The Spokesman Review by Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue
December 17, 2019

The holiday season is when magazines, newspapers and critics publish their lists of top wines released throughout the year. These rankings generate buzz and, according to wineries and retailers, significant sales. Most influential is Wine Spectator magazine, which conducts blind tastings at its offices in New York and California’s Napa Valley.

Some might argue that attorney-turned-critic Robert Parker has been more influential, but while the Wine Advocate newsletter he founded and the 100-point scoring system he developed remain popular, Wine Spectator has a greater reach with a reported circulation of 400,000 print subscribers and 3 million readers.

Historically, wines from the Pacific Northwest have performed well on the tasting panels for publisher Marvin R. Shanken and executive editor Thomas Matthews. In the past year, their staff reviewed more than 15,000 wines from around the world, and seven Northwest wines cracked Spectator’s Top 100. Read the entire article featuring Chateau Ste Michelle, Mark Ryan Winery and more, on The Spokesman Review.

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