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| Wine Spectator | 
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| Publisher: Shanken Communications
Category: Magazine
List Price: $79.20
Buy New: $49.95
You Save: $29.25 (37%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 252
Format: Magazine Subscription
Type: Consumer magazine
Subscription Issues: 16
Subscription Length: 12 Months
Issues Per Year: 16
First Issue Lead Time: 6-10 Weeks
ASIN: B00006GXD4
Release Date: November 23, 2001
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 3 months
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| Customer Reviews:
Improved November 10, 2006
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
There's certainly a lot to hate about Wine Spectator - and, for that matter, Wine Advocate. Many winemakers decry the existence of both magazines, and usually lay the blame entirely at Robert Parker's doorstep for making the 100-point rating system an industry standard.
Wine Spectator's scores have gotten better with time, as have their articles. They've shied away from California "glitz" and have looked more into food. Also, the education classes that they list on their website are becoming increasingly more helpful.
Apparently they listened to much of the criticism and worked toward creating a more respected magazine. I think they've done well.
a glossy take on wine for the amateur and the expert August 14, 2006
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
The Wine Spectator is one of those magazines designed to reassure you that you're rich or that you soon could be, all in the context of a shared love for the fruit of the vine.
There's lots of deadly serious material in this glossy, pleasing publication. But if you're a lover of wine who is *not* rich - the category includes this reviewer - you need to learn to take it with a sense of humor. Just enjoy the game.
That game includes a travelogue of the world's wine regions as well as the possibility of gaining a decent education via month-by-month reading in viticulture and wine appreciation itself. This reader is in it for the long haul - I hope to enjoy good wine at an affordable cost for the duration of this earthly slog - and the Wine Spectator is my companion along the way.
My job takes me out for many dinners in various parts of the world that include wine-splendored places like France, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and - of course - Northern California. But with wineries now in 49 of the USA's fifty states, what's *not* a wine region these days?
On those business treks, I find myself out for dinner as often as not. It's personally satisfying to know just enough to order a Pinotage in Capetown, since only South Africa produces this varietal, or to opt for one of Argentina's persuasive Malbecs because they're just *that* good. We're not talking wine snobbery here, just satisfaction at the margins of life's all too margin-less journeys.
If this sounds like your game, the Wine Spectator may be a worthwhile investment. Even if not, consider splitting a subscription with a colleague. That's what I do. At half the price, I get a fine magazine and avoid burdening my bookshelves with one more heavy, beautiful, pleasant magazine. Life can deal you worse.
 Very educational May 31, 2006
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I subscribed to WS for a couple years in the late 90s, and loved the magazine. It keeps a balance between reviews of wines both new (which is the main emphasis) and older vintages, and background stories on vintners and so on. The writers are almost all very good (and I'm a professional writer myself) -- only one of them do I dislike and he doesn't review the wines. Both the wine connoisseur and the novice can profit from reading this publication. I only dropped the subscription because I moved and the collection, no issue of which I wished to discard, was occupying more and more space on my bookshelves.
Now I subscribe to the online edition so I can check ratings before I buy a wine. The WS, in addition to Parker and other reviewers, perform an essential service for critical consumers who can't otherwise judge whether a bottle is worth the price asked. And we need WS and Parker and all to tell us when the best reds are ready to drink -- some really great ones are not mature for more than a decade. I drank the highly rated Chateau Canon 1982, for which I'd paid over $100, 17 years after harvest, and my group could tell it wasn't ready -- still closed down. Sure enough, if I had read Spectator carefully, I'd have picked another bottle for that occasion because they said it wasn't yet mature.
Robert Parker has the reputation for being more influential for high-end wines, but Wine Spectator's scores are generally pretty close to his. And they review a broader spectrum, as noted by other commentators below. WS will often steer you to excellent buys for under $15, or even under $10. If you get only one of these per month, or steers you away from a very overpriced bottle, the subscription (about $50) pays for itself.
Great Magazine March 16, 2006
0 out of 6 found this review helpful
Not only do we love the 2 issues so far that we received of Wine Spectator, but they came earlier than the 6-10 week leadtime that we were told it would take.
Wine Reviews, News, and More December 22, 2005
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Wine Spectator is a good wine magazine that seeks to keep the reader informed about new wine products, wine facts and education, and wine events. This magazine is published 17 times per year, so it is available often enough that most wine lovers will have more than their fill of reading material.
Most of the material in Wine Spectator deals with buying wine, and you can expect to find several rating lists in every issue. The editors of the magazine supply the majority of the wine ratings, so when you read that one wine earned 95 points and another only 80, you need to keep in mind that these ratings are from the perspective of people who have sampled hundreds or even thousands of different wines. And with each rating or analysis, there is often contact information, such as the name of the winery or web page, so that you can learn more and/or inquire on making a purchase.
To help shoppers find the wines in each issue, Wine Spectator includes a detachable card that includes the names of the different featured wines. This is a handy addition, because it eliminates the need to copy down names of wine on paper or attempt to memorize the titles. All you do is check off the wines you like on the card and take it with you to your favorite beverage store for easy reference.
Wine Spectator seems to have an obsession with lists and with outlandish proclamations. It is common to find lists like "World's 100 Greatest Pinot" or "The 50 Finest California Reds". Consumers are attracted to listings, and that is probably why the magazine gave in and made lists a regular part of most issues. And it is common to find extreme statements like "This is the best Cabernet Sauvignon on the Planet" or "Greatest German White Wine Ever". The publication does this to attract attention and sell more issues, but it could get annoying to some readers.
In spite of these few annoyances, Wine Spectator is still a good magazine. The writers at Wine Spectator are very good, very convincing, and very persuasive. They really know wine, and it comes through in their articles and recommendations. The editors articulate themselves very well and they know just the right way to describe the different brands and styles. It all adds up to a very informative magazine publication on the world of wine.
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