I've been to wine merchants and often saw this book in the hands of customers and, at some shops, available for users. As I've started to enjoy wine (went to Napa for the first time in my life at 58 even though I have been up to San Francisco many times!!) I thought I'd invest in this book. There is so much knowledge here and a fair amount of sharing it that I am overwhelmed and pleased. This book is for anyone who is at all interested in wine. I feel he is very honest and not as much as a snob as I was expecting. I also purchased a copy of this book for one of my friends as a Xmas present. Also based on this book I purchased a bottle of Zin for the same friend.

Mostly this book is just a synopsis of the latest point ratings and a summary on the wine producers. As noted by others, there aren't actually reviews for each wine, so you're left to buy a wine based simply on the "Parker Points" awarded. The introductory portion is merely a repeat of past books.

To me the best parts were the region summaries of the Loire, Germany, and Burgundy (which I believe were all produced by David Schildknecht). I've heard fans of Italian wines also laude Galloni's summary of Italy.

It's also worth noting that although Parker has indicated that most (60%) wines are purchased and "tasted blind when possible", recent conversations on his online forum indicate that he apparently may not follow these policies any longer, leading me to question what really is his stance on blind tasting and critical independence.

it depends on the reader as to whether or not this book is worth it

For anyone who drinks, sells, buys, and in any way touches, or is at all interested in wine, this latest edition is a must-have and must-read. Take it with you when wine-shopping. When visiting wineries, bring it along. Or, while curled up by the fire in your favorite chair with a new bottle you've never tried, just absorbing the history, facts, and data put forth in this book. It's absolutely invaluable to own. Obviously, this newest and very exhaustive-effort by Robert Parker Jr. just continues the foundation he's built on with his previous editions. As a fellow history-major in college, I completely understand and appreciate the need for extensive research, thorough documentation, and back-up to your conclusions. His "million-dollar-nose," the "epiphany" he had with food and wine in France in the summer of 1967, his ability to recall nearly every wine he's ever tasted, as well as the scores he gave them (easily more than 250,000 and counting), gives him the pinnacle of credibility he justly deserves within the "wine universe." I feel his greatest contribution has been the "democratization of wine," that started when he founded and published the first issue of "The Wine Advocate" in 1978, his numerical-rating system, as well as all the other pertinent notes for each wine tasted (the effect of the weather, crop-yields, soil types, year-to-year comparisons, pricing, aging potential, etc.), is without equal. In 2000, worldwide over-production of wine was running 25% and has increased yearly since then. From a supply-demand standpoint, this should have led to an overall downward-trend, or stabilization in prices, but it hasn't. Wine still has the aura of an "elite" beverage, and this is where his numerical-rating system is the most valuable. To accurately reflect what a wine is worth, and should cost, regardless of terroir, winery/chateau and family lineage, conscious manipulation of supply, media-hype, labeling, etc. Unfortunately, as with every "point"-system devised, some take it to the extreme in the form of a competition, like we did when we were kids--to see who had the best baseball-card collection. These are the "Parker-pointer's," those who collect nothing but all "95's", "97's", or "98's", and sadly, don't drink, enjoy, or share them, but hoard them as some form of bragging rights. Regardless, for the rest of us, take the 1,400+ pages of numerical-ratings and winery notes of more than 8,000 wines, and use it to make better-informed and more value-conscious wine purchases. The rest of the book, as mentioned before, contains a wealth of other information on the wine industry itself, wine production, retailing guidelines we should watch out for, wine-with-food, collecting vs. consuming, line-frauds, etc. If you're just starting a wine-library, or already have one, this book will be a very welcome addition.

Reviewed by Phil LeBrun

As indicated from other reviews, the major drawback is that written descriptions of the wines are omitted, only the scores are provided. However, based on the size of the book, I realize you cannot have the best of both worlds. For those who may not subscribe to his website nor his newsletter, this is a nice book to have. I thought it was well worth the Amazon price.

Note: Also as indicated, nice essays are included prior to each section by the reviewer for that area.

