And the winner is.............

[Drew]

Don't get you started? Are you kidding....I got the key and enough gas for you to drive here and back! If WS and the other rags perk just 1 iota of interest in wine to a consumer and that consumer finds his/her way to your doorstep....that's free advertising and all you got to do is water and nurture that consumer...not condemn them. Case in point is me! I stumbled into a wine shop years ago in my area with money in my left pocket and a print out of a WS list in my right. I got to talk to the owner about how much I didn't know, my wine budget (at the time), and what my general taste likes and dislikes were. He suggested a bunch of wines, some on the list and most not, and invited me back for tastings, conversation, etc. For me, a couple of the rags I read prior to stopping in, educated me somewhat about varietals, wine producing regions and overall general wine terms that allowed me to feel comfortable interacting with a wine pro. And you know what....I didn't walk in there stiff legged like Frankenstein saying "Take me to your leader". It helped me break the ice to an enormous and overwhelming subject, which’s all I'm saying. I would have eventually got there, without the rags, but it helped to boost my confidence. Just look at all the businesses run with sales people who barely know how to open the register, much less know their product. That in its' self forces a consumer to do some homework on products before ever considering venturing into a store, and that's common knowledge. I don't take everything that's written as gospel, and it seems that your saying that the common consumer does and that these wine rags act like a drug on them, well my experience was not that at all. I agree that Spectator doesn't get "down and dirty", that the restaurant articles highlight places that I'll probably never go to, nor could afford. But I enjoy the articles on the wine regions and the varietals, and for me their Tn's are generally good. I've learned how to judge them and compare them to my palate most of the time, BUT, by far my most important tool IS my tongue..... tasting, tasting ,tasting.

Drew