SPIT: en primeur scores? James Suckling is retiring from Wine Spectator after 29 years. Further, “The wines will be reviewed in our standard blind-tastings in the company’s New York office.&# Avalon wine ]. David McDuff makes the link to wine and gastronomy for each stage with maps, photos and guest posts. MORE >>

Robert Parker states that his publication, The Wine Advocate, purchases “more than 60%” of the wines that it reviews. Parker previously said that he paid for 75 percent of the wines, but amid the furor last year over the free trips that two of his contributors, Jay Miller and Mark Squires, had accepted, he scaled back that figure. MORE >>

A French court found 12 executives guilty of selling the equivalent of 18 million bottles of cheaper wine as pinot noir. AFP reports that generic red wines fetched 45 euros (about $62) per one hundred liters while the premium pinot noir fetched 97 euros. One of the firms involved had been paying 58 euros for the wines it sold to Gallo. MORE >>

Wineries that advertise in Wine Spectator have their wines score better–but only by less than one point. Such is the finding in the lead article in the new issue of the Journal of Wine Economics. SPIT: binge drinking; SIPPED: wine tasting. SPIT: pre-selling wine. SPIT: “me-too&# wines. MORE >>

MW, Wine Spectator, Score: 88Marlborough, NZ does some nice things with Sauvignon Blancs and here's proof at a good price. Super fresh and crisp with waves of lemon drops and tropical fruits, pineapple, and guava, with grapefruit rind and summer fruits on the palate. SRP around $11. Drink now. 41,000 cases imported. MORE >>