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+--- Thread: Anyone see this before Decanter pulled it off their server? (/thread-20277.html)
- Bucko - 10-25-2004
Apparently Pierre Rovani clled it a hack job, complained to Decanter, and they pulled it. I wonder where the truth lies?
Parker denounces corporate 'bloodsuckers', fellow wine critics
Decanter.com
October 25, 2004
Alan Goldfarb in Napa
Mondavi's potential purchasers are 'bloodsuckers' and 'corporate suits' and Wine Spectator critics are dilettantes, Robert Parker told an audience in Napa last Friday.
The world's pre-eminent wine critic, who was being honored at a two-day event thrown by the Culinary Institute of America, was speaking before a wine tasting raising funds for scholarship endowments at the CIA's Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies.
Referring to the takeover bid for the Robert Mondavi Corporation by Constellation Brands he said, 'I can't possibly understand it. The blood-sucking corporations without a soul don't understand what they're dealing with here.
'[Robert Mondavi] is the great American hero of wine, an icon and a great visionary,' Parker said. 'I'm hoping the big corporate suits (understand) they're dealing with a national treasure and allow the Mondavi family to go back to their core vineyards and let them to continue to conduct their business.'
Before an audience of about 125, Parker dismissed the documentary Mondovino, a film about the globalisation of wine, in which he is extensively interviewed, as 'just another of those sensational movies.'
He also accused the American wine journal Wine Spectator among others, of 'quasi wine-writing' because 'some of these so-called wine writers don't visit the properties,' as they should.
In addition, referring to the ageability of wine, he told those gathered - most of whom were from California and the Napa Valley – 'I have a pretty good track record predicting how long a wine will age. We know that the wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and even Italy, last and improve with age.
'We (also) know that the wines from the new world will last – but will they improve? There's no question that in Napa, Argentina, Australia, wines are made with more care and with better raw materials, but we don't know how they will improve.'
The two-day event included a tasting of the wines to which Parker had given perfect scores in his 25-year-old newsletter.
- Thomas - 10-25-2004
Bucko,
The truth lies inside the Wine Advocate. When you read the issues RP's opinions come through.
Some of the writers in Decanter, including Jancis Robinson, have taken shots at the kinds of wine they believe Parker has touted and has created through his influence and his particular palate. So, Rovani might have a point.
Yet, I would not be surprised if RP either said or at least believes what he was supposed to have said. And I happen to agree with most of it, except for that little word "even" when referring to Italian wine. Like you, I don't think RP understands Italian wine.
- winoweenie - 10-28-2004
Pretty strong words uttered in the house that's supported by WS. I personally think Big Bob was maybe somwhat harsh but his points are well taken. Even Italy? Does dem do wine??.WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]
- Bucko - 10-28-2004
Turned into a big flap, with Squires (Parker's moderator) threatening to sue Garr's board over copyright issues. I think it shows Squires and Parker in a new and uncomplimentary light.
I know that I'll never support Parker via website or books again.
- Thomas - 10-28-2004
As I said, the truth lies somewhere else, not in that article.
RP has stated flatly that he never said those things to that writer. And that is why Decanter pulled it, pending their investigation.
I contacted Decanter about it, and that is what I was told by one of the editors.
Many years ago there was such a thing as "fact checkers" to circumvent these problems. But that tradition has been abandoned.
A guy like RP would have to be crazy to use such strong language in an interview; therefore, I believe him when he says he did not say those words. Sentiment is one thing, quotation marks are quite another thing.
- Bucko - 10-28-2004
You believe in the tooth fairy too, don't you.
- Glass_A_Day - 10-28-2004
I wish the quotation marks were there. Bob has my vote whether in sentiment or quote.
- Thomas - 10-28-2004
Bucko,
Tooth fairy--maybe. But I take journalism seriously. If Goldfarb's quotes are impeccable, then Decanter should put the article back online. But they are looking into it, and they have yet to put it back up.
I am by far no defender of RP. I hardly ever agree with his palate and I am not a lover of a rating/guru wine culture. But I am a defender of honest journalism. So, since the guy being quoted vociferously disputes the quotes, I would like to see some response to prove otherwise.
I suppose you know of the beef that is going on between Garr and Squires over this matter. I read the release of the email between them--the issue seems too infantile for serious adults to even ponder.
[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 10-28-2004).]
- Bucko - 10-28-2004
Cock fight. That said, the author in question I do know. Decent guy. Why would he libel a lawyer, especially a lawyer who is going to come after him to say face and business?
That is like WW biting a desert rattler in the arse -- well, okay, poor example (helps explain the typing). But you get my drift.