Who seems to match your PALette (in regards to their scores/recommendations) better? Gary or Robert?

Parker, because at least he uses descriptors that I can Identify with when smelling and tasting wine. Besides, Parker is a wine critic and Gary is a wine salesman.

I trust Parker's ratings far more than Vaynerchuck, but when I'm done listening/watching Vaynerchuck taste a wine I have a far better basic sense of whether I want to buy it than when I read many of Parker's notes.

Vaynerchuck is entertainment and as such, I enjoy him but don't take him too seriously.

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Originally posted by Mimik:
Vaynerchuck is entertainment and as such, I enjoy him but don't take him too seriously.

Yeah but why does he have to sound so goofy with all the repetitive words like "Sniffy Sniff"? Everytime I watch him w/ my wife in the room, she has to leave cause to her - he's like fingernails on a chalkboard...

He's too over-the-top and wears wristbands(Last time I wore a wristband was back in High School) and says stupid things like: "Hizzy" "the big W for Walla Walla" and "Sniffy Sniff" and other things that just annoy the crap out of her and others I know..

This message has been edited. Last edited by: -Cp,

quote:

Originally posted by -Cp:

quote:

Originally posted by Mimik:
Vaynerchuck is entertainment and as such, I enjoy him but don't take him too seriously.

Yeah but why does he have to sound so goofy with all the repetitive words like "Sniffy Sniff"? Everytime I watch him w/ my wife in the room, she has to leave cause to her - he's like fingernails on a chalkboard...

Too over-the-top and wears wristbands and says stupid things like: "Hizzy" "the big W for Walla Walla" and "Sniffy Sniff" and other things that just annoy the crap out of her and others I know..

"THE OAK MONSTER!"

I don't even follow Gary so I have no basis for comparison.

I greatly respect Parker, particularly for specific varietals. Sure, he's pretty 'enthusiastic' regarding his scoring with some more than others but, with time, you can gage to his scoring system.

I just can not take Gary seriously. I respect his passion, but I draw the line at 'tasting my sweaty socks to correlate my palate to his.

quote:

Originally posted by -Cp:
Who seems to match your PALette (in regards to their scores/recommendations) better? Gary or Robert?

In spite of his antics, I’ve learned plenty from GV. About your question, my palate has not settled down into absolute preferences, as of yet. I continue to enjoy the experience across the broad spectrum of wine regions, countries and varietals.

I haven't figured out if my palate is more calibrated toward one or the other. I am one of the few who likes Parker's OZ Shiraz recommends, for the most part, but I really like GaryV, especially with his reviews of white wines. He's helping to make wine more approachable for the masses, and give it less "snob" appeal, which I agree with wholeheartedly. His Schtick doesn't bug me one bit. Heck, I talk like him a lot of the time anyways, so no big whoop.

A while back, I did part of his episode #148, just to lock in some flavors.

I'm in the same camp as wiml, and really did not know Gary was a critic per se.

I respect Parker for Bordeaux and Rhone. I have little to no interest in his opinion for anywhere else and glad he is turning many regions over to others now.

That said, Parker is no longer my favorite critic for any region.

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Originally posted by indybob:
A while back, I did part of his episode #148, just to lock in some flavors.

A bucket of earth and sweaty socks. How'd that work for ya?

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Originally posted by wine+art:
That said, Parker is no longer my favorite critic for any region.

Found it difficult to correlate your palate to his on your OZ wines, eh?

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Originally posted by KSC02:

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Originally posted by indybob:
A while back, I did part of his episode #148, just to lock in some flavors.

A bucket of earth and sweaty socks. How'd that work for ya?

Hey, I didn't go that far! Just the fruit, jams, nuts, and a few of the candies. It's pretty cool to nail the flavor of red Twizzlers in wine when I find it.

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Originally posted by KSC02:

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Originally posted by wine+art:
That said, Parker is no longer my favorite critic for any region.

Found it difficult to correlate your palate to his on your OZ wines, eh?

... if it is Spain or Oz, and it is Parker, it must be a 95+, right?

I just enjoy wine from Loire, Alsace, Burgundy ( he was always clueless) Champagne, Oregon, Languedoc, Italy, (all) and Washington, and never seek his opinion on any of these.

I do seek out his opinion on Rhone (red only) and Bordeaux. (red only)

Why anyone would pay any attention to a wine salesman's "opinions," especially as opposed to those of an "independent" critic, is beyond me.

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Originally posted by Board-O:
Why anyone would pay any attention to a wine salesman's "opinions," especially as opposed to those of an "independent" critic, is beyond me.

Board-O. I hear you, but if you actually watch GaryV's shows with any frequency, you'll see that he gives a great many of the wines he tastes a "pass" and does not recommend them. Almost all of them are wines he stocks. Sure, he's a wine salesman (which I'll admit does make me a bit skeptical at times), but there's no denying his palate and knowledge are excellent.

I'm not calling Gary dishonest, but if he buys a wine, he sure has to sell the wine. I don't think he can be completely objective; I don't think I could.

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Originally posted by Board-O:
I'm not calling Gary dishonest, but if he buys a wine, he sure has to sell the wine. I don't think he can be completely objective; I don't think I could.

I have absolutely no connection to Gary, except that of a viewer. It should be obvious to anyone who watches him regularly that he is completely objective -- I remember that once he panned a wine and said something like (I'm paraphrasing), "I wish we hadn't bought so many cases of it."

