San Francisco, CA: Robert Parker Wine Advocate and RobertParker.com, the world’s most widely read independent consumer’s guide to fine wine, announced last Friday that it will unveil a new website on April 1, 2016.    The announcement was made during a press conference featuring Robert M. Parker, Jr. and the publication’s entire 9-member review team at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. The nine reviewers including Robert Parker, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW, Jeb Dunnuck, Luis Gutierrez, Monica Larner, Neal Martin, Stephan Reinhardt, Mark Squires and Liwen Hao convened in New York for the Wine Advocate’s signature Matter of Taste tour as part of a global series of exclusive events for RobertParker.com members and guests. The press conference included an overview of the highlights of new offerings on the redesigned RobertParker.com website, where Wine Advocate Editor-in-Chief Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW walked the press through a beta version, currently available to subscribers at beta.robertparker.com as of February 20, 2016.   Perrotti-Brown said, “We are incredibly excited to at last unveil our new website. The lengthy process of transforming and improving our old database has been a painstaking labor of love. The new, robust search facility enables our members to more easily access the wealth of tasting notes, articles and resources we host on our website.”   The website includes a variety of new features, beginning with a new design and functionality. The aesthetic is particularly informed by the Wine Advocate’s dedicated photographer, Johan Berglund, whose beautiful images have won a host of awards in his native Sweden including “Picture of the Year” and “Photographer of the Year.” Berglund cites the Bordeaux region as his most enduring muse and has said of his work, “I feel a great connection between wine and documentary photography. In both cases they represent a window through time to a moment in history frozen by a cork or the release of a shutter.”   The revamped RobertParker.com will also include an enhanced search capability, enabling members to search the entire Wine Advocatedatabase of more than 300,000 tasting notes with a powerful and intuitive proprietary search tool, which features nine different filter criteria including searches by color, sweetness, type, variety, rating, author, price and location(s). Articles will now be searchable for the first time, using the same advanced search filters as the site’s tasting notes. A new wine information page will also include bottle shots and relevant vintage chart material.   Finally, fans of the popular dining section of RobertParker.com, Hedonist’s Gazette, will find far more flexible search capabilities when searching for specific restaurants, destinations, recommendations and/or wines.   Perrotti-Brown continued, “We could not have achieved our goals without the tireless efforts of our wine-loving IT director, Augustine Low. We also have the passionate efforts of our own review team to thank, who have spent many hours reviewing the site from their various perspectives, ensuring it meets all our many requirements. The clean, modern design, look and feel were created by Brand Union in Singapore and have been greatly enhanced with the images supplied our new photographer Johan Berglund. I couldn’t be more proud of our team and their results.”   In addition to news about the website, the Robert Parker Wine Advocate team outlined a few other recent initiatives at the media event, including the expansion of the publication’s global presence and reach by the recent hiring of Liwen Hao as its new Asian Wine Reviewer. A Chinese national and experienced wine writer and educator, Liwen Hao is based in Shanghai. His responsibilities now include reviewing Asia’s best wines including those from China, India and Japan. He will also be overseeing the translation of parts of the RobertParker.com website and database in simplified Chinese. The Chinese version of RobertParker.com is expected to launch in June 2016. Finally, Robert Parker Wine Advocate recently opened a new office in Napa, California to house its expanding editorial, marketing and business development teams. Perrotti-Brown relocated from Singapore to Napa to manage operations from the new west coast headquarters.     About Robert Parker Wine Advocate For more than 35 years, The Wine Advocate, and later RobertParker.com, have been the global leader and independent consumer’s guide to fine wine. The brand was established by the internationally recognized, Robert M. Parker, Jr., the only critic in any field to receive the highest Presidential honor from three countries – France, Italy and Spain. Robert Parker Wine Advocate provides a wealth of information to its subscribers, including a searchable database of more than 300,000 professional wine ratings and reviews, plus articles, videos, daily news content, online retail availability and pricing, an active, professionally moderated bulletin board, a mobile app for easy access to the comprehensive online database of reviews, and much more. For more information, visit www.RobertParker.com or follow @Wine_Advocate on Twitter. For more information on the Matter of Taste tour, visit http://www.a-matter-of-taste.com and follow #MatterOfTaste on Twitter.

