More Reviewer Changes at the Wine Advocate

[Randy_Smith]

I’m an 80 on this whole subject.

[Jeremy_Holmes]

I think William Kelley’s writing on Burgundy is exceptional and worthy of a subscription to The Wine Advocate based solely on his work. His input on the board here is second to none.

[David_Bu3ker]

Two words:

1. So
2. What

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

Well then, I’m really looking forward to the Mueller report!

I am so ashamed this caught me by surprise…but well done!

[David_Bu3ker]

Well then, I’m really looking forward to the Mueller report!

I am so ashamed this caught me by surprise…but well done!

Fake reviews!

[Anthony_Iezzi]

It would be a real shame to give someone new a chance, huh?

[Steve_Nordhoff]

I think William Kelley’s writing on Burgundy is exceptional and worthy of a subscription to The Wine Advocate based solely on his work. His input on the board here is second to none.

+1

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

I sponsored and hosted a wine seminar once. It was quite the hit. . .

Me too. I organized a tasting seminar for the NYS Bar Association Business Law Section once. Does that mean I have to put ITB in my sig line?

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

I think William Kelley’s writing on Burgundy is exceptional and worthy of a subscription to The Wine Advocate based solely on his work. His input on the board here is second to none.

Without ratting out anyone, I was told by one of TWA’s principal reviewers about 7 years ago (when RMP was still in charge), that people who reviewed wines for TWA were forbidden from posting here. I hope that rule has been rescinded because I agree with your assessment of Mr. Kelley’s posts. Since I see that he posted here yesterday, it looks promising.

[Neal.Mollen]

I sponsored and hosted a wine seminar once. It was quite the hit. . .

Me too. I organized a tasting seminar for the NYS Bar Association Business Law Section once. Does that mean I have to put ITB in my sig line?

I think this must make the two of you “wine presenters,” so you are on your way to a TWA gig!

[Craig_G]

I sponsored and hosted a wine seminar once. It was quite the hit. . .

Me too. I organized a tasting seminar for the NYS Bar Association Business Law Section once. Does that mean I have to put ITB in my sig line?

I think this must make the two of you “wine presenters,” so you are on your way to a TWA gig!

”The Wine Country Lawyer” sounds pretty good. And “The Wine Hack.”

[Neal.Mollen]

Me too. I organized a tasting seminar for the NYS Bar Association Business Law Section once. Does that mean I have to put ITB in my sig line?

I think this must make the two of you “wine presenters,” so you are on your way to a TWA gig!

”The Wine Country Lawyer” sounds pretty good. And “The Wine Hack.”

The latter position is already filled.

Too easy?

[AlexO]

Received this this morning - and the changes keep coming . . .

Dear Reader,

It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you the newest member of our reviewer team: Anthony Mueller. An accomplished sommelier and presenter based in Napa Valley, California, Anthony comes to us with more than 20 years of experience in the food and wine industry. He has worked as a sommelier in some of the top restaurants in the US, including the Michelin three-star The French Laundry in Yountville, California, Tribute in Michigan and Tarbell’s in Arizona. He holds numerous wine certifications, including the Advanced Sommelier certificate from the Court of Master Sommeliers, the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 3 Award in Wines, the Certified Specialist of Wine from the Society of Wine Educators and the Certified Sake Advisor certification from the Sake School of America. When he is not sparring with his friends in the sport of blind tasting, Mueller enjoys riding his motorcycle, exploring the beauty of Napa Valley. Although he has never been to culinary school, Mueller enjoys cooking elaborate meals in his small kitchen at home, preparing dishes made with ingredients grown from his home garden. Anthony will be taking over reviewer responsibility for the regions of Washington State and South Africa.

I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that Erin Brooks, our reviewer for Oregon, will be taking on more territory in the USA’s Pacific Northwest. From February 1st, Erin will be sharing the reporting of Sonoma County with me, focusing on the Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays and Zinfandels, while I will maintain responsibility for the Bordeaux varieties from this region. Erin will also take over the majority of the coverage of California Central Coast, while I will reassume some coverage of this vast area depending on grape/producer. And I will continue to cover all of Napa Valley and Bordeaux.

