Empire Change: Parker sells The Wine Advocate

[Roy Hersh]

Wow, talk about a major change in the game: http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2012/1 ... as-editor/

[Marc J.]

That's HUGE news...

[Eric Ifune]

WOW!

[Paul Fountain]

It will be really interesting to watch the direction they choose to take it. Clearly there will be more focus on the Asian consumers, but can they do that and maintain their US subscriber base?

[Andy Velebil]

Yes WOW, is right. Will be interesting to see what direction it heads as this plays out.

[Roy Hersh]

Paul,

That duality will not be easy. But if they do keep the current crop of writers intact (only Lisa and Neal are not USA based), then they do have a chance to pull this off. It will be interesting to see who else they do bring into the mix. I truly hope Mark Squires coverage of Portuguese table wines remains as well. With 2011 Vintage Port general declaration, all but a certainty from my perspective ... this is not news ... Neal Martin will have his first shot at critiquing VP cask samples or more than likely "finished bottles". I am very much looking forward to his first VP report in the Wine Advocate.

[Moses Botbol]

Good him, I hope he got a pretty penny for what he built.

[Tom D.]

"Another surprising step for the fiercely independent publication is that it is to start accepting advertising, though spaces will be limited to luxury lifestyle rather than wine-related companies."

Since there is no "luxury lifestyle" without big inflated scores to chase, I guess this means WA will continue to accomodate in that regard.


Thus, continued irrelevance for WA in my little world.

[Ray Barnes]

I have been under the impression that Mr. Parker still retains ownership of the WA, although he is no longer the editor-in-chief. I believe he sold a portion of his holdings in the company to facilitate expansion of operations into Asia. The company's head office will remain in Monkton, MD. Considering that he is now 65 years of age, I am not surprised by this development. What does concern me somewhat is that his future (solely electronic) publications will include advertising from non-wine organizations. His purported independence will be contingent upon the actions of his sponsors, and that is IMHO risky.

[Moses Botbol]

Watch LVMH be the major advertiser...

[Eric Menchen]

$15 million: http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2012/12/ ... 15-million

[Moses Botbol]

$15 million: http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2012/12/ ... 15-million

Sounds like a win - win for that price.

[Tom D.]

$15 million: http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2012/12/ ... 15-million

That's a pretty hefty multiple of subscription revenue. They plainly have plans to leverage the WA name and substantially enhance revenue, and I'm guessing it won't be limited to just selling advertisements.

[Moses Botbol]

They could easily make that money back by allowing bottles to have their WA rating on the wine labels for a fee. 50 cents a bottle and money is back in no time...

[Ray Barnes]

If Mr. Parker does indeed get $15 million out of this, my nunch is that he will offer to buy (or into) Chateau Lafleur in Pomerol, something he has gone on record as saying he has dreamt of doing.

[Steve Pollack]

Roy, I sincerely hope that you are not in discussions to sell FTLOP!