tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13487602.post-1125558390568977842005-08-31T23:50:00.000-07:002005-09-01T00:08:00.346-07:00My CruForge colleague, <a href="http://dhalsted.com/">Dave Halsted</a>, directed my attention to Mike Steinberger's Slate article, "<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2125025/">The Wino in Winter: Robert Parker's influence is on the decline</a>". It's a good, balanced article, but once again, I think there are much more interesting things to discuss than Robert Parker's influence. This quotation near the end of the article admirably sums up why:<br /><blockquote>While the number of 'Parkerized' wines (lavishly fruited, lavishly oaked) has unquestionably exploded, there are still plenty of winemakers unwilling to cater to one man's palate, and I still find plenty of subtle, distinctive reds and whites on my local retail shelves. </blockquote>Me too, and not just at <a href="http://paulmarcuswines.com/">Paul Marcus Wines</a>, the Oakland wine shop where I work part-time. The San Francisco Bay Area, at least, is blessed with lots of restaurants and wine stores that offer a wide range of interesting, distinct, food-friendly, not overblown wines. For example, <a href="http://paulmarcuswines.com/blogs/2005_08_01_archive.html">Bodegas Luberri Rioja 'Albiker' 2004</a> (just to mention one bottle that I've enjoyed frequently in recent weeks).Mark Middlebrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15544083874012168851noreply@blogger.com