The Final Word on Wine

In August 1978, Robert M. Parker sent the first issue of The Wine Advocate free to 600 subscribers. He would soon become the most influential person in the wine business, writing reviews that caused vintages, appellations and entire wine regions to soar in price––and crash––depending upon his verdict. He tasted wine for the first time on a holiday in France in 1967, when he was 20. He makes one appearance in A Book of Ages.