New Anti-Parker Wine Book

Someone gave me an article from a recent Forbes magazine reviewing Alice Feiring's "The Battle for Wine and Love: Or How I Saved the World from Parkerization." Sounds pretty hot! Has anybody read it or know anything about Feiring?
Supposedly she complains about the Frankenwines that keep popping up to win Parker's favor.
Parker responded like this "It's disgraceful. I'm not going to comment on the book or read it. She's going to have her 15 minutes and then fall into obscurity." Yooowwll! That's good stuff. Feiring's picks look pretty interesting. Here they are:

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0630/156a.html

Here's the Forbes article:
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0630/156.html

This article is another example of why I gave up on Forbes as a reliable publication for anything.

First, I find that almost all their investment recommendations have performed the opposite of whatever it was they advocated; and now, they can't even include in the article the vintages of the recommended wines by Feiring. Well, as far as I am concerned, Feiring's 5 minutes of fame are up.

Ramon

[David M. Bueker]

The book has been out for a while now. There was quite the dust up about it on another site, as the author is not only a bad writer, she does not take criticism. I finished the book a few weeks ago, and regretted the time I wasted on it. Several friends said the same. I would not advise anybody read it, as it's whiney, preachy and the author is about as open minded as the average gnat. She didn't save the world from anything. Stupid title for a waste of time book.

The book has been out for a while now. There was quite the dust up about it on another site, as the author is not only a bad writer, she does not take criticism. I finished the book a few weeks ago, and regretted the time I wasted on it. Several friends said the same. I would not advise anybody read it, as it's whiney, preachy and the author is about as open minded as the average gnat. She didn't save the world from anything. Stupid title for a waste of time book.

Don't beat around the bush, what did you really think about dear Alice's book?

The stupid title did make me wonder, but then again you may be a Robert Parker secret agent....

The only thing that annoys me more than people who are slaves to Parker are people who resent him so rabidly that they have to write diatribes against him. The first group at least have the excuse of being (usually) beginners in search of guidance, but the latter group just needs therapy. I see ratings (from Parker to Michelin stars and Gambero Rosso bicchieri) as tools; if they don't give you useful information, don't use them, but don't judge those who do as if you are somehow better. Parker may be helping to homogenize a specific fraction of the wine world, but many wonderful places remain untouched by him (Burgundy, Loire, Alsace, Germany, to name a few) and winemaking around the world has never been so accomplished.

[David M. Bueker]

Don't beat around the bush, what did you really think about dear Alice's book?

Crap...crap...crap.

Says Feiring in her Forbes' Breton Cab Franc review: "Parker dislikes Cabernet Franc."

He "dislikes" it? Maybe sometimes he just can't make up his mind. In issue 165 he he gives the 2004 Cheval Blanc a (90-92) and writes it's "an outstanding, but hardly inspired effort."

Anyhow, one thing Parker makes it clear he doesn't like is Feiring.

Anyhow, one thing Parker makes it clear he doesn't like is Feiring.

So at long last the two of us have found common ground.

-Paul W.

Parker may be helping to homogenize a specific fraction of the wine world, but many wonderful places remain untouched by him (Burgundy, Loire, Alsace, Germany, to name a few) and winemaking around the world has never been so accomplished.

Oswaldo, that is just what Alice Feiring says in her book, her fear is that the "homogenized fraction" grows at some point to include all these places.

I actually liked the book. I thought it was funny, very personal, and yes - critical but not insulting to Parker (maybe I have a thicker skin and have a hard time recognizing insults). Also most of the wines she talks about are favorites here; wines like Clos de La Roche Blanche, Mascarello, Lopez de Heredia, Brun.

