SPIT: scores. post on the Liv-Ex blog suggests a change from scores to brands. from a local critic. Critics claim he “broke&# families he bought from and “compromised the artisanal essence of their companies.&#. tasting sized poursSIPPED: skulduggery. vinography ]. What drives Bordeaux prices? abv wine. MORE >>

SIPPED: critiquing the critics. Robert De Niro honors Francis Ford Coppola’s cinematic achievements–by commenting on his wine (and their scores). Tags: tasting sized pours Be sure to check out the video for the PinotShiraCab! LA Weekly ]. SIPPED: 19th century Champagne. Must not have been yellow label, then! WSJ ]. MORE >>

SAQ, the state-owned wine entity that has a monopoly on wine retail in Quebec, paid wine critic James Suckling $24,000 last year. Suckling was not compensated to do the tastings.” Suckling and SAQ had both denied any financial relationship. La Presse reports that when Suckling was in Montreal the SAQ had stated “Mr. MORE >>

In an article entitled “Once Upon a Time (1899, 1929, 1949, 1959, 2009),&# he lavished praise on the vintage, particularly the cabernet blends of the left bank, and on many wines individually: 21 wines received scores of potentially 100 points. Robert Parker posted his reviews of Bordeaux 2009 yesterday on his subscription web site. MORE >>

Eric LeVine : Formerly of Microsoft, LeVine opened CellarTracker.com to the public in April 2004; now, it is the dominant site for user-generated tasting notes with over one million wine reviews. Thanks to everyone for the fascinating discussion suggesting nominees for the Wine Person of the Decade. Now it’s voting time! MORE >>