A vine romance - Books - Times Online:
"Looked at like that, Parker doesn%u2019t seem promising biographical material "a ribald sense of humour" and a collection of "tasteless Washington jokes" not withstanding. But that third passion, which he discovered when he was 20, changed the course of his life and, over time, the lives of millions of other people in America and way beyond. The seminal event was a trip to France (in pursuit of Pat, who was studying there). Arriving in Paris, he drank French wine for the first time. The food and culture were a revelation, too, but it was the wines he substituted for his usual Coca-Cola that really fired his imagination.
Since then - and Elin McCoy takes us step by step through college wine-tasting groups, the founding of his journal The Wine Advocate and his famous 100- point scoring system - Parker has become the most powerful wine critic in the world. Perhaps he is even more than that. Some people say he is the most powerful critic of any kind because none in any other field has a global influence. When Parker pronounces in The Wine Advocate on an individual wine or the wines of a region or those of a particular vintage, the world listens and markets respond. Prices move and wines sell - or not if they have displeased the mighty palate."