In all honesty, I believe for Gary it's all about the ego. The sheer number of shows per week, the endless request for attention in the form of the number of people he wants to post in response to his shows, etc. is certainly indicative to his need for attention and validation.

I believe his (his father's I suppose) business is truly very successful, and WLTV has provided the son an opportunity to show Dad that he can contribute, and be successful in his own right. A psychologist would probably have a field day...

He has the power over what to sell, and how much to sell, and I truly believe there is a certain sense of freedom and objectivity in his reviews (he doesn't owe a thing to anyone is probably his perspective).

That ALL said, I love the guy, and the show. It's quite addictive and I believe very unique. I get quite a bit of enjoyment out of the whole WLTV experience.

My wife and others I've exposed to the show all agree that his approach is very entertaining and puts an anti-snob spin on our favourite subject.

Let's face it - We all take this subject way too seriously considering our lives are not dependent upon it. It's just a hobby for most of us on this board.

Gary goes out of his way to stress that you should not take his word for it (and I don't), and that the only so-called critic you should listen to are those that have an alignment with your palate. For the most part, my palate has nothing in common with James Laube, however have found my 'scores' to line up quite close to James Molesworth. Hence, I tend to pay more attention.

With regards to Parker, I tend to shave at least 3-5 points off his scores, and generally that is where I will land with my own preferences.

To conclude, I personally put my 'trust' level at an equal level when it comes to both Parker and Vaynerchuk. But that's just me.

Cheers,

- Ian

quote:

Originally posted by -Cp:
Yeah but why does he have to sound so goofy with all the repetitive words like "Sniffy Sniff"? Everytime I watch him w/ my wife in the room, she has to leave cause to her - he's like fingernails on a chalkboard...

Mine too. I agree with you as to his antics also, it seems to be a branding/movement thing - he uses the same annoying phrases and those who like him only or more than other wine critics identify with them (and sadly enough might use them, too).

As to whether he's critic, he tastes wines, describes them and assigns a rating, so I think that has to make him a critic. The independence thing is not lost on me though. All other things being equal, I prefer blind and independent ratings to non-blind independent ratings and both to non-blind non-independent ratings.

But all other things are not equal and also, blind, independent ratings are, IMHO, more theoretical than real. I think the major critics often know what they're tasting even if its blind and as all of them are very much a part of the wine world, well, independence is merely a relative thing. As others have noted he pans so many of the wines they stock at all price points.

I don't like the antics. I don't even really like the "changing the wine world" shtick - I've never been a class warfare sort and I don't find him that different than other critics, save that he doesn't tend to taste really expensive wines. If you listed his ratings and compared them, I think you'd have a lot of head scratching to do. But I better understand what hes tasting than when I read others notes. Not the sweat socks nonsense (see gimicks above), the bigger things: fruit, acidity, tannin, oak, etc.

Just my .02

I am glad we have both. Parker is strictly a numbers guys for me. I don't read his mag and pretty much stumble across his ratings when buying wine ie: "RP 92" like many of us. That's about it for me with him nowadays. Too many sources on the Internet (wine boards, cellartracker etc.)to get my skinny on any bottle I want and have lots of opinions. Aside from big year Boardeaux and Burgundy for serious futures investing in a vintage (and even that is not a gimmie anymore), he's just not a big deal or necessary for me.

I do enjoy viewing many of Gary's videos (not all)as truly seeing a wine being tasted and evaluated in front of your eyes is pretty neat and a helluva lot more fun than a 3 sentence printed note with a score. At least for me - even with the over the top goofy antics, Gary knows his stuff without being snobby. When he gets down to it - he gets 1/2 way serious.

I don't care about or what his motives are or are not. I'm guessing it's a normal balance of heavy business and some pleasure doing it. It's nice to watch the tastings when you are drinking a good wine yourself and you do not want to put the TV on and just skip to the good wine parts in sideways...

Him doing these videos is a good thing - oh and don't forget they're FREE to view and free of obligation, which IMO gives him a long leash to not be overly criticized or have motives questioned. Don't like it. Don't watch.

As to the question from the beginning of the thread, I align with no one critic or taster more than any other. I agree with some and disagree with others.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Hunter,

quote:

With regards to Parker, I tend to shave at least 3-5 points off his scores, and generally that is where I will land with my own preferences.

Me too, but then I use the 96 point system...

Gary sells wine. He does not taste blind. That answers the question about his objectivity. He is the Tommy Lasorda of wine though, and that is no small compliment.

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Originally posted by MorBorDo:
Gary sells wine. He does not taste blind. That answers the question about his objectivity.

Perfectly stated.

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quote:
Originally posted by MorBorDo:
Gary sells wine. He does not taste blind. That answers the question about his objectivity.

Sure he tastes wines that he sells - that's the point of doing the show. That's exactly how I would do it to. He's a businessman and it's a free show. How much charity do you want? He does not recommend wines he does not like and he does educate you. Take it or leave it.

There's also a ton of crooked %hit going on in the "legitimate wine critic world" and has for years. How many gold watches has Parker received from various Chateau Barons over the years? Let's not be nieve. And these "real critics" are what drives the prices up on all of us - not guys like Gary.

Wow - and I don't even buy from Wine Library