I pretty much agree w/ David's assessment of the book. It's not a very good read and not recommended.
She has some valid points to make (the homogenization of the world's wine), but the continual
anti-Parker diatribe gets pretty tedious after awhile. Her claim to say she saved the world from Parkerization
of wine is grandoise, maglomanic, and pretentious. And if you take a look at her picture on the back cover,
it's pretty clear why she never found love!! Meow.
Tom

The only thing that annoys me more than people who are slaves to Parker are people who resent him so rabidly that they have to write diatribes against him. The first group at least have the excuse of being (usually) beginners in search of guidance, but the latter group just needs therapy. I see ratings (from Parker to Michelin stars and Gambero Rosso bicchieri) as tools; if they don't give you useful information, don't use them, but don't judge those who do as if you are somehow better. Parker may be helping to homogenize a specific fraction of the wine world, but many wonderful places remain untouched by him (Burgundy, Loire, Alsace, Germany, to name a few) and winemaking around the world has never been so accomplished.

Y'know, Oswalso... I coulda written pretty much the same thing. I agree, but for a minor nit. Parker has been a major proponent of Alsace, particularly Zind-Humbrecht, Trimbach and Weinbach.

The only thing that annoys me more than people who are slaves to Parker are people who resent him so rabidly that they have to write diatribes against him. The first group at least have the excuse of being (usually) beginners in search of guidance, but the latter group just needs therapy. I see ratings (from Parker to Michelin stars and Gambero Rosso bicchieri) as tools; if they don't give you useful information, don't use them, but don't judge those who do as if you are somehow better. Parker may be helping to homogenize a specific fraction of the wine world, but many wonderful places remain untouched by him (Burgundy, Loire, Alsace, Germany, to name a few) and winemaking around the world has never been so accomplished.

Y'know, Oswalso... I coulda written pretty much the same thing. I agree, but for a minor nit. Parker has been a major proponent of Alsace, particularly Zind-Humbrecht, Trimbach and Weinbach.

Exactly. Parker has indeed been a major proponent of Zind-Humbrecht, and I would argue that his enormous ratings for those wines has changed the style of Alsatian wines generally over the last ten years or so. Alsace at least has been very 'touched' by Parker, whether one approves of the ZH style or not.

Oliver,
Has this been a change for good or bad in your view?

[David M. Bueker]

By the way - Parker hasn't written a single word on Alsace in over 10 years. Rovani was the reviewer for most of that time, and now the much more even-handed David Schildknecht has the reins on Alsace for the Wine Advocate.

Let's examine Bernard Roth's comment for a moment. He cited ZH, Weinbach and Trimbach as producers that have been Parker favorites. There's a producer in that list that has not gone for ever bigger, richer and potentially sweeter wines: Trimbach. Theirs is a case of a more traditional winery that has pretty much stayed the course while retaining positive reviews. I would suggest that weak wills are more to blame for the changes in Alsace (plus some pretty serious warming) than is Parker.

Exactly. Parker has indeed been a major proponent of Zind-Humbrecht, and I would argue that his enormous ratings for those wines has changed the style of Alsatian wines generally over the last ten years or so. Alsace at least has been very 'touched' by Parker, whether one approves of the ZH style or not.

That's exactly the problem. The huge scores he gave the Z-Hs, when they started picking riper, making wines w/ more alcohol, often leaving a bit of RS when they started doing this in the late '70's, early '80's, forever perverted the Alsatian wines I used to know & love in the early '70's...wines that were truly food wines and went w/ a good plate of weenies & kraut. Other wineries followed suit, save for Trimbach, which has been pretty much focused on traditional-style wines. But those huge scores he gave Z-H is the cause.
That's why the best GWT/Traminer these days, wines that go with food, wines that are not designed to get big ParkerPoints, come from... ta da...the Alto Adige.
Tom

I recently finished reading, back to back, Feiring's book and Hugh Johnson's memoir. I was surprised at how much philosophical overlap I found between the two books, but how much they differed in the way they presented their views. I much preferred the latter and doubt I would have finished reading the first one had it not been so short.

G

I also read the Alice Fiering book a couple weeks ago, and was very dissapointed. Although I like the lighter, more elegant wines that she champions, I thought she was much too abrasive, too preachy, and too closed-minded about the whole thing. Also she sometimes talks like an expert about winemaking practices, while showing ignorance about them. I did enjoy reading about some of her winery visits - I'd LOVE to go visit Lopez de Heredia. All in all though I can't recommend this book - and I'm glad I got it from the library rather than buying it.