The lawyer Robert McDowell Parker Jr. (*1947) from Baltimore/USA was one of the most influential wine journalists and wine critics in the world for several decades. At the end of the 1970s, the then unknown figure in the wine world disempowered the leading British wine journalists. His "nose" (tasting ability) was allegedly insured for a million dollars, which is why he was dubbed "The Million Dollar Nose" or "Wine Pope". The impetus for his interest in wine was a trip to Alsace at the age of 20.
In 1978, the first issue of The Wine Advocate magazine, which has been published bimonthly ever since, was published, containing reviews of individual wines. Today, there are over 45,000 subscribers in around 40 countries worldwide. In 2013, Parker sold shares to an investor group from Singapore represented by Soo Hoo Khon Peng and retired from the editorship of The Wine Advocate. His successor is the US journalist Lisa Perrotti-Brown. Robert Parker finally withdrew from the magazine on 1 May 2019.
Parker introduced the 100-point system used in US schools to rate wines, which then became the international standard due to his growing influence. His aim was to be "an advocate for the consumer" who, unlike many wine authors, was in no way connected to the wine trade and therefore had no conflicts of interest. Parker first attracted worldwide attention when he proclaimed the...
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