Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Robert Parker
Parker in Las Vegas, 2005
Born	Robert McDowell Parker Jr. (1947-07-23) July 23, 1947 (age 69) Baltimore, Maryland
Occupation	Wine critic
Nationality	American
Subject	Wine
Notable awards	Chevalier de L'Ordre de la Legion d'Honneur, Gran Cruz de Orden Civil from King Juan Carlos May 2011-first wine writer to receive Spain's highest civilian honor

Robert M. Parker Jr. (born July 23, 1947) is a leading U.S. wine critic with an international influence. His wine ratings on a 100-point scale and his newsletter The Wine Advocate, with his particular stylistic preferences and notetaking vocabulary, have become influential in American wine buying and are therefore a major factor in setting the prices for newly released Bordeaux wines. He is widely acknowledged to be the most widely known and influential wine critic in the world today.

Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson of the Financial Times described his as "the world's most prized palate". Likewise, Lettie Teague of The Wall Street Journal has described him as being "widely regarded as the world's most powerful wine critic". Max Lalondrelle, fine wine buying director for Berry Bros & Rudd says: "Nobody sells wine like Robert Parker. If he turns around and says 2012 is the worst vintage I’ve tasted, nobody will buy it, but if he says it’s the best, everybody will."

Parker was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His father was a construction equipment salesman. He is an honors graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, with a major in history and a minor in art history. He continued his education at University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore, graduating in 1973 with a Juris Doctor degree. He discovered wine as a student visiting Alsace, where Patricia, now his wife, was studying. For over ten years, he was assistant general counsel for the Farm Credit Banks of Baltimore; he resigned in March 1984 to devote full focus to writing about wine.

In 1975, Parker began writing a wine guidebook. Taking his cue from consumer advocate Ralph Nader, Parker wanted to write about wine without the conflicts of interest that might taint the opinions of other critics who also make a living selling wine. In 1978, he published a direct-mail newsletter called The Baltimore-Washington Wine Advocate, which was renamed The Wine Advocate in 1979. The first issue was sent free to mailing lists Parker purchased from several major wine retailers. Six hundred charter subscribers paid to receive the second issue, published in August 1978.