I don’t usually repost the nonsense that’s zipping along the grapevine but this is good stuff. A guy made a fictional restaurant with a small Internet presence (a website, some reviews on chowhound) and a phone number.

He comes up with a huge wine list that includes some of the lowest-rated Italian wines of the past century according to Wine Spectator. He then submits his restaurant to the WS restaurant guide with a $250 application fee.

He gets an award of exellence. Nice. Very nice.

Now, what we should draw from this is that Wine Spectator is not a journalistic source in this mess. It’s just a republisher of information. A real periodical would have had somebody on the ground to make sure the restaurant even existed. But it’s a big magazine and they have some sections that are fluffier than others.

That said, I have a large amount of respect for The Wine Spectator because they rated the wines I sent them. They had no obligation or financial incentive. They just have some reviewers who were willing to taste and evaluate some new wines from O’Vineyards. That means that they’re cool in my book.

blog post by the award-winner: http://osterialintrepido.wordpress.com/
wine spectator’s response: http://forums.winespectator.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6826053161/m/835102245