside, of course.
But in this instance it looks like someone knew the ratings ahead of time and pre-positioned the inventory to take advantage of the scores. If that person is affiliated with TWA it is a clear betrayal of the trust Parker and team have built up with consumer and industry subscribers alike.