Wine Advocate Cold-Callin' The Trade!

WINE TALK
21

So a few questions.

Do they come after you if you use their copyrighted scores w/out subscribing? If so, I think their influence goes to zero really fast because as Bill says, it doesn’t matter who the score is from other than to a few people like the folks on this forum. To people buying from shelf talkers, it’s completely irrelevant. Most customers have never heard of Parker or WS anyway.

Second, are there plans to get a Pancho-like deal going with producers, where the producer pays to get reviewed? That seems logical as well. Maybe certain producers get invited to participate in dinners, etc., and perhaps end up with slightly enhanced scores?

Third, are they going to or have they taken down the various articles that used to appear on the eBob website talking about blind tasting, purchasing bottles, etc?

Seems that I heard about a certain non-critic doing something similar, i.e. contacting retailers to have them use his scores. I wonder how that turned out.

22

I can’t wait to get some of these, just so I can class up my DRC bottles!

23

TWA is published every two months, and they are offering an extra 3 months free if you subscribe for a year.

Does that mean you get 1.5 extra issues?

24

If there were any lingering questions as to whether TWA had jumped the shark (and I’m not saying there were), said questions have now been officially answered.

25

The Old Took.

Bilbo Baggins.

26

They’ve hit up wineries as well . . . .

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course :slight_smile: And no, I did not take them up on the offer nor am I subscriber anymore. I’m not ‘anti-WA’, I just don’t feel I get much out of being a ‘member’ any more. Life’s short and all . . .

Cheers!

27

Better than that…you get 1 issue + 1 month of looking forward to the next issue before your hopes are dashed.

28

This just in: Caymus has pre-ordered 150,000 “99 point” stickers for their 2015 Vintage cab.

29

Only if the bottle stickers are handed out for free…

30

I see that I have no choice but to patent the infinity ∞ scale. Until some joker ∞+'s me.

31

In short, selling endorsements and advertising.

So much for Ralph Nader being the model for WA. Not that it’s a big surprise with the new owners.

32

I still get a chuckle over the Singapore address.

33

Just as it was no surprise with the old owner…

34

…but this seems to have moved it from subtle (or not so subtle in some eyes) to overt.

35

Greater transparency, what’s not to like?

36

I didn’t see the free MyWines account included in the offer. Surely, that’s another oversight?

37

Got some bad news for you…

38

This surprises me. I would have thought that Parker and Wine Spectator move significantly more product than Wilfred Wong or the Gold Ribbon at the State Fair. It probably depends on the price and type of wine – which reviewer it is probably matters more at places like Hi Time and K&L and with the types of wines they sell, whereas it might matter less at Costco, BevMo or Total Wine, and less still in the supermarket or Cost Plus.

But that’s just my guess - I haven’t been in wine retail so I could be off.

39

I think we (here) sometimes forget how much we know about wine (even if there is a crapload we don’t) relative to the average consumer. I can remember being in my 20s, having no wine experience, and being absolutely bewildered with any kind of wine list at a restaurant. Marketing and advertising sure worked on me back then, and I wouldn’t have known Parker from Barney the dinosaur [wow.gif]

40

If I may ask, what was the email offer you received?