I have been telling my friends for the last eight months that Dr. Jay Miller would be parting ways with the Wine Advocate. Well what do you know, it happened …http://bit.ly/vy1ehF. Did Mr. Parker ask him to leave after the folly in Spain? Jay Miller claims on Parkers’ website that he has decided to step down on his on volition and pursue other directions in his career. I guess we are just going to have to believe him. I guess.
Jim Budd, a well known blogger did some excellent work in unearthing some unethical behavior by Campo Pancho MW in Spain. Campo has some responsibility for organizing wine events and tastings in Spain for Wine Advocates’ Jay Miller. If you haven’t seen it already, check out Jim’s story...http://bit.ly/vR9wTp.
For whatever reason, I am happy that Dr. Jay Miller has decided to leave the Advocate. Over the past two years he has brought some questionable behavior to TWA. Robert Parker has enough on his plate without being forced to deal with a loose cannon like Miller. Now if he could just shake all those damn bloggers out there who pick on him relentlessly.
If you have spent any time on the wine blog-o-sphere these past few days, you no doubt have sensed the smell of blood, as blog after blog attacks the ethics of Mr. Parker and his publication, The Wine Advocate. It’s hell being at the top… Just ask President Obama. Robert Parker has not only earned the respect he deserves as a wine critic, he has also earned a place in the spotlight and he needs to learn how to except that gracefully. The disdain he expresses for bloggers is simply a disdain for criticism. No one likes it, but we all get it and it is how we handle it that sets us apart.
Sure, you can ignore it, or write it off as “White Noise”, as he has done on many occasions. However, there is a force lurking in the shadows of the internet that cannot be ignored. Blogs are serious business and although there are many out there that cannot be taken too seriously, there is a substantial group of blogs that are well written and researched. I could take a couple of paragraphs to list them but I will spare you the reading. Mr. Parker needs to embrace the blogging community and adapt. He has a twitter account, so why not go a step further and start a personal blog. I can tell you right now that I would be more then eager to read it as long as transparency is the backbone. We live in a time when criticism for the freedom of expression on the internet is passe`.
I was surprised to see the same sort of attitude toward bloggers in general expressed by Jancis Robinson http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a20111201.html. She of course tried her best to smooth over her condescending attitude, but it is there nonetheless. I appreciate that both Parker and Jancis took a more traditional, old school route to writing. However, I am confident that if blogging was an option when they started their careers, each of them would have more then likely used that medium.
Bloggers are here to stay, and I am proud that they are sentinels, making sure that the old school critics and writers maintain their integrity. Keep up the good work all you bloggers out there, and please take some credit for sending Jay walking. Cheers! Stan The Wine Man