With the expansion of our reviewer team comes increased coverage of some of our most important regions and a few new regions to add to our world of wine reviews. William Kelley, who has already been doing an amazing job with stepping up our Burgundy coverage, has recently established a base for himself in Beaune and will be giving Burgundy even more love and attention beginning this year. He will also be taking over coverage of Champagne, English wines and Madeira. Meanwhile, Stephan Reinhardt, who had an overflowing plate of key regions, will be focusing even more of his attention now on coverage of Germany, Austria, Alsace, the Loire Valley and Switzerland.

The responsibilities of our other stellar reviewers—Joe Czerwinski, Luis Gutiérrez, Monica Larner, Mark Squires and Liwen Hao—remain unchanged. Full details of areas of responsibility and bios for our entire reviewer team are available to view here.

Warm wishes,

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Editor-in-Chief

Have to keep that SQN and Saxum love flowing. Some much for unbiased reviews.

+1

[AlexO]

Received this this morning - and the changes keep coming . . .

Dear Reader,

It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you the newest member of our reviewer team: Anthony Mueller. An accomplished sommelier and presenter based in Napa Valley, California, Anthony comes to us with more than 20 years of experience in the food and wine industry. He has worked as a sommelier in some of the top restaurants in the US, including the Michelin three-star The French Laundry in Yountville, California, Tribute in Michigan and Tarbell’s in Arizona. He holds numerous wine certifications, including the Advanced Sommelier certificate from the Court of Master Sommeliers, the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 3 Award in Wines, the Certified Specialist of Wine from the Society of Wine Educators and the Certified Sake Advisor certification from the Sake School of America. When he is not sparring with his friends in the sport of blind tasting, Mueller enjoys riding his motorcycle, exploring the beauty of Napa Valley. Although he has never been to culinary school, Mueller enjoys cooking elaborate meals in his small kitchen at home, preparing dishes made with ingredients grown from his home garden. Anthony will be taking over reviewer responsibility for the regions of Washington State and South Africa.

I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that Erin Brooks, our reviewer for Oregon, will be taking on more territory in the USA’s Pacific Northwest. From February 1st, Erin will be sharing the reporting of Sonoma County with me, focusing on the Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays and Zinfandels, while I will maintain responsibility for the Bordeaux varieties from this region. Erin will also take over the majority of the coverage of California Central Coast, while I will reassume some coverage of this vast area depending on grape/producer. And I will continue to cover all of Napa Valley and Bordeaux.

With the expansion of our reviewer team comes increased coverage of some of our most important regions and a few new regions to add to our world of wine reviews. William Kelley, who has already been doing an amazing job with stepping up our Burgundy coverage, has recently established a base for himself in Beaune and will be giving Burgundy even more love and attention beginning this year. He will also be taking over coverage of Champagne, English wines and Madeira. Meanwhile, Stephan Reinhardt, who had an overflowing plate of key regions, will be focusing even more of his attention now on coverage of Germany, Austria, Alsace, the Loire Valley and Switzerland.

The responsibilities of our other stellar reviewers—Joe Czerwinski, Luis Gutiérrez, Monica Larner, Mark Squires and Liwen Hao—remain unchanged. Full details of areas of responsibility and bios for our entire reviewer team are available to view here.

Warm wishes,

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Editor-in-Chief

Have to keep that SQN and Saxum love flowing. Some much for unbiased reviews.

I guess Kelly’s 96 point scores were not cutting it.

+10 Need to keep the wine Illuminati happy

[AlexO]

Received this this morning - and the changes keep coming . . .

Dear Reader,

It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you the newest member of our reviewer team: Anthony Mueller. An accomplished sommelier and presenter based in Napa Valley, California, Anthony comes to us with more than 20 years of experience in the food and wine industry. He has worked as a sommelier in some of the top restaurants in the US, including the Michelin three-star The French Laundry in Yountville, California, Tribute in Michigan and Tarbell’s in Arizona. He holds numerous wine certifications, including the Advanced Sommelier certificate from the Court of Master Sommeliers, the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 3 Award in Wines, the Certified Specialist of Wine from the Society of Wine Educators and the Certified Sake Advisor certification from the Sake School of America. When he is not sparring with his friends in the sport of blind tasting, Mueller enjoys riding his motorcycle, exploring the beauty of Napa Valley. Although he has never been to culinary school, Mueller enjoys cooking elaborate meals in his small kitchen at home, preparing dishes made with ingredients grown from his home garden. Anthony will be taking over reviewer responsibility for the regions of Washington State and South Africa.