  Global Series of Exclusive Wine Experiences to Feature Top Rated Wines from Around the World on Saturday, February 20, 2016 Robert Parker Wine Advocate (RobertParker.com), considered the world’s most recognized authority on wine, is bringing its Matter of Taste tour to New York City on Saturday, February 20th at the elegant Mandarin Oriental hotel as part of a global series of exclusive events for RobertParker.com members and guests.   A no-holds-barred wine tasting experience, Matter of Taste New York is built around an all-star cast of Wine Advocate Reviewers and 150+ of their favorite wines. The globe-trotting Matter of Taste walkabout tastings have celebrated different regional themes with each city, but the wine focus of New York’s installment will be “Reviewers’ Choice: Icon Wines of the World.” All eight reviewers on the publication’s expert team – led by Robert M. Parker Jr. himself – have nominated their favorite finds from throughout the wine world to feature at New York’s Matter of Taste, all of which have been scored 90 points or above.   Events will include a VIP preview hour, the grand walk-around tasting as well as a selection of rare wine Master Classes. There will also be range of intimate, exclusive dinners on offer on the days surrounding the events, at some of New York City’s most feted and sumptuous restaurants.   Held from 2pm-6 pm in the grand Ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the walkabout will include an unrivaled line-up of some of the world’s most incredible wines, spanning a vast range of grapes, regions and styles. Rock star winemakers will be pouring their wines, including iconic names such as: Château Pontet-Canet (Pauillac), Château Haut-Bailly (Pessac-Leognan), Verite (California), Cayuse (Washington), Clarenden Hills (Australia), Cullen (Australia), Greywacke (NZ), Kumeu River (NZ), Niepoort (Portugal), Fontodi (Tuscany), JJ Prum (Germany) and Marcus Molitor (Germany) – just to name a few!   Three Master Classes will be offered onsite throughout the day of the grand tasting.  Estate Director Don Weaver and winemaker Cory Empting will host a seminar on Harlan Estate, often referred to as California’s “First Growth”. A Master Class featuring Lokoya will focus on a library selection of vintages from the famed winery’s mountain appellations, hosted by Lokoya winemaker Chris Carpenter. Vintage Port enthusiasts will enjoy “A Century of Colheitas, The Jewel of Ports,” during which Wine Advocate reviewer Mark Squires will take guests through a century of his favorite Colheitas including the legendary Taylor Fladgate & Yeatman’s 1863. A complete list of featured wines as well as tickets for both the Grand Tasting and all the Master Classes are available at a-matter-of-taste.com/.   “Matter of Taste is our way of saying a heartfelt thank you to our members who we know are the most passionate & knowledgeable wine lovers on the planet,” said Wine Advocate Editor-in-Chief Lisa Perrotti-Brown. “It’s a tasting for members to experience world-class wines in an entirely new way while meeting the winemakers and estate owners who craft them. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to welcome new members into the world of The Wine Advocate.”   The Matter of Taste series commenced in 2014 and has since traveled to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, London, Chicago, Miami, Manila, Jakarta and San Francisco. Following New York, the tour will head back to London on April 21, 2016.   Annual members of eRobertParker.com are entitled to discounted tickets ($120) to the Matter of Taste Grand Tasting. Non-member tickets are $180 and include a one-year membership to eRobertParker.com and access to over 400,000 professional wine reviews and articles. All Master Classes are $180 each. Tickets may be booked during the pre-sale window from December 16th 12 Noon EST until December 23rd 12 Noon EST, for $120.  General ticket sales will commence from December 23rd at 12 Noon EST onward. Further details and booking information are available at a-matter-of-taste.com/.     About Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate           For more than 35 years, The Wine Advocate, and later RobertParker.com, has been the global leader and independent consumer’s guide to fine wine. The brand was established by world-famous Robert M. Parker, Jr., the only critic in any field to receive the highest Presidential honor from three countries – France, Italy and Spain. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate provides a wealth of information to its subscribers, including a searchable database of more than 400,000 professional wine ratings and reviews plus articles, videos, daily news content, online retail availability and pricing, an active, professionally moderated bulletin board, a mobile app for easy access to the comprehensive online database of reviews, and much more. For more information, visit http://www.RobertParker.com.   For Media Queries please contact:         Kimberly Charles or Alexandra Fondren Charles Communications Associates +1 (415) 701-9463 press@charlescomm.com  

