The most important wine critics
The naked world of wine
Ever since Robert Parker of Wine Advocate made wine criticism fashionable and popular, there has been an ongoing debate about whether wine critics and wine guides add value to the market or whether they are just another biased advertiser with a conflict of interest.
At KapWeine, we believe that wine critics serve as a reference in a highly fragmented market with a broad, complex, and multifaceted offering. We are not saying that what critics or wine magazines say should be taken as absolute truth, but we should not ignore their recommendations either. In fact, we are in favor of considering their scores so that you can evaluate them yourself during our tastings. Do you know the saying "there's no accounting for taste"? That applies perfectly to wine too.
What do wine critics do?
The primary goal of a wine critic is to determine the quality or perceived enjoyment of the wine. To do this, they typically use a scoring system, which can be based on a 100-point, 20-point, or even 5-point scale.
But what exactly is wine quality?
Well, quality is determined by two factors:
- Extrinsic: These elements are not expressed in the wine but have an influence on it. For example: the region of origin, the wine's reputation, the presentation of the wine, etc.
- Intrinsic: These aspects are expressed by the wine when we taste it, such as flavor, texture, aromas, etc.
How do critics rate the quality of wines?
In general, all critics follow similar systems with some differences, such as the scoring scale used, the type of tasting (blind or open), whether the tasting takes place at the wines' origin or not, etc.
Robert Parker or James Suckling, for example, have a 100-point scale:
- 95-100: Great wines, classics
- 90-94: Exceptional, wines with an outstanding profile
- 85-89: Very good, with special characteristics
- 80-84: Good, well made
- 75-79: Mediocre, drinkable wines that may have minor flaws
- 50-74: Not recommended
Another type of rating is that of the "Wine Spectator". The parameters for determining the best wines are:
- Quality (rating)
- Value (based on price)
- Availability (based on the number of imported/available bottles in the USA)
- X-Factor (history, sense of origin, originality, etc.)
As you can see, this "Wine Spectator" rating takes more parameters into account, which often means that the wines considered the best do not have a 100% score, as factors such as availability or history also play a role in the evaluation.
Regardless of the rating, the work of a wine critic is important, because we must not forget that critics determine the typicality and sense of origin of wines, help in decision-making when faced with a wide range of offerings, promote the growth of wineries and wine regions, and spread wine culture.
Today we will introduce you to the renowned wine critics and wine magazines of the world that rate South African wines. So, when you visit our online shop and see the ratings under the wines, you will know more about these ratings.
Robert Parker
Robert Parker, who has retired from public life, is the founder of the wine magazine "Robert Parker Wine Advocate", where he began to create a wine guide in which he tried to rate wines while avoiding the conflict of interest that can exist in the wine world. He began to use a 100-point system.
What began adventurously as a modest magazine with few subscribers is today one of the most important magazines and platforms in the wine world with more than 50 thousand subscribers worldwide. Today, "The Wine Advocate" is 100 percent owned by the renowned publisher Guide Michelin, on whose behalf highly experienced sommeliers and journalists conscientiously continue Robert Parker's legacy.
In 2022, Robert Parker's team was in Switzerland at "Matter of Taste", an event at which KapWeine was also present.
Anthony Mueller
Mueller has made a name for himself as a critic of South African wines in recent years. Originally from Arizona, he has been responsible for rating South African wines for "Robert Parker Wine Advocate" since 2019. In 2022, he published two comprehensive guides and an exceptional tour of the various wine regions.
He has more than 20 years of experience as a wine judge, educator, and speaker, and numerous wine certifications, including the Advanced Sommelier certificate from the Court of Master Sommeliers, the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 3 Award in Wines, the Certified Specialist of Wine certificate from the Society of Wine Educators, and the Certified Sake Advisor certificate from the Sake School of America. In 2016, he was named "Sommelier of the Month" by Food & Beverage magazine.
Quote: "South African wines offer the best value for money in the new world. I look at England and Germany, which consistently account for about 45% of South African wine exports, while Americans continue to drink South African wines, but only about 5%. Over the next 10 to 20 years, Americans will increase their consumption of South African wines. Simply put, it's time to wake up and seriously reconsider South African wines." ROBERT PARKER – FEBRUARY 2021
Neal Martin
Neal Martin began his wine career more than twenty years ago with a Japanese import company. In 2003, he founded his own website "Wine Journal", which quickly found a worldwide audience due to its independence, insight, and style.
