Michelin announces that it will start rating wines. Yes, they already own Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. So, what happens to it? They’re not specific, but it isn’t hard to read between the (eventual) lines:
“Without giving details on the timing and modalities of this new ranking, Michelin CEO Florent Menegaux recalled, on the sidelines of a press event dedicated to the guide, that the group owns Robert Parker Wine Advocate (since 2019), a big name in wine criticism. “The Michelin brand is much more powerful,” he added, adding that the Robert Parker brand was not destined to disappear in favor of the Michelin brand.”
Interesting. For me, personally, I appreciated the current Advocate but didn’t think Parker’s brand added any value. Mostly because at the end of Parker’s career, which is when I got into wine, his palate was basically the polar opposite of mine. I respect his significant contributions to the trade though.
And for me personally the Michelin Guide subtracts value. I feel like it’s outlived its usefulness in many ways, especially as I perceive it to be struggling to find ways to stay relevant.
It’s a very interesting idea. I can see “Michelin 100 points” moving prices. It has brand recognition. It may grab eye balls in a retail shop. And those eyeballs may see more dispersion in points than the constant 97-100 points awarded by Suckling and other brands that retail consumers are totally unfamiliar with - i.e. making it more credible/influential in that setting.
So we have Michelin stars, now Michelin keys, whats next? Michelin grapes/glasses/bottles? How many times will they taste a wine before assigning it a rating to ensure consistency? Having a good, average, or bad bottling could sway rankings. Are they also taking vintage into consideration, or will it be more assigned to the winery/chateau/producer rather than individual bottles?
Ranking the producer instead of individual bottles could be a way for them to distinguish themselves from all other wine raters.
Yellow Tail, Casella Family Brands - 3 Michelin Grapes.
It’s been 13 years since he announced he was selling the WA and, while he didn’t formally retire until 2019, he wasn’t nearly as active in the intervening years. I doubt that there’s much brand equity left in his name at this point – Michelin is a stronger brand.
Any wine shop or retailer still prominently posts RP or Robert Parker when it posts scores, then below will have the review attributed to the reviewer. No one is buying a Larner 91 or a Gutierrez 93 in a retail setting, without WA it has no context.
WA isn’t necessarily pointed at folks who post on a site like WB, you are well on your journey, its for those who aren’t posting but want confirmation. Whether you agreed with the score, RPs descriptions always helped and you knew he leaned towards riper.
I agree if they switched to Michelin tomorrow, consumers wouldn’t know what to make of that.
So I would speculate that there will be transition period for the branding during which it’s something like Michelin Wine Advocate. That would be pretty standard practice when brand names change so the value of the old name is slowly transferred to the new one.
I rather like the idea of Michelin rating wineries. When I was a kid the only thing my dad referred to when buying wine was Hugh Johnson’s annual pocket wine guide. 1 to 4 stars for the winery and a note on the best wines, best vintages for drinking/holding each year, and a personal note on his current favorites. Much easier to build a framework of understanding that way than thinking “oh, this one random wine from this one producer I’ve never heard of got an RP91”.
For casual or early-stage wine lovers, I think it can be very helpful to think in terms of wineries rather than individual wines. Good producers tend to have continuity of style and quality up and down their line.
lol yes. I don’t know William personally but he strikes me as the kind of person who doesn’t need anyone to worry about him: someone that is so passionate, thoughtful, well-resourced and connected that he’ll always be doing something worthwhile and worth paying attention to.
Thats a great and logical move, and a rather obvious one, with the benefit of hindsight.
There are the connoisseurs, which would throw in JR, larvf, Eichelmann, gambero rosso awards.
For the vast majority of clients, including people truly interested in and enjoying wine, without the layer of ITB / nerdiness, a Michelin score will largely suffice and dictate.
I already see the Michelin-rated “excellence” special wine selection, on the second page of the Michelin starred wine lists, after the intro. Or rather not a page, but a chapter!
The result here is the best will become even more clearly the very best, even more allocated. Similar effect to, beginner enthusiasts asking chatgpt whats the best price / quality, varietal expression, rather internationally well distributed and available Nebbiolo or grower champagne.
Those who till now have a strong following, well-merited accolades and are the wines in vogue, will continue to harvest the fruits of their labour.
Whats interesting to see is the ratings of and approach to Tignanello / Ornellaia vs Soldera / Accomasso, Dom P and Krug vs Egly and RDJ, Ruinart vs Agrapart.
Its a business, there are marketing budgets, and there is responsibility.
Would wineries submit samples then of wines to be rated as winery? Or would there be visits to wineries? Sonoma County has 20 Michelin rated (including Bib Gourmand) restaurants. There are 425 wineries in Sonoma County alone. Just wondering what the process would be like
Interesting and logical confluence. Wine has always been associated with food, pretty much. I can see Michelin leveraging their food ratings influence into wine. Time will tell, but they will need “street cred” on the wine side, but should be easier since they already have that on the food side. Will be interesting to see how their ratings/model aligns with consumers. While not dispositive, I still consider Michelin stars for restaurants I choose.
If it were me I’d stay away from rating individual wines and rate wineries at a submission cost and list the top wineries in the guide by region at the front/back of the guide. Then with each restaurant region I’d list those wineries that made the top list and paid another fee to be linked in print or online below each restaurant based on region as wineries to look for as Michelin sponsors. In addition I’d give Spectator some competition for their Restaurant Wine List Awards and do my own as Michelin with a submission fee as the submission fees add up.
If Michelin does this I expect a small vig and large travel budget/per diem
