so who still gets wine spectator? and why?

[Jim_Brennan]

I ended my subscription in the late 1990s, lol. I know this will shock Corey and Todd to hear me say this, but I found it utterly pretentious, and of course, concluded The Suckles was a clown. And since Bordeaux was my region of preference, that was a fail. Pardon if this sounds jerkish, but I find the magazine profoundly lacking in interest to me. I don’t even pick it up when I see it in places like a doctor’s office. This website is much cooler! Read something from William Kelley or Keith Levenberg to see what quality writing entails.

Keith Levenberg would be so much more readable if he were wearing a cravat and posting from Tuscany.

[Robert_M_yers]

I’m really not sure why it’s a badge of honor to Not read it. Like we have so many good wine rags to choose from…
It’s certainly not intensive wine journalism, it’s a gateway for folks who usually buy Meomi to transition to possibly something more serious. The articles aren’t written to challenge my critical wine thinking, but That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything in the magazine that I can’t learn (or enjoy) from.

[Robert_M_yers]

I ended my subscription in the late 1990s, lol. I know this will shock Corey and Todd to hear me say this, but I found it utterly pretentious, and of course, concluded The Suckles was a clown. And since Bordeaux was my region of preference, that was a fail. Pardon if this sounds jerkish, but I find the magazine profoundly lacking in interest to me. I don’t even pick it up when I see it in places like a doctor’s office. This website is much cooler! Read something from William Kelley or Keith Levenberg to see what quality writing entails.

If I could photoshop I’d put a Spectator in between your avatars right arm

[David_Bu3ker]

I’m really not sure why it’s a badge of honor to Not read it. Like we have so many good wine rags to choose from…
It’s certainly not intensive wine journalism, it’s a gateway for folks who usually buy Meomi to transition to possibly something more serious. The articles aren’t written to challenge my critical wine thinking, but That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything in the magazine that I can’t learn (or enjoy) from.

It’s the tragic flaw of Berserkers. Everything else must suck for Berserkers to be great. I don’t get it either.

[Robert.A.Jr]

I ended my subscription in the late 1990s, lol. I know this will shock Corey and Todd to hear me say this, but I found it utterly pretentious, and of course, concluded The Suckles was a clown. And since Bordeaux was my region of preference, that was a fail. Pardon if this sounds jerkish, but I find the magazine profoundly lacking in interest to me. I don’t even pick it up when I see it in places like a doctor’s office. This website is much cooler! Read something from William Kelley or Keith Levenberg to see what quality writing entails.

If I could photoshop I’d put a Spectator in between your avatars right arm

I’d use it!!! The avatar, that is.

[Chris_Blum]

My brother (who hasn’t had a drink since the 80s) gets it because it was free with some offer.

He asked me if I wanted a free gift subscription. I declined.

[David_K_o_l_i_n]

I’ve subscribed since Vol1#1, back when it was a tabloid newspaper published by BobMorrisy down in SanDiego. Even wrotea about a dozen articles for Bob.

I loved Bob’s paper. I dropped my subscription once Marvin bought it and it went glossy

[John_Morris]

I ended my subscription in the late 1990s, lol. I know this will shock Corey and Todd to hear me say this, but I found it utterly pretentious, and of course, concluded The Suckles was a clown. And since Bordeaux was my region of preference, that was a fail. Pardon if this sounds jerkish, but I find the magazine profoundly lacking in interest to me. I don’t even pick it up when I see it in places like a doctor’s office. This website is much cooler! Read something from William Kelley or Keith Levenberg to see what quality writing entails.

Keith Levenberg would be so much more readable if he were wearing a cravat and posting from Tuscany.

I was going to say that I’d love to see Keith with a Suckling-like mop of blond hair, but it seems JS has trimmed his now-graying hair:

[R_M_Kriete]

It’s the ONLY magazine I still read. Said goodbye to Time, Sports Illustrated, etc. years ago. The scorn for this magazine is puzzling? Not sure why a wine lover would not enjoy pieces on winemakers and wine regions throughout the world? Sometimes Berserkers seem too “cool” for their own good.

[Steve_L_Gellman]

I do for $2 a year through company discount. I have the same $2 option for many magazines from Car & Driver to Food & Wine and everything in between

[GregT]

Like others, I get it through miles or the $2 renewal. And I don’t understand the scorn either. Seriously - if people read have the posts on this forum, they read a lot more pretentious drivel than they would in the WS and they would read and find answers to questions just as dumb as those addressed in the magazine.

The WS casts a wide net so they don’t only write in-depth articles that only appeal to someone who can actually taste the difference in wine from a Zalto vs a Riedel. They write to a less discerning audience that nonetheless, likes wine. Every so often the do a pretty good article, although again, those are generally overviews.

And some of the reviewers have pretty decent palates. I’ve met and had dinner with a few and I always love reading posts disparaging them, written by people who’ve decided to start collecting wine a couple of years ago. Yeah, they’re worth criticizing much of the time, but so are all critics for all things. The magazine generally takes only a few minutes to page through and maybe a few minutes extra if there’s an article I care to read. As a rule, I’d far rather read an article in the WS than 99 percent of the various blogs or articles in newspapers. At least it will have been edited somewhat, and will generally come from someone who knows a little tiny bit about the subject covered.

[Gabe_Berk]

I buy one at the airport when flying just to kill time and get a sense of what others are writing about wine. Rarely do I see the amount of 97-100 pointers from WS as often as you do with Dunnuck, Galloni, Parker, Suckling, etc.

[Peter_Shurman]

FWS.

[Markus_S]

How are you getting it for free?

Miles

Miles are not really “free”, as there is a cost and value to them, usually between 1-2 cents per mile.

[David_Bu3ker]

How are you getting it for free?

Miles

Miles are not really “free”, as there is a cost and value to them, usually between 1-2 cents per mile.

Unless you have some useless cache of miles on an airline you don’t normally fly. I had 19,000 miles on Delta, which I never fly anymore. Useless. Any assigned value, even 1 or 2 cents per mile is fictitious at best.

[John_Morris]

How are you getting it for free?

Miles

Miles are not really “free”, as there is a cost and value to them, usually between 1-2 cents per mile.

Hence Shanken can count these as paid subscriptions, I bet!

[John_Danza]

I get mine for free as well using miles on an airline I haven’t flown for years. It’s about the right value for Wine Spectator.

I like keeping WS in the bathroom when I have a few minutes to kill every morning.

[Chris_Seiber]

I think my mother in law renews it for me every year as a Christmas present or something.

It’s something I’ll glance through the breakfast table or something at times. I don’t read it much anymore, but it’s not unpleasant to have around for some idle time. I enjoy seeing the photos of different wine regions.

[John_Davis]

I get mine for free as well using miles on an airline I haven’t flown for years. It’s about the right value for Wine Spectator.

I like keeping WS in the bathroom when I have a few minutes to kill every morning.
[/quot

Pretty much the same. It is more of a lifestyle magazine anyway. But I don’t get not taking it as some badge of honor, either.

[Hank_Victor]

If anybody wants it for free I get mine from Rewardsurvey.com and have for years. You answer a couple of dumb questions about a product and can pick out free mags. Some want to lock you in with auto renewal so they charge .99 cents up front but WS never has.

I just did a survey and re-upped with WS, added whisky advocate, Food and Wine and Robb Report. SI is offered right now too as The selections change periodically it seems.

To Marks question, I enjoy it for a 15 minute read but wouldnt pay much to keep it.

Thanks