THE ONSLAUGHT PART THREE

I had someone email me recently about my tirades against the critics. I think I will never win on this dispute, but this person disagrees with me in that he finds the ratings that wine critics such as Parker, Spectator and others use, very helpful. Awesome! Anything to get folks into wine, and talking about wine, and spreading the good word of Dionysus, I am all for it! I am softening my tone toward critics, I must admit, if only for the fact that not a lot of people care one way or the other. The debate will rage on for some time, I have no doubt. But if there was a point to all of MY fussing, it would be that the score is not the entire story. It would be like calling Tolstoy’s WAR AND PEACE: 89 points, and just leaving it at that. There’s more than just a score. Wine is a living, breathing thing, encompassing art, culture, and Life itself. Sure that may be a bit grandiose, but it is still quite true. Maybe there will come a day when the 100-point system will be obsolete, though I am not holding my breath.