CompuServe Forum Poll: Least useful wine magazine

[Robin Garr]

Here's an offbeat, perhaps slightly cynical way to view the world of print-media wine magazines: Which of the popular periodicals do you consider <i>least</i> useful? The ballot provide a short list of candidates, along with the usual "other" for your thoughtful consideration in this week's poll.

Click here to vote!

not sure i understand the votes for decanter. of those listed, decanter is actually the one i consider MOST useful.

[Robin Garr]

not sure i understand the votes for decanter. of those listed, decanter is actually the one i consider MOST useful.

Might be Parker supporters trashing Decanter for its perceived record as anti-The Bob? Decanter was generally quick to jump on the stories about his litigation in France, so this could be a mere massing of the human shields.

I voted for Food and Wine, but could easily see an American voting for Decanter as "least useful." Not for any quality issue, but simply because the magazine is British, and many articles are not relevant to US. Also, I'd say that (outside of Bordeaux and Burgundy sections) a substantial number of the wines reviewed are not even available (or are hard to find) in US. I'd say seeing "human shields" as behind this is really stretching.

I'd add including WA as a magazine is a bit off, it's a newsletter, without real articles, pictures, or advertising; quite a different animal than the others listed.

For me they are all equally useless. The wines that I most enjoy aren't given any real play in any of them other than the most pedestrian fodder ('Riesling is popular again', 'Chenin Blanc can be delicious', 'Alsace is underappreciated', 'Burgundy is still expensive', 'Austria is a country in Europe'...) I get far more useful information from the good people on this forum. Thank you, Robin and everyone here. Collectively, you should all be writing for these rags and breathing some life into them.