Originally Posted by
briankoenig
I think you can expand discussions of Robert Parker to include any influential reviewer in a given niche. People accuse wineries of "Parker-izing" their wine; I think that's probably true! Some movies that I didn't care for were obviously "Oscar-ized" to appeal to the Academy voters.
To conclude an already too-long post, I will say that I will take the personal advice of a sommelier over a written RP score any day, since I trust that person to take my tastes into account. At Picasso, the Master Sommelier chose a tiny Spanish wine for my girlfriend based on her tastes and the food she was eating, and she loved it; RP has not rated it and probably hasn't heard of it.
i think parker has much more integrity than the overly whored and phony film industry.
i do not know the "Master Sommelier" at Picasso(don't really know what the title is), but i have been to a large number of tastings with people in the wine industry who are very big names, and i am amazed that a very high percentage of them are much more mouth than taste. i do also think that they look to the higher end of the price scale for a suitable match.
"Master Sommelier" seems to be a west coast sort of thing, and i'm and east coast guy.
disclaimer: i do not have an outstanding palate.