11 Replies to “And You Thought Those Wine Spectator Awards Were Worth Something?”

  1. The program is silly because what is on a list, sent by the restaurant for what is essentially an advertising campaign, is just one part of wine service. I would rather go to a neighborhood restaurant that has reasonably priced wines, or to a restaurant with a sommelier who knows wines and can recommend something out of the ordinary and good, but not necessarily on the 90+ list from The Wine Spectator.

    And this is chuckle worthy, regardless of the value of the program.

  2. i still think the program is “a good thing”.

    but yeah, it’s all a bit interesting. the best part for me is that the WS got a chance to explain the program to the naysayers who otherwise would have continued saying nay without ever knowing how it works.

    those who say “see, you pay money and you get listed” are obviously knee deep in logical fallacy.

  3. Bainbridge simply quoted at length from the spoofer’s web site.

    But it’s still a stupid idea, that some wine magazine will be able to evaluate a wine list and give some objective seal of approval to the restaurant.

    It is advertising: no more, no less.

  4. it’s advertising in the sense that a restaurant is paying WS for the seal of approval? I have no actual knowledge of the WS’s business model or their ad revenue, but I’m pretty sure that the 250 bucks from these restaurants is nothing in relation to their advertising income. the 250 dollar “fee” is probably to cover some basic costs, and to deter morons like this one from taking advantage and wasting their time.

    They’re basing their evaluation on, at the very least, i would think, their own scores. they’re not just “some magazine” in this context. they’re being subjective in that regard, not objective. they are a magazine that rates wine for cryin’ out loud.

    the WS states that this program was put in place to hopefully raise the bar on wine lists in restaurants. i just haven’t seen a persuasive argument that will make me believe that the program’s goal is any less noble than that, and certainly none to make me believe that it’s “advertising, no more, no less.”

  5. It is an income stream for the magazine. There are thousands of listings, and at a minimum of $250 per entry my guess is it is more than $1,000,000. Not bad for a niche magazine, especially when the costs don’t seem to include comprehensive verification!

    But you are correct ultimately. It is a wine rating magazine, nothing more.

  6. i have no idea, but you’re suggesting that there are 4000 restaurants who get this certification or whatever it is every year, and every year they submit the application and the fee. i’ll buy that if that’s the case.

    i don’t think 1,000,000 is enough revenue stream for the wine spectator to risk compromising their reputation. but you seem to have some issue with the magazine in general, so it’s not possible to argue any of these points really.

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