I was surprised by the length of this book. Its over 1500 pages. Plenty of information and I liked that he covered several vintage years for each region and gave a reason (primarily weather) why some vintages were better than others. The reason I gave this book 4 stars and not 5 was because I found it was lacking information on new world wines. Most of his attention was focused on French wines.

You can't tell the players without a scorecard and Parker is my most reliable scorer. I have all of his prior books and this one is essential to me for the wines produced between 2000 and 2005. Since I don't subscribe to his publications I rely on these books he writes. Too bad he took so long to write this one since it has been six (6) years since his last one. So this book is something I had to buy and to date I haven't been disappointed. Somewhat different format from previous editions in that he doesn't talk about specific vintage but rather gives general comments and then only scores by year. Nevertheless I found the book helpful and specific and recommend the purchase.

Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide No. 7 is outstanding. It is chock full of information and insights that are extremely helpful in purchasing and exploring wines from the most significant critic of our time and his team. Whether you're an experienced `cork dork' like me or new to buying fine wine, this guide helps immensely. Parker and his team start from the simple point of view that the best producers consistently make the best wine. Emphasis is put on ranking the producers as well as describing the wine regions and the styles of wines within the region. For many of the producers, a description of a number of their wines and their numerical scores are provided as a basis for the team's final assessment. Armed with this guide, one can make great choices. You leave for the wine store armed with a list of producers of the style of wine you want that fits you budget.
As always with Parker, his views are independent of outside influence and given with the style and candor that has earned him worldwide respect. The preface is a commentary looking back over his 30 years in this business. I found it fascinating.

I've read and still have every Parker Wine Buyer's Guide since the first edition back in the 1980's. That first one will always be special for me because it was a gift from my wife and, more than any other book, it was my introduction to fine wine (and to Parker, for that matter). As my interest in wine and my cellar have grown so has the Wine Buyer's Guide. That first edition was 731 pages (in paperback) and this newest one is 1513 in hardback.

One can now accurately say the book covers virtually the entire world of wine. With contributions by Parker and by the entire team he's assembled at The Wine Advocate, there are now chapters on the major South American producing countries, Central Europe, Israel and South Africa. Traditional regions, such as Champagne, that got "token" coverage in the first edition (1.5 pages of general information on the region followed by tasting notes on recent vintages) now get extensive coverage (12 fact filled pages on the region followed by 10 pages of commentary on the best producers).

I remember reading the first edition from cover to cover over the Christmas - New Year holiday. This latest edition might well take me an entire year!

In fact, to call it a "guide" now really approaches a misnomer. This is really a comprehensive treatise on wine, the countries and regions that produce it and the best producers that populate those regions.

What's missing? Well, in prior editions, tasting notes have been provided for recent vintages of many of the wines. For the most part these are now just listings of recent vintages with their rating. I guess you can't have it all -- not if the book is to be held to a single, albeit large, volume and, at least for me, a two-volume "guide" is a bit of an enigma.

Is it a one book wine library? Not quite. But if you have room for only one wine book on your shelf and you're mostly after the facts it is probably the best choice out there.

A new Parker book is always something to look forward to , and this one doesn't let you down.

Much better than previose edition concerning France.More info about particular wines of each producer.Champagne chapter could be more consistant.New world chapters didn't took much energy from auther too.The big solid thick book about american wines

Breathtakingly brief, in a good way, the majority of this guide is a line item list of offerings by vintage within winery, within region. Parker includes short notes on each winery, vintages as a whole, and points out relevant changes to wineries. He also provides some throwaway advice in the beginning of the book on storage, aging, and the like. The brief winery notes, typically a paragraph per, are worth the cost alone.

Parker's ratings and comments are useful to have even if you don't care for him, as they are firmly embedded in the wine criticism conversation at the top tier.

One has to ask if it's better to subscribe to Parker's online service, however. You will get all that's in this book and quite a bit more, plus it will be available to you with a mobile device at the store or restaurant. The cost, while more than this volume, is still relatively modest.

Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide, Robert M. Parker, Jr., Simon and Schuster, New York, 2008, 1513 pages, softback, $35. Four pounds of numbers. For $35 you get pages and pages filled with no specific wine descriptions, just lists and lists of the numerical score on the one hundred point scale. I don't get it. For years whenever the 100 point scale has been debated Parker has always responded that a reader should never just rely on the number he gives to a wine. The reader must also consider the written evaluation of the wine. Indeed he makes this same point in the introduction to this work. "However, it is also vital to consider the description of the wine's style, personality and potential." If it is "vital" why have all of these descriptions been stripped out this book? All that the author provides is the score and a window of drinkability. Other than some general comments about the winery as a whole, there are no specific comments about any of the wines. So a wine gets a score of 94 but will it go well with duck confit? No guidance is given at all. The reader deserves far more.


Given that Parker is the most influential wine critic in the world, I would have thought that before making derogatory remarks about a wine producer, he would have done extensive detailed research about the wines. Not so. Parker takes a swipe at the wines of Kosta-Browne stating that, "I find them somewhat superficial and overripe." (Pages 1194) Here is a winery that made its reputation on small lots of Sonoma County Pinot Noir. But Parker only lists scores on two pinots, both from the Central Coast, not Sonoma County. I thought that perhaps other Kosta Browne wines sourced from Sonoma grapes might have been tasted but dropped from this work because of space limitations. But when one goes to the Parker's web site, the only tasting notes are on these same two Central Coast pinots. Wouldn't you think a powerful critic is under an ethical obligation to taste all, or most, of the wines from a producer (especially their best wines) before publicly disparaging them?


To be fair, I really liked the section of the book that presents an annotated bibliography of wine books. Thankfully the books get more than just a naked numerical rating.
Parker afficionados will probably adore this work from their guru. I find it frustrating and missing key components. Not Recommended.

Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide Nº 7 is an astonishing compendium on wine written by the world's foremost wine critic in concert with his entire new Wine Advocate team. The Guide covers every wine region of any consequence on the planet, and includes a bit of history, a comprehensive survey of the wines of each area, discussion and ratings of all the relevant producers in each region, and poignant essays that cut to the heart of all the major contemporary issues of all of these regions. There is no other comparable work with the comprehensive coverage, the insightful commentary, and the ratings of thousands of wines from recent vintages that this seventh edition of Parker's popular guide provides.

By leaving out the detailed individual tasting notes of previous editions, probably to keep it at a slim 1513 pages, this book has reinvented the consumer wine guide yet again. It now begs to be read cover to cover (it really does, and I did), rather than be used simply to look up a favored wine or a favorite region, though it still works perfectly for the quick pre-purchase look-up: all the scores for wines of recent vintages are there. The detailed tasting notes can readily be found on Parker's website, though it requires a subscription (which is well worth it for everything else going on there nowadays), but curiously, they aren't even missed. The unencumbered flow of text and lists has completely re-energized the Guide. It facilitates the enthusiast's quest for quick answers about a wine or region, as well as quenching even the most insatiable thirst for all details vinous, including insider information about winemakers and their winemaking approaches, and a thorough, candid, and unbiased read of what's good, what's great, and what's not.

Parker's essays on all matters of wine in his forty page introduction, and David Schildknecht's extensive essays on Alsace, Austria, Burgundy, and Germany are worth the book's tariff alone. Then add the insights and critical assessments by the new members of his team that includes Dr. Jay Miller on Spain, Australia, South America, Washington, and Oregon; Antonio Galloni on Italy; Mark Squires on Portugal and the wines of Israel; the indefatigable and completely British Neal Martin on New Zealand and South Africa; and of course, the master himself on Bordeaux, the Rhone, and California wine, and the benchmark for wine writing has been raised to new heights. And I've left out many other regions covered. This wine buyer's guide not only meets the need for every wine buyer from the occasional purchaser to the obsessed enthusiast, it exceeds all previous expectations of the genre. And Parker invented the genre.