This is the story of how an American lawyer raised on Coca-Cola caused a revolution in the way wines around the globe are made, sold, and talked about.

The world's most influential wine critic, Robert M. Parker, Jr., has dominated the international wine community for the last quarter century, embodying the triumph of American taste. Using Parker's story as a springboard, author Elin McCoy offers an authoritative and unparalleled insider's view of the eccentric personalities, bitter feuds, controversies, and secrets of the wine world. She explains how reputations are made and how and why critics agree and disagree, and she tracks the startling ways wines are judged, promoted, made, and sold -- while painting a fascinating portrait of a modern-day cultural colossus who revolutionized the way the world thinks about wine.

I am no fan of Robert Parker, but am better off as a wine enthusiast for having read Elin McCoy's biography.

As the title suggests, McCoy's book is divided into two parts: the incredible rise of Parker as a wine reviewer and then his role leading the American influence over the global wine industry. In addition to educating me about the man, I also learned a ton about the wine industry in general, especially the history and culture of the Bordeaux and Burgundy regions in France.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about wine and the impact America has had on the global industry.

McCoy provides an incredible amount of context and detail to Parker's story, at times making the narrative too extracted, like many of the wines Parker recommends. But she is to be excused, for this usually offers needed support for telling the Parker story in the context of American taste.

In fact, the second half of the book becomes less about Parker and more about "the reign of American taste" over the global wine industry. This influence, which Parker clearly served as the catalyst for, has had a profound impact on the types and styles of wine being made around the world. McCoy does an excellent job detailing the downside of this trend, in terms of the homogenization of wine as a result of American preference for fruitier, sweeter, fuller wines.

In reading this book, I appreciate even more the difference between tasting vs. drinking wine. I share in McCoy's concern that Parker's palate maintains a strong influence over which wines thrive, if not survive, in the marketplace. Whenever one person dictates not only what should be drunk, but also how wine should be made, all wine consumers will suffer.

Wine is enjoying a modern rebirth in the psyche of popular society. Yet for all the diversity, much of what we are drinking has been crafted to appeal to a "mass market modern taste".

Robert Parker is to be praised and blamed. One of the greatest and most flawed wine critics, he helped to introduce the 100-point rating system and bring wine to North Americans attention. Sadly, despite touting himself a wine critic for the people, most of the wines he raves about and recommends in his "Wine Advocate" remain out of reach for the majority of everyday wine consumers. To be the Emperor of Wine is a dubious position.

If you read this book and "The Judgment of Paris" by George Taber, you'll get a great and deep understanding of the modern wine industry. I also recommend "Noble Rot". The three most accessible and stimulating books on the social aspects of wine drinking and the politics behind the glamour of the grape.

I loved this book. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. If you are into wine and subscribe to Parker's website or newsletter this is a must read. A fasinating perspective on the world's most influencial wine critic.

Good overview describing how robert parker became robert parker. No big nuggets, but well written and good insights and background since parker clearly cooperated with the writer, who is a wine critic in her own right and thus understands the business. Informative and a good story while also telling you how the wine industry works and how it evolved from the days of Almaden to today.

Parker has almost made me a beleiver. But why does it take 100 points to tell him if it tastes good or not. I can do it in 20.