Robert Parker on Wine Trends: The Culinary Revolution

The revolution in wine quality has coincided with an extraordinary revolution in the restaurants of the world. Although France and Italy clearly dominated culinary circles 30 years ago, today the finest restaurants are often found in such unlikely places as Las Vegas, Tokyo and San Sebastián, Spain. When I first began writing about wine 30 years ago, there may have been five or six great restaurants in Washington, DC, and virtually none in my hometown of Baltimore. Today, there are 30 or 40 top restaurants in DC, and even Baltimore now has at least a dozen top restaurants. Meanwhile, New York City is arguably one of the greatest dining destinations in the world, equaled only, and somewhat surreally, by Las Vegas. (Who in the world could have predicted that?)

Robert Parker: 30 Years of Wine Trends

• The Rise of the Winemaking Consultant
• The World’s Most Influential Wine Consultants
• The Rise of the Wine Critic
• The Culinary Revolution
• The Explosion of Diversity in Wine
• Exciting New Wine Regions
• The New Philosophy of Winemaking
• The Creation of Healthier Vineyards
• Wine Is Now Number One
• Huge Increases in Popularity and High Prices

Published September 2008