Displays plenty of spicy oak, black currant, cherry, and plum-like notes

June 2, 2003 7:35 PM

The Million-Dollar Nose. Fascinating profile of wine critic Robert Parker (publisher of The Wine Advocate) by William Langewiesche of Atlantic Magazine.
posted by Wet Spot (9 comments total)

Despite what the supporters of Eustace Tilley say, I think The Atlantic Monthly is definitely a candidate for "the best magazine that ever was". I remember that article well, among others by Mr. Langewiesche. And for those who are concerned about a liberal media, Michael Kelly was an editor.
posted by TedW at 8:01 PM on June 2, 2003

I like 'em both -- and both do quite well in the Ellies/National Magazine Awards.

Langewiesche's a damn good writer -- as was his father Wolfgang. If you are interested in aviation, Langewiesche fils wrote an excellent book called "Inside the Sky", and it's a good companion to his father's classic "Stick and Rudder."
posted by Vidiot at 8:13 PM on June 2, 2003

This is a great article. I read it when it came out. I'm not really interested in wine, but it was the cover story of that issue, so I halfheartedly started reading it... and didn't stop until I had finished.

Haven't gotten to the WTC series yet. It's in my "to read" pile (sigh).
posted by pmurray63 at 8:26 PM on June 2, 2003

From the title, I thought it would be about Michael Jackson.

</obligatory snarky comment>
posted by Soliloquy at 8:27 PM on June 2, 2003

I'm sick of this guy and that other guy using my name to get ahead!
posted by mcsweetie at 8:39 PM on June 2, 2003

This weekend's Guardian magazine had an article on wine-tasting by Jon Ronson: Confessions of a vino virgin

"Is it a children's paddling pool or a well?" he says.

"A well," I say.
posted by jamespake at 1:57 AM on June 3, 2003

From this quote it sounds like the man is suffering from -- or, perhaps, has the gift of -- synesthesia.

He said, "A wine goes in my mouth, and I just see it. I see it in three dimensions. The textures. The flavors. The smells. They just jump out at me. I can taste with a hundred screaming kids in a room. When I put my nose in a glass, it's like tunnel vision. I move into another world, where everything around me is just gone, and every bit of mental energy is focused on that wine." Afterward he can't help it -- he just remembers.

Nice article.
posted by gentle at 3:22 PM on June 3, 2003

(Or -- given that he actually remembers every damn wine he ever tasted -- some fortunate combination of synesthesia and eidetic memory. Hurrah for the human mind, anyway.)
posted by gentle at 3:26 PM on June 3, 2003

After reading that article, not only will I now subscribe to The Wine Advocate, but I'm going to try to track down anything written by William Langewiesche.

Fantastically written article about a riveting subject.
posted by Dagobert at 11:04 PM on June 3, 2003