His popularity led Robert Parker to bring him to The Wine Advocate in 2006, where he eventually took over responsibility for reporting on Bordeaux and Burgundy. In 2012, he published the groundbreaking book on Pomerol, which was awarded the "André-Simon and Louis-Roederer Prizes" for wine literature.
In 2018, he began his new career at Vinous, where he is to expand coverage of Bordeaux and Burgundy, as well as South African and New Zealand wines.
In September, he published his latest report on the development of the wine sector.
Quote: "Treat yourself. Order a few bottles. Don't miss out. Yes, these prices are a fraction compared to other wine regions, as the Cape continues to offer unbeatable quality combined with affordability... Believe me when I say that you might regret not having bought some of these exceptional wines in a decade's time." SA REPORT – 2019
Vinous
The editor-in-chief of "Robert Parker Wine Advocate", Antonio Galloni, launched his own website in 2013.
He began publishing articles about wines from Italy, California, and other countries. Today, it is one of the most prestigious wine publications with subscribers in more than 100 countries. Along with the founder of "Vinous", there are some great wine critics. The South Africa specialist is Neal Martin, who has developed his work by producing excellent reviews of South African wines and producers.
Wine ratings are based on the classic 100-point system. Wines that offer a lot of drinking pleasure are rated 85-89 points by Vinous, while outstanding wines with remarkable character are rated 90-95 points. 96-100 points are reserved for the world's best wines - wines that are emotionally moving and possess exceptional characteristics in every nuance.
Tim Atkin
Although we know him today as one of the most important wine critics, Tim Atkin began his career at one of the most prestigious magazines in the United Kingdom: "Decanter". He not only travels the world to taste the best wines, but also writes books. For his columns, he has received prestigious awards such as the "Glenfiddich Wine Writer Award" and the "Wines of France Award".
In 2011, he began his digital career, which led him to international awards such as the Louis Roederer Awards 2011 for International Wine Website of the Year.
He has been writing about wine for various publications for more than 35 years. The latest guide surprised us in the summer of 2022. Tim Atkin has published a comprehensive guide to South African wines. We also show them on our website with this article.
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/timatkinwine
Quote: "South African wine remains a real bargain, but the top brands are slowly reaching the prices they deserve, not least on the secondary market." SPECIAL REPORT SOUTH AFRICA 2021
Jancis Robinson
In 2018, Jancis Robinson was named the most influential wine critic in the world in the USA, France, and internationally. She is a wine writer and wine critic. She writes daily for JancisRobinson.com and weekly for the "Financial Times". She is the founding editor of The Oxford Companion to Wine, co-author of The World Atlas of Wine (nearly five million copies sold) with Hugh Johnson, and co-author of Wine Grapes, each of which is recognized worldwide as a standard work.
In 1984, she was the first person outside the wine trade to pass the rigorous Master of Wine examinations, and in 2003 she was awarded the OBE by Her Majesty the Queen, whose wine cellar she advised from 2004 to 2022. She now has six, including the only wine writer inducted into the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame.
Photo: Jancisrobinson.com
Greg Sherwood
Greg Sherwood MW is a London-based South African Master of Wine and fine wine buyer.
Greg is a long-standing columnist for Winemag.co.za, regularly writes for Decanter Magazine, and is a senior judge at the Decanter World Wine Awards, where he chaired the South Africa panel in 2020 and 2021. In addition, Greg is a regular judge at the SA Top 100 and the National Wine Challenge, the Nederburg Wine Auction, the WOSA World Sommelier Awards, the International Wine & Spirits Challenge, and was chairman of the South African Wine Awards London 2022 – a wine competition held in London exclusively for South African wines and judged by a panel of wine professionals.
Photo: Twitter
Decanter
The British wine magazine is based in London and has been published monthly in print since 1975. With a circulation of 40,000 copies, the magazine is one of the world's leading wine publications.
The website version has been available since 1999 at www.decanter.com and reaches more than 660,000 wine lovers from 99 countries around the globe every month.
Many renowned wine writers have worked for Decanter - and even today, the magazine has a highly prominent author in the well-known Master of Wine Tim Atkin. The latest report on South Africa is by Tim Atkin on black winemakers.
