I’ve decided to let my subscription to Wine Spectator lapse once it runs out this year. Those who read this blog know that I often poke fun at the magazine and that I occasionally deride it for its undue influence on wine drinkers. There are many factors that have brought me to this current decision, not the least of which was the incident last year where the editors of Wine Spectator anointed a non-existent Italian restaurant with an Award of Excellence. In the aftermath, the magazine’s executive editor claimed “dishonesty” on the prankster’s part, but I still 
feel that this line of defense smacked of damage control. To me, Wine Spectator was somewhat dishonest to its readers for not doing the minimal legwork in the first place.
But even though Wine Spectator was certainly exposed for some sloppy fact-checking in 2008, I had never liked that annual restaurant issue anyhow. To me, the issue has always read like a phone book, and with the magazine receiving more than $1 million in submission fees for these “awards,” these listings are nothing more than a thinly veiled form of advertisement. It’s filler in lieu of actual editorial content, which is disappointing. Along these same lines, I have also noticed that Wine Spectator features far too many two-page ads that are designed to look like articles. I find this whole practice really boorish and tacky, quite frankly. I always feel duped when I flip through the magazine and begin to read what I think is an article, only to notice the subtle “Advertisement” disclaimer at the top of the page. It’s the magazine equivalent of the pop-up ad.
Wine Spectator does put together a pretty good issue now and then, and I have always said that I enjoy reading the insightful columns by Matt Kramer. I think the main difference for me lately has been the point ratings. Of course, I have often said that I hate the very idea of points and their ridiculous influence on winemakers and consumers. But at the same time, I’ve always held the Wine Spectator scores in morbid curiosity, interested to see who was receiving the big numbers and who was being slighted. However, I had a bit of an epiphany when I was reading the recent Cabernet issue, and I realized that year in and year out, you see the same exact wineries at the top of the list: Colgin, Bryant Family, Araujo, Harlan, and some others. I’m certainly not saying that these wineries are undeserving; I’m saying that the list itself has become predictable and uninteresting.
And so by now, I feel like I have a pretty good idea about what the editors over at Wine Spectator like and dislike. Years of readership have gotten me to this point, and I think that it’s time for me to move on, once and for all. Perhaps canceling my subscription to Wine Spectator represents a milestone in my own evolution as a wine drinker, just as subscribing to the magazine represented its own milestone several years ago. There was a time when the pages of Wine Spectator were all Greek to me, and now I feel as though I’ve finally become fluent in the language. Furthermore, the opinions of the magazine just don’t carry the same weight that they once did — they’re just opinions, after all. And as I’ve learned over the years, it’s much more enriching to form your own opinions anyhow.