I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that Erin Brooks, our reviewer for Oregon, will be taking on more territory in the USA’s Pacific Northwest. From February 1st, Erin will be sharing the reporting of Sonoma County with me, focusing on the Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays and Zinfandels, while I will maintain responsibility for the Bordeaux varieties from this region. Erin will also take over the majority of the coverage of California Central Coast, while I will reassume some coverage of this vast area depending on grape/producer. And I will continue to cover all of Napa Valley and Bordeaux.

With the expansion of our reviewer team comes increased coverage of some of our most important regions and a few new regions to add to our world of wine reviews. William Kelley, who has already been doing an amazing job with stepping up our Burgundy coverage, has recently established a base for himself in Beaune and will be giving Burgundy even more love and attention beginning this year. He will also be taking over coverage of Champagne, English wines and Madeira. Meanwhile, Stephan Reinhardt, who had an overflowing plate of key regions, will be focusing even more of his attention now on coverage of Germany, Austria, Alsace, the Loire Valley and Switzerland.

The responsibilities of our other stellar reviewers—Joe Czerwinski, Luis Gutiérrez, Monica Larner, Mark Squires and Liwen Hao—remain unchanged. Full details of areas of responsibility and bios for our entire reviewer team are available to view here.

Warm wishes,

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Editor-in-Chief

In the spirit of Bill’s post, I got a hoot out of the fact that they brought in someone who knows Napa inside and out and tell us all about his marvelous Napa connections and then give us the punchline of he’s going to review Washington and South Africa.

It’s like hiring a GM mechanic to work on Teslas

[larry_schaffer]

You guys crack me up about the SQN ratings, etc. This board freaks out if any of those wines gets below a 97, regardless of reviewer. I remember the uproar when the WS gave some of the wines low 90’s . . .

Yep, I do believe there are some ‘sacred’ producers who will continue to get some crazy high scores regardless of reviewer - begs the question of whether they are universally loved or if no one is willing to go ‘against the grain’.

Will Lisa handle folks like SQN and Saxum moving forward? That will be interesting to see indeed . . .

Cheers!

[John_Glas]

[quoteYou guys crack me up about the SQN ratings, etc. This board freaks out if any of those wines gets below a 97, regardless of reviewer. I remember the uproar when the WS gave some of the wines low 90’s . . .

Yep, I do believe there are some ‘sacred’ producers who will continue to get some crazy high scores regardless of reviewer - begs the question of whether they are universally loved or if no one is willing to go ‘against the grain’.

Will Lisa handle folks like SQN and Saxum moving forward? That will be interesting to see indeed . . .

Cheers!][/quote]
I don’t get how on a pop and pour SQN wines would be good. Don’t they need long term aging or a massive decant?

[Philip_N_Jones]

This subject made me curious whether the WA/Mark Squires bulletin board stll employs a filter to prevent anyone from using the word Beserkers on their board. So this morning I asked, without actually using the offensive word. Squires himself responded: stll filtered.
I have always been a fan of the WA, particularly when Parker was writing most of it. But less of a fan now. They never should have banned nonsubscribers; a poor business decision. And then when (as noted above) the new management casually commented (without thinking first) that wine reviewers are a dime a dozen (after one of their best quit). Not something they teach in business school. After all, the reviews (and the reviewers) are what they sell. And what we (I) buy. And pay for.
I still subscribe. But I wonder.
Phil Jones

[Randy_Smith]

Larry, do scores still resonate with the buying public and move wine?

[Mike_Evans]

I think William Kelley’s writing on Burgundy is exceptional and worthy of a subscription to The Wine Advocate based solely on his work. His input on the board here is second to none.

Without ratting out anyone, I was told by one of TWA’s principal reviewers about 7 years ago (when RMP was still in charge), that people who reviewed wines for TWA were forbidden from posting here. I hope that rule has been rescinded because I agree with your assessment of Mr. Kelley’s posts. Since I see that he posted here yesterday, it looks promising.

You must not have been paying attention, as Mr. Kelley was hired by TWA over a year ago and has continued to be a valuable member of this community since he started there.