At the annual Decanter World Wine Awards, wines scoring 83 points or more are also awarded medals with the classifications "Commended" (83-85 points), "Bronze" (86-89 points), "Silver" (90-94 points), "Gold" (95-97 points), and "Platinum" (98-100 points).
James Suckling
Suckling began his professional career in 1981 as a journalist for the wine magazine "Wine Spectator". After 30 years as editor-in-chief and traveling the world tasting wines, he founded his own digital platform in 2010. On his website www.jamessuckling.com he rates wines from all over the world on a 10-point scale and offers a wealth of information about wines, producers and regions. To taste the wines, James travels the world for months, visiting each producer personally.
Suckling also organizes wine tastings for up to 1200 participants in cities such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul and Bangkok. In 2019, he opened the "James Suckling Wine Central" wine restaurant in Hong Kong, where visitors can taste wines from all over the world and enjoy culinary specialties.
Photo: jamessucklingwinecentral.com
Wine Spectator
It was founded in 1976 and has grown steadily ever since. Today, it is one of the most prestigious publications on the market. Each publication contains between 400 and 1000 ratings with detailed information.
In addition to regular tastings, Wine Spectator editors occasionally taste wines as barrel samples. To indicate that these ratings are still preliminary, the rating is not given as an absolute value (e.g., 92/100 points), but rather covers a range of 4 points for a barrel sample.
As with most other major wine publications, wines in Wine Spectator are rated using the internationally recognized 100-point scale. Exceptional wines that are stylistically perfect and fully convincing in their character are rated 90-94 points. 95-100 points are awarded to the absolute top wines - great wine classics that are excellently made in every respect.
Blick
The newspaper was launched in 1959 by "Ringier Verlag" as the first Swiss tabloid newspaper with a circulation of 50,000 copies.
On his website, he not only publishes reports about the world of wine, but also organizes tastings to evaluate wines from all over the world. Experts from the sector participate as judges in these tastings, making the ranking one of the most influential.
The wine journalist Alain Kunz, who regularly participates as a taster and judge in these wine tastings, is known for his articles on South African wines in the online and print newspaper "Blick".
Photo: Blick
Vinum
Zurich is the birthplace of one of the most important publications in Europe.
The editorial team evaluates more than 300 wines monthly and writes about the world of wine, including reports on South African wines.
Vinum's wine ratings are based on the classic 20-point scale. A rating of 18 points is given for wines of unique class, while ratings of 19 or 20 points are reserved for unique top wines.
Schweizerische Weinzeitung
The Schweizerische Weinzeitung has been published for 127 years and is probably the oldest wine publication in the country.
Ten years ago, Wolfram Meister, the former editor-in-chief of Blick, bought the title and gave the rather dull magazine a new look and content.
The publication combines artistic illustrations with the art of wine and reports on the wine industry and wine production worldwide.
To date, more than 100 issues have been published with many reports, winemaker portraits, tasting notes and statistics.
Platter’s Wine Guide
It started as a small guide by journalists and wine lovers Erica and John Platter, and today it is one of South Africa's most renowned wine publications. It was inspired by the "Pocket Wine Book" by wine critic Hugh Johnson and has sold millions of copies for over 40 years.
Today, the "Platter's Wine Guide" team consists of about 13 people who discuss the different aspects of the wine industry and its development in South Africa. Climate, terroir and history play an important role in the wine guides and ratings.
In addition, Platter’s Wine Guide awards further accolades each year, highlighting the quality of individual wineries or special wines: For example, wines that prove to be the best in their respective category are named "Wine of the Year," while outstanding producers are recognized as "Winery of the Year" or promising wineries as "Newcomer Winery of the Year." The top rating in "Platter's Wine Guide" is 5 stars.
WINEMAG
The wine magazine was published from October 1993 to September 2011 and now lives on in digital form as Winemag.co.za.
The editorial team includes not only wine experts, but also international judges who collaborate with the magazine.
WINEMAG.co.za uses the 100-point system, which conforms to international conventions. The numerical ratings serve to enhance and complement the detailed tasting notes.
96 – 100 corresponds to "exceptional. Profound". With 93-95 points, the wines are outstanding. Wines with a rating between 90 and 92 points are excellent.
