November 25 2007
While certainly not new news as it dates to September of this year, there hasn’t been much of a ripple in the wine blogging world or offline wine press regarding the launch of the Robert Parker and Kevin Zraly wine certification program.
Frankly, this under-reporting surprises me. In my opinion, this certification program, if properly executed, has the opportunity to topple the perilously perched, fractured and very inconsistent world of wine certification and leave a lasting legacy for Parker that lasts long after his famous palate has ceased to provide relevancy to the wine world.
Hyperbole? I think not.
How can this fawning not be hyperbole? It’s simple. Besides the obvious notion that Kevin Zraly has long written and updated the definitive starter book for wine enthusiasm, the fact that they are creating a three-tier certification program spanning enthusiasm to expertise means they are swallowing up the entire spectrum of consumer fandom as an entry to being a Connoisseur, before heading to being an “expert.” Reportedly, the “expert” level will rival those of professional certifications and include a meeting for a blind tasting with Parker and Zraly. Basically, there is an opportunity to brand an entire generation of wine education online while consolidating consumer education with that of professional education into one gold standard for wine knowledge.
What they aren’t saying, however, is that this is a likely attempt to vertically consolidate the completely fragmented wine certification market under the aegis of Parker. And, while this may, initially, be presented to consumers, that can’t be the long-term target. Consumers don’t get certified. Consumers get educated. Professionals get certified. This is clearly called a “Wine Certification” program.
The program starts with eight individually administered tests, covering various regions that make up the first stage of the three stage certification. Each test is $30, is taken online and timed to be have the 50 questions completed in less than 60 minutes. A passing score is 80/100, a “B” on the standard academic 100 point scale.
Naysayers should hold their tongue in applying any punditry to an 80 not being a serviceable score in the world of wine scoring.
Level II of the certification—Connoisseur of Wine (CW) will launch in March of ’08 and Level III—Expert of Wine will launch in September of ’08.
I will watch this certification program with curiosity to see how the business development relationships take shape in order to expand influence. Parker, long notorious for forsaking any advertising and anything that smacks of implying a cozy relationship, will have to expand his reach in order to create anything close to approximating market definition. That said, however, there is a tremendous opportunity to create some standardization around wine knowledge and now is a good time to seize that opportunity. With consumption trends up across the board, having something approximating a consistent baseline of knowledge is sorely needed in the wine industry and subsequently for its customers—wine is increasingly transparent and the industry is seen from the inside out by consumers.
Likewise, it will be interesting to see if they do any sort of online effort to increase awareness—having some sort of online badge for wine bloggers would serve their interests, as well as the bloggers, aiming for a high-level of integrity.
I’m starting the Level I courses. Anybody interested in joining me?
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