You mean for the Wine Advocate? I would submit that it hardly matters. The empire appears to be crumbling…
Not a member, but what’s being said or discussed over at the WA Board today about this?
It will be interesting to see how this all works out. I agree WA is the titanic, but I’m curious if Vinous will be able to sustain itself. It seems like there has got to be a lot of mouths to feed there, does the subscriber base really cover it??
Not a peep from Lisa or anyone at WA over Neal’s departure. Par for the course!
If I remember correctly, when AG left there was some controversy over the intellectual material he had produced while there. I wonder if that will be relevant with NM’s departure.
Agreed, but not surprised.
There are plenty of good wine writers WA could use; the problem is that few have a name or any credibility. When Neal and Antonio came on board, Parker was still active, and was able to give them instant credibility. No, without Parker, they will struggle. I will say though, Monica Larner is very good.
Definitely interesting. I’ve kept my WA subscription over time, even though I rarely use it. This was the final straw, I just canceled.
I think the problem at WA is with management, not the writers. They seem to go from one faux pas to the next, and are building a track record of not being able to keep good writers.
Just noticed that Lisa is now reviewing Napa Cab and giving 100 pointers? Haven’t been following what’s going on with RP lately but I guess he’s close to fully retiring. He had a good run, but I’m not paying for Lisa’s opinions, so… cancelled.
Wow.
My god, who will tell the plutocrats which wines to speculate on?
Leaving aside whatever mess this leaves WA in, which it does, it seems a plus for Vinous. I was already interested in the opinions of everyone they have writing for them and that is true of Martin as well. (I don’t always agree, but, with some exceptions, they give useful indications about the wines and I often enjoy reading them for their own sake.)
The problem is: I stopped subscribing to all wine publications–the last was Burghound–since if you read about it, then you want to go out and by some, at least that’s true for me. (With older back vintages, which is about all I buy, recent CT scores are way more useful.) Tempting to jump back in and subscribe to Vinous now.
Down goes Michelin!
Wonder when Mr. Ps’ non-compete expires?
When’s the next board meeting, and, will the princess survive her presidential position?
Very sad!
I predict AG picks up TWA in the next year at a significant discount over whatever they were negotiating during his first attempt, when he worked there. Further, I would guess this was the plan all along.
Is it wrong that I would have been more excited if Luis was switching to Vinous? Nothing against Martin, but he covers areas already covered pretty thoroughly, while Luis would significantly improve Vinous’s coverage of Spain and South America.
Wow, I really don’t think so - Lisa P-B paid a mighty coin for it, with all the funding raised.
Yup if Luis switches, Vinous will be a great subscription. Luiz is an great critic and Spain is truly a value place with incredible new generation of growers. Tanzer still rules Burgundy and Bordeaux is easy to source info from multiple forums.
With the idea of multiple people covering the same place, would great if Ian d’agata starts covering Tuscany and Piedmont. His knowledge and precise notes on Italian wines is second to none.
Wow.
Perhaps barring Robert Parker himself leaving to join Vinous, this has massive impact, considering that at various times both Galloni and Martin were seen as ‘heir apparent’.
I can’t see the balance of power slipping back to WA, though perhaps if they manage to take the lead in the Asian market, they may still be more financially successful?
I still have concern though, that sheep-like following of Parker created the monster that even had him calling the herd his ‘points whores’. Already we’re seeing Galloni anointing wines with 100 points and the wines triple (and more) in price overnight. The King is dead. Long live the King. I’d like to think the lessons of Parker’s dominance were learnt, but I suspect we’ll see Vinous become a similar behemoth,