What fraction of participants here subscribe to Wine Advocate?

[Nick_Gangas]

How is AG doing on Burgundy coverage ? The only thing that peeked my interest was someone mentioned an interview with Freddy Mugnier.

[GregT]

I just keep doing what I did in school: think for myself and do my own homework.

Nerd.

(psst . . . Nick - it’s piqued!)

[David_K_o_l_i_n]

Used to. Not since the putsch

[Ken_V]

@GregT

(psst . . . Nick - it’s piqued!)

Well, he is thinking about taking a peek over there.

[Mike_Ritner]

@Gordon Fitz

I appreciate a wide spectrum of views and opinions. Anyone who only listens to Rush Limbaugh or only reads WB are in the same camp,imo.

Actually, there is a wide spectrum of views within WB.

Never subscribed to WA. Never will. Nothing personal; I don’t have the hostility toward The Emperor that some do; merely a vague distaste. I just don’t believe in paying ANYBODY to tell me what they think of wine, so I’ve never subscribed to any critic. Never will. The joy of wine is in the exploration; even the bottle you don’t like teaches you something and makes you appreciate the good ones more.

[drsugarman]

Option one … subscribe but don’t participate.
Antonio & David are still of utility to me … though it’s rare for me to buy wine without tasting it myself these days.

[Guillaume_Deschamps]

Never subscribed. I am fortunate that I can try the wines I want to buy, therefore making up my own mind.

[Shannon_Perdue]

A no on the WA once my membership was up for renewal. Galloni is OK but not worth the $$ given the others I subscribe to - Burghound, Tanzer and Peter Liem’s ChampagneGuide. They cover most of the bases for me.

[Howard_Cooper]

@Bob Hughes

Interesting, Noel - while I understand a lot of folks not wanting to subscribe to services, I do find I like books on wine for general reference. I’ve got a number of editions of RMP’s Bordeaux, and several books on Italian vino as well.

As many have already said, I was a long-time subscriber but all the “noise” generated by the demise of the Squires Board prompted me to re-evaluate/terminate my support. Can’t say I miss it, as one Wine board is about all I have the time for, but I do miss some of the characters/fellow posters over there that never made the migration here.

What books do you like on Italian vino?

[John_Webber]

I still subscribe because I enjoy reading Antonio’s and David’s reviews, but my affair with wine is not as strong as in passed years. I find my palate cab shifting to Bordeaux, but I don’t have any interest in participating in the current craze. Maybe that would be different if I didn’t have to deal with Texas wholesalers/retailers, but probably not much different. The domestic cab based wines that interest me are almost entirely priced $150 and up and I don’t want to play that game. My domestic purchases are reverting back to syrah, pinot, sav blanc, and roses from trusted producers. I don’t need WA to tell me Scherrer, Rivers Marie, Littorai, or Copain are worthy purchases. With my other purchases, i’m paying closer attention to Italy and that is the only place WA is helpful as I conquer the learning curve. I just have not decided it is helpful enough to justify the cost of a membership. There are lots of great palates on here that will steer me in the right directions for free.

Soon to be former member,

JW

[Jay_Winton]

Tanzer only. I can generally get enough info on the net and using CT.

[Roger_Nellans]

I just let my subscription lapse to the WA. Too many to read. I still subscribe to BH, Tanzer, VFC, and Champagne Warrior. I like all of these as their data bases are included in CT.

[Bob_Hughes]

Howard, the Wine Atlas of the Langhe (I believe released in collaboration with the Slow Food organization) has always been a great coffee table book for orienting a person towards the producers and communes in Piemonte. Not a critical guide so much as a geographical review (with great vineyard photography) of the region.

My all-time favorite Italian wine book is Sheldon Wasserman’s tome, but it unfortunately has been out of print for many years.

In the not-so-good department, I also picked up Belfrage’s book on Tuscany & Central Italy, but at least IMO, unless you have no background in the area, this struck me as very basic.

[steffenpelz]

I have re-subscribed to the WA. I had not been a subscriber for a couple of years, but I wanted access to the board and I really enjoy AG’s notes on Piedmont and Tuscany…so I bit the bullet. I also subscribe to the Decanted (for its very European coverage of regions and travel reports) and the Wine Spectator (it’s only a thousand frequent flyer miles or so…).

[Nick_Gangas]

If my primary focus was Italian I would absolutely subscribe.

[Nick_Ryan]

Letting my subscription expire. There is some coverage I disagree with (more and more over the years), some I agree with, and areas that suffer from a severe case of spotty coverage and untimeliness (still).

[SteveC]

Used to subscribe (to both e and hard copy). Let it lapse last summer. I like Antonio’s reviews, but had a hard time understanding his preferred styles. David had good insights but not such great reviews. I felt betrayed by RMP, and felt sorry for Dr. Big Jay (though not so sorry as to take his wine buying advice).

I now subscribe to Gilman and Burghound. I enjoy the education that Gilman can provide, but it is work to read through his notes.

[Brad_S_w_a_l_l_o_w]

Long ago, I used to get the print edition. I signed up for electronic access for a few short periods of time but never felt I got that much value out of that. My last electronic subscription lapsed within the year before the ****** board went to subscription only. I don’t miss the content of the publication much, although I did enjoy reading David S.'s contributions. As far as the ****** board is concerned, it was very useful once upon a time until RP and the henchmen (particularly that little homunculus ******) made life miserable there.

[Alan_Rath]

Bump. Poll runs through Friday. Really good response, just want to make sure everyone sees this.

[J_Diven]

Haven’t subscribed in years.
I have subscribed to Tanzer since, but definitely not going to renew again, and most likely dropping Meadows as well.

I might be interested in reading Schildknecht, but find Chris Kissack does a decent job on the Loire for free.
Also considering trying out John Gilman for a year as he seems to cover quite a lot of my interests.

There is so much good blog and discussion board material out there to gather info on terroir/producers/styles.
I don’t really find as much use for individual tasting notes any longer.