Magazines

I would recommend both the Wine Advocate (Robert Parker) and Wine Spectator as the 2 best on the market. However, as a word of caution... use the tasting guides as reference only; learn which tasters have similar tastes to your own and which do not.... both seem to be overall consistent in their tasting notes and recommendations (personally I find Parker and James Laube (WS) to be most in line with what I like). This gives you the opportunity to try some new things that they have tasted which based on past experience you should also like.

Since The Wine Advocate is not available except by subscription (that I am aware of), you may want to start with this one (or borrow some issues from someone) and maybe pick up a couple of issues of Wine Spectator to compare. Wine Spectator also offers more educational/entertainment value, however I am not particularly interested in this aspect of it... you may be.

I have also over the years occasionally picked up International Wine Cellar (Stephen Tanzer), Food & Wine and Wine & Spirits but these don't seem to be consistent with my tastes. I have personally never cared for Wine Enthusiast.

Remember, just like with tasting, that all wine magazines are personal to the writer and you may or may not agree with them from a tasting perspective.

Good luck, and Cheers! Gary

I would suggest "Decanter" and believe this is head and shoulders above the rest. One magazine I would never subscribe to is Parker's "The Wine Advocate", as I really dislike many the wines about which Parker raves; however this is personal taste.

Ron Lel

Tyler, "Best" is an entirely subjective term. There are many well-written, serious wine magazines/journals. Which one is best for you will depend on which critic's tastes come the closest to your own, which one reviews wines you can find in your own market and which one reviews the types of wines you like to drink. If you give us an idea of what wines you've really liked in the past and where you're located, that would help us make a worthwhile recommendation.

Mark Lipton

p.s. FWIW, the one magazine that I would *not* recommend is the Wine Spectator, as I find their reviews to be inconsistent and at times downright puzzling. YMMV, though.

Mark,

At last, a point on which we disagree. For its breadth of coverage, I like WS. They do a passable job of covering the industry, plus the products, IMHO. As for the ratings, well, I try to focus on the descriptions, and let the numbers fall where they may. I do like the byline articles by Laube and Kramer, even though I do find points of disagreement there too.

As Ed points out, their restaurant ratings can be a very poor joke, at times, though I will often use their Web site's restaurant ratings as a starting point, when going to a new city, or one in which I have dined at the "old standbys" and want something new. Unfortunately, like so many restaurant reviews, theirs are as full of PR, as most. As I do not gravitate to the flashier, show-places, with a constant 125db hum, full of "must be seen- types," most are over the top in production, and short on food. They do, however, provide me with a base, from which to start.

I seem to end up with the new issue in my briefcase on an airplane, and find that it makes good reading.

That said, I do agree with you on the inconsistancy of their ratings, but don't get into a numbers crunching game with them. Matter of fact, I'd opt for a complete description of each reviewed wine, and leave the numbers off. Is it DaleW, who grades on a letter system? I like those types of TNs far better than 98 out of 100. They tell me more of what I want in the first place - what can I expect from a wine. I've had WS 70s that I loved, and high 90's that left me asking, "what's the big deal?"

OK, maybe I only disagree with you on a few fine points!

Hunt

I'm amazed it comes over that way the other side of the pond. Not that I would recommend it either!

There's a lot of excellent books and web-based resrouces. I'f stick to those.

While I generally agree with Mark Lipton on a lot of topics, I'll disagree with him on this one. I'm no fan of WS, but if you're actually pretty new to wine it probably is best geared to that audience. WA, Burghound, etc are less general interest magazines than newsletters, geared towards those that know basics already. I like Decanter, but often the wines aren't available in US.

I've subscribed to a pretty wide variety over the years - WA, WS, Decanter, etc. The only publication I currently pay for (I get Wine Enthusiast free) is a newsletter, The Fine Wine Review (Claude Kolm). The reasons:

1) Concentrates on (in order) Burgundy, Germany, Northern Rhone, and Piedmont. Especially in Burgundy, with so many small production wines, helpful to have help picking. In Bordeaux there's so much buzz and so many reviews sent by retailers I don't feel I need to pay for more info. 2) Cheaper than Burghound. 3) His palate in Burgs is fairly similar to mine (as opposed to say Rovani). 4) Enjoy his descriptions 5) Like his dual rating system. A points for overall quality, then a letter for typicity and for how it performs in its class. So a basic Bourgogne might get an 89, but an A. While an 89 for a GC might earn it a C.

