Honoring Robert Parker

HONORING ROBERT PARKER -- (Extensions of Remarks - October 11, 2004)

SPEECH OF
HON. MIKE THOMPSON
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2004

Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to one of the most prolific and respected wine writers in the history of our Nation, if not the entire world. It is only fitting that we recognize the distinguished career of Robert M. Parker, Jr. on this, the 25th anniversary of the first publication of his semiannual journal, the Wine Advocate.

On October 22 and 23, 2004, the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America (C.I.A.) will host a gala weekend of events to honor the long career of Mr. Parker. I can think of no better place than the C.I.A. to have such an event, given all that Mr. Parker has done to further the enjoyment of fine wine and good food.

Robert Parker was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1947. The first 30 years of his life were filled with college, law school and a 10-year career in corporate America. In August of 1978, the Wine Advocate was born with less than 600 subscribers. Today, the Wine Advocate has over 40,000 subscribers in all 50 states and 37 countries around the world.

Mr. Speaker, over the course of 25 years of writing his newsletter, Mr. Parker has become known as one of the world's foremost experts on wine. Mr. Parker pioneered an innovative approach to wine criticism. Rather than limiting his ratings to a letter scale or a scale of 1-10, Mr. Parker rates wine on a scale of 50-100. This scale has become a widely accepted method of reviewing wines.

However, Mr. Parker's rating scale only accounts for a small portion of his wine reviews. Mr. Parker compiles extensive tasting notes highlighting each aspect of the wines he reviews. He is known for pinpointing the color, tastes and aroma of a wine and eloquently translating these attributes into prose.

In addition to publishing the Wine Advocate, Mr. Parker has written 11 books on wine. His first book, Bordeaux, was published in 1985 and was met with critical acclaim worldwide.

Mr. Parker has been a powerful advocate of the international wine industry. In a 1998 article, Los Angeles Times media critic David Shaw called Parker, "the most powerful critic of any kind, any where." Mr. Parker's reviews have steadily guided wine consumers for many years.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I think it is appropriate that we honor and congratulate Robert Parker on his 25 years of publishing the Wine Advocate and we thank Mr. Parker for his service as a tireless champion of the wine industry.