Robert Parker leaves the scene, for the future the hypothesis of “Wine Advocate” 100% to Michelin

Robert Parker, the wine writer who revolutionized, with his scores, the history of wine criticism, becoming the most influential nose in the world of wine, able with a 100/100 to declare the global success of a label, leaves the scene. A step that is perhaps unexpected, which opens the door to a hypothesis that has been circulating in the environment for at least two years: the passage of “Wine Advocate” to Michelin (which already in 2017 had acquired 40% of the company, from 2012 in the hands of the same Parker and an Asian fund) is now reality. To announce the farewell of the king of world wine criticism, an editorial published on the website of Robert Parker by Lisa Perotti-Brown, editor of Wine Advocate, which traces the long history of the king of wine critics, which began in 1967, when Robert Parker made his first trip to France and was still in college. It was then that the idea was born, which took shape in 1978, that of his own publication, “The Baltimore-Washington Wine Advocate”, where the first tasting sheets signed by Parker appeared, which in 1979 became “The Wine Advocate”, however, it was only in 1984 that the profession of critic finally took over the profession of lawyer. From that moment on, the importance and role of Robert Parker in the panorama of food criticism increased, at least until 2012, when he decided to change the direction of a career that had already lasted almost forty years: the majority of the shares of “Wine Advocate” passed, for 15 million dollars, into the hands of an Asian fund. It was the first step back, but Robert Parker continued to lead the tastings in France and California until 2017 when the Michelin group acquired 40% of Robert Parker’s company and the Asian fund. From that moment on, the tastings became the exclusive prerogative of the “Wine Advocate“ team and the wine lawyer focused exclusively on the great events and tastings that he had organized and guided throughout Asia for two years. The rest is recent history, which has not been written yet.