LOL!! Now that you and Hunt, with whom I normally agree mostly, have taken issue with my lack of enthusiasm for WS, I will attempt to justify my statement. WS does indeed have broad coverage, but I think someone interested in learning about wine would be better served to start with an introductory book (see

for specific recommendations), and for critical reviews to start with a publication with more consistent reviews, such as Connoisseur's Guide or California Grapevine for CA wines or Wine Advocate or Decanter for European wines.

One aspect of steering someone to WS is that if they attempt to go their retailer to purchase those wines highly touted by the WS, they'll find them either all gone or priced double the price published in WS (the Sheeple Effect, of which we're all aware), which can be quite frustrating.

Again, YMMV, of course.

Mark Lipton

All,

Thanks for the many helpful, and obviously thoughtful, comments. I'm not surprised at so many different opinions, and I entirely agree that a trustworthy and experienced wine merchant is ultimately the best way to learn new things. I'll give the various publications you guys have mentioned a shot, especially the ones that are available on the newsstands, and see what appeals. I am definitely not a big fan of the lifestyle-type magazines, but I'm also not against looking for something beyond just reviews.

Many Thanks, TG

Tyler wrote in news:Xns962DD7AFDD39JTGJTGcom@140.99.99.130:

I used to subscribe to Wine Spectator, but I let the subscription lapse when (a) they started publishing editorials attempting to dictate how wine should be made and (b) when the reviews became inconsistent and, at times, downright puzzling. The credibility was just shot to heck for me.

Dana

I would suggest that you buy Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2005. Check the date. Some stores will try to sell you an edition 2 or more years out of date. Take this little book along to wine shops and restaurants. It will give you a general idea about the nature and general quality of most wines in the world that are likely to be found in international trade. It will give you an idea of good vintages, which wines are ready to drink, and which should be aged more. As you develop a taste for specfic wines, you may want to buy a magazine or newsletter that caters to your taste. There are not many full-sized wine magazines anymore, but there are many newsletters and such. The only wine magazine I now take is Decanter. It is very general and will have articles of both interest and non-interest for any given individual. It does have articles and vintage evaluations by some of the world's best tasters, many of them MWs (Masters of Wine). If you live in the US, Australia, Germany, Austria, or other important wine producers, you may want a more specialized newsletter that covers the wines of that country. By far the best wine publication for classic wines, in my opinion, was by Clive Coates MW, but it is no longer published because of a health problem Coates has. Coates evaluated Bordeaux and Burgudy when young, but also did extensive tastings of older wines - sometimes very old classics. This was extremely helpful when you only had a botte or two of a classic and wanted to open it at the best time. At one time there were many more wine publications in the US than now. I have never had a high opinion of Parker, but I know many nearly worship him. Although not Parker's fault, this has resulted in a great distortion of the price structure of wines.

Some of the larger city newspapers, such as the New York Times, have wine reviews from time to time, and you often can find these reviews on their web sites. Even if you do not agree with their reviews, their tastings may give you some idea about new wines available in the city.

Reply to snipped-for-privacy@cwdjr.net .

Both good points. How many times have I seen WS subscribers with the little tear-outs haunting the aisles of a wine merchant with a really sour look on their faces! One book that will go a long way toward general knowledge is The Wine [Buyers?] Companion - book is upstairs and the carpet is still wet, so I will gather ISBN, etc. and full, correct name tomorrow. It's about US$10 and offers a very thorough coverage of most aspects of wine without the afore mentioned bias.

Mark, please note, my disagreement was VERY slight!!!!

Hunt

Mark, I'm glad you mentioned the issue of availability. I dropped WS after a one-year trial because 90% of the wines they reviewed weren't available in Pennsylvania. Not WS's fault, of course. But I was also disappointed that they paid scant attention to low-end wines.

Dan-O (can't afford 1st-growth Bordeaux)

[SNIP]

OK, here is the correct title, plus info:

"The Wine Lover's Companion," by Ron Herbst & Sharon Tyler Herbst, ISBN 0-

8120-1478-0. My copy does not list an edition #, but there is probably a newer ver out, as mine is (C) '95, and cost about US$10, when released. They also did a Food Lover's Companion, which has some great info on taste profiles, spices, etc, plus a super glossery of foodie terms.

I use Wine Lover's as my go-to source, before taking out Oz Clarke, Jancis Robinson, et al.

Hunt

If you really want to learn about wines and cut through the hype, you have to read publications like Wines and Vines (articles are available at findarticles.com), Vineyard & Winery Management (vwm-online.com) and the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture (American Society for Enology and Viticulture