  Global Series of Exclusive Wine Experiences to Feature Top Rated Wines from California, Oregon and New Zealand on Saturday, November 14, 2015     San Francisco, CA (October 8, 2015) – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (eRobertParker.com), the world’s most recognized authority on wine, is bringing its inaugural Matter of Taste tour to San Francisco on Saturday, November 14th at the elegant Palace Hotel, as part of a global series of exclusive events for eRobertParker.com members and guests.   A no-holds-barred wine tasting experience, Matter of Taste San Francisco is built around 150 of the most iconic Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays of California, Oregon and New Zealand, as well as cult-classic Rhone blends from California’s original Rhone Ranger pioneers. Each featured wine is rated 90+ points by The Wine Advocate and hand-picked by Editor in Chief, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, and Reviewer Jeb Dunnuck.   Taking a connoisseur's look at ‘The New World Across Terroirs’, Matter of Taste San Francisco offers a chance to compare and contrast winemaking styles and terroirs, demonstrating how these noble grapes thrive in some of the New World’s most significant wine regions. The Grand Tasting will be held from 1:00pm – 6:00pm at the Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco, and will provide eRobertParker.commembers and guests with the opportunity to get up close and personal with the vintners behind some of the world's most extraordinary wines in a casual walk-around tasting atmosphere.   In addition to the Grand Tasting, three exclusive Master Classes will be offered for those who wish to delve a bit deeper. Perrotti-Brown will host ‘Single Vineyard Chardonnay,’ featuring 12 classic (RP 92–99) wines, including examples from Kumeu River, Paul Hobbs, Morlet and nine other producers. Perrotti-Brown will also moderate ‘Pinot Noir Across Terroir,’ including ten excellent (RP 93-98) scoring wines from Rippon, Kistler, Paul Lato and Calera. A special ‘Rhone Titans of California’ Master Class, will be co-hosted by John Alban (of Alban Vineyards) and Jeb Dunnuck, and will also include Andy Smith of DuMOL Wines, Allison Tauziet of Colgin Cellars and Justin Smith of Saxum Vineyards. A complete list of featured wines as well as tickets for both the Grand Tasting and all three Master Classes are available at a-matter-of-taste.com/.   “Matter of Taste is our way of saying a heartfelt thank you to our members who we know are the most knowledgeable wine lovers on the planet,” said Perrotti-Brown. “It’s a tasting for members to experience world-class wines in an entirely new way while meeting the winemakers and estate owners who craft them. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to welcome new members into the world of Robert Parker.”   The Matter of Taste series commenced in 2014 with events in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur followed in 2015 by London, Chicago and Miami. Following San Francisco, the tour will travel to New York City on February 20, 2016, featuring ‘Iconic Wines of the World: Reviewers’ Choice.’     Annual members of eRobertParker.com are entitled to discounted tickets ($50) to the Matter of Taste Grand Tasting. Non-member tickets ($99) include a one-year membership to eRobertParker.com and access to over 500,000 professional wine reviews and articles. All Master Classes are $80. Further details and booking information are available at a-matter-of-taste.com/.   About Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate            For more than 35 years, The Wine Advocate, and later RobertParker.com, has been the global leader and independent consumer’s guide to fine wine. The brand was established by world-famous Robert M. Parker, Jr., the only critic in any field to receive the highest Presidential honor from three countries – France, Italy and Spain. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate provides a wealth of information to its subscribers, including a searchable database of more than 500,000 professional wine ratings and reviews plus articles, videos, daily news content, online retail availability and pricing, an active, professionally moderated bulletin board, a mobile app for easy access to the comprehensive online database of reviews, and much more. For more information, visit http://www.eRobertParker.com.   For More Information:         Kimberly Charles or Alexandra Fondren Charles Communications Associates +1 (415) 701-9463 press@charlescomm.com