A lengthy profile appearing in four parts in The Atlantic Monthly profiles wine critic Robert Parker. Parker publishes a wine periodical that rates thousands of wines according to Parker’s own tastes. The article describes how in the past, the pricing of French wine had been mostly conventional based on a fixed and unchanging hierarchy of the established growers that was put in place decades ago. The established producers accepted their place because it guaranteed a sort of monopoly rent. The convention persisted largely because of lack of better information for consumers.
Parker sees himself as an advocate of the consumer, not the producer. His goal has been to provide objective and unbiased information based on quality as he sees it. Because he accepts no advertising or other kickbacks, the value of his publication is determined solely by the value that consumers place on his opinions.
Parker’s success as a critic has revolutionized the wine industry, dislodging the conventional hierarchy and creating an opportunity for new French growers and wine makers in other countries to compete for the consumer’s money on the basis of quality and price. This revolution is being fiercly resisted by the established producers as they see their unearned franchise eroding.
