No sane man can afford to dispense with debilitating pleasures; no ascetic can be considered reliably sane. Robert M. Parker, Jr. More Quotes by Robert M. Parker, Jr. More Quotes From Robert M. Parker, Jr. Wine to me is something that brings people together. Wine does promote conversation and promote civility, but it's also fascinating. It's the greatest subject to study. No matter how much you learn, every vintage is going to come at you with different factors that make you have to think again. Robert M. Parker, Jr. vintage wine thinking Scores do not reveal the most important facts about a wine. The written commentary (tasting notes) that accompanies the ratings is a better source of information than any score regarding the wine's style and personality, its quality level relative to its peers, and its relative value and aging potential. Robert M. Parker, Jr. relative-value wine personality I've always followed the rule that anything worth doing is worth doing excessively. Robert M. Parker, Jr. anything-worth-doing I believe that the responsibility of the winemaker is to take that fruit and get it into the bottle as the most natural and purest expression of that vineyard, of the grape varietal or blend, and of the vintage. Robert M. Parker, Jr. responsibility expression believe No viticultural region in America has demonstrated as much progress in quality and potential for greatness as... the Santa Barbara region, where the Burgundian varietals Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are planted in its cooler climates. Robert M. Parker, Jr. santa-barbara greatness wine A wine goes in my mouth, and I just see it. I see it in three dimensions. The textures. The flavours. The smells. They jump out at me. When I put my nose in a glass, it's like tunnel vision. I move into another world, where everything around me is gone, and every bit of mental energy is focused on that wine. Robert M. Parker, Jr. wine kids moving Part of life is to live it, and enjoy it, and seize the moments that you find particularly pleasing. Robert M. Parker, Jr. enjoy moments life-is Fettuccine Alfredo is dangerous for your health. Robert M. Parker, Jr. dangerous I'm an anti-industrial kind of guy. Robert M. Parker, Jr. guy kind From a wine critic's perspective, there are far too many innocuous, over-oaked, over-acidified, or over-cropped wines emerging from California. While those sins would not be a problem if the wines sold for under $20, many are in fact $75-$150. That's appalling. Robert M. Parker, Jr. california perspective wine The first famous winemaking consultant was the late professor Emile Peynaud, who reigned over Bordeaux throughout the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s. Robert M. Parker, Jr. bordeaux professors firsts I'm a common-sense kind of guy. Robert M. Parker, Jr. common-sense guy common The finest glasses for both technical and hedonistic purposes are those made by Riedel. The effect of these glasses on fine wine is profound. I cannot emphasize enough what a difference they make. Robert M. Parker, Jr. differences glasses wine These are the people who do studies that your carry-out Chinese meals are saturated in fat. I'd just like to meet them! I mean, what do they do for pleasure? Robert M. Parker, Jr. chinese mean people My personal philosophy is, you can be sure of nothing. Robert M. Parker, Jr. personal-philosophy philosophy My first trip to Japan, in 1998, began with an enormous crowd of Japanese paparazzi and television crews, all waiting for me to clear customs in Tokyo (a first-time experience for this wine critic). Over the next five days, the attention never waned. Robert M. Parker, Jr. me experience wine waiting There is no question that Australia's most dramatic assault on the world market has been with its value wines. These are generally not from specific appellations but blends made by huge enterprises like Penfolds, Rosemount or Casella Estate - the group behind Yellow Tail. Robert M. Parker, Jr. value group yellow world It's nearly impossible to believe just how provincial the wine world was in 1978, the year I launched my journal, 'The Wine Advocate.' There were no wines exported from New Zealand and virtually none from Australia (including Penfolds Grange, one of the greatest wines in existence). Robert M. Parker, Jr. wine impossible believe world No scoring system is perfect, but a system that provides for flexibility in scores, if applied by the same taster without prejudice, can quantify different levels of wine quality and provide the reader with one professional's judgment. Robert M. Parker, Jr. professional quality wine perfect Nineteen-eighty-two is a vintage of legendary proportions for all levels of the Bordeaux hierarchy. In short, it is a vintage which has produced the most perfect wines in the post-World War II era. Robert M. Parker, Jr. short vintage perfect war
