Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/113109
FROM THE EDITOR The Democracy of Opinion In case you haven���t heard, 750 ccm 26-1/2 oz It���s unique, it���s functional, it���s exquisitely handmade for young reds and whites. And yes, it���s a decanter. Available online at riedelop.com. 4 / the tasting panel / march 2013 PHOTO: CATHY TWIGG-BLUMEL Eve Decanter Height: 19-7/8��� Capacity 48-1/4 oz. LET IT BREATHE. the world of wine criticism has sustained two successive life-altering blows. First we learned in early December that Robert Parker is selling his inluential newsletter The Wine Advocate to a Singapore investor, although he is planning to retain an active role. Then we found out, two months later, that respected reviewer Antonio Galloni is leaving the Advocate to start his own on-line publication. As a result of these two dramatic developments, the dominance of Mr. Parker and The Wine Advocate will certainly change and the dynamic of wine criticism will be permanently altered. Is this the end of adulation for dense, ripe, powerful wines redolent of ���tar��� and ���spice box���? Mr. Parker and Mr. Gallioni have done much to explain and popularize the world���s greatest wine icons. Their inely-tuned palates have created a reliable and consistent deinition of excellence, and they have carefully indexed the great wines of the world using the 100-point system. The establishment of this form of rating wines is a gigantic contribution in its own right. The 100-point scale has become the standard for American wine rating and has been adopted by many other publications, including this one. It is doubtful that any one reviewer will be able to step up and ill Robert Parker���s shoes. It is more likely that a number of critics���credible bloggers among them���will ill the void and add their voices to the discussion. Wine consumers will undoubtedly receive mixed and often contradictory input from the many voices they will hear and read. This situation, although daunting and occasionally confusing, will serve to democratize wine information and provide readers with the ability to choose what voices they wish to follow. They will be able to select the critic whose palate most agrees with their own. They will also have the opportunity to think for themselves and to ind the styles and types of wine that most please them���rather than being dictated to by an authoritarian publication.