Schildknecht out at Wine Advocate

I'd don't follow critical publications all that closely, but this seems to be of interest.

So Schildknecht and Shanghai don't get along?

[Robin Garr]

I've followed David since the very start (h/t to TomHill), and respect the hell out of his palate and his opinions. I was happy for him when he got the call from RMP if it made him happy, but I also thought it was an abysmal fit.

[Jenise]

I'm sorry, this is off-topic, but am I the only one who reads the list of Mark Squires' duties and laughs at "...and Bulgaria"? Lot of demand for that, of course.

[David M. Bueker]

I consider David a friend, but he has never met a deadline he could hit. That makes him a bad fit for anything with a publishing schedule.

I have met Reinhardt and I think he will do just fine.

Greetings from Sweden / Fredrik L

[David M. Bueker]

I'm sorry, this is off-topic, but am I the only one who reads the list of Mark Squires' duties and laughs at "...and Bulgaria"? Lot of demand for that, of course.

Mark enjoys what he is reviewing, and takes it very seriously.

I also thought it was a strange fit between him and the WA, so am not surprised to see him leave. I assume he will go out on his own, a la Galloni, but I wonder what he will try to focus on? Germany and Austria are obvious, but will he focus mainly on Riesling or span a wider range of countries and varieties like Galloni?

A few years ago, before he went to WA, I was at a Society of Wine Educators conference and Schildknecht did a seminar of Loire valley. He never once mentioned cremant or sparkling saumur or vouvray (which make up about a fourth of their wines, my estimate, since they are the second largest producer of sparkling in France, after Champagne). I thought that was quite odd. And his choice of wines was no where close to a good cross section of what is available in the Loire. Yet this was one the areas that he was assigned to. After the presentation he was available for questions, but he never stopped talking about himself long enough for anyone to even ask a question. I felt like then that he would have trouble in an outfit like WA. Seemed like a nice enough and knowledgeable guy otherwise.

[David M. Bueker]

That's an odd David story. When I have been around him I can never get him to stop talking about wine! He's also incredibly knowledgable on all parts of the Loire, especially Vouvray!

[Robin Garr]

That's an odd David story. When I have been around him I can never get him to stop talking about wine! He's also incredibly knowledgable on all parts of the Loire, especially Vouvray!

I was going to say something similar. I knew David when he worked at the old Party Source stores in Northern Kentucky (Cincinnati) and Louisville, which despite the name were at the time the region's best wine stores. He seemed to me to be equally knowledgeable, and passionate, about both regional French wines and Germans, with Austria also very strong in the mix. And as David just said, very likely to talk at great (and fascinating) length about wine, but not at all about himself. Odd.

The thing that made me feel that he might not fit well with RMP was that David was an early card-carrying member of the AFWE, although perhaps his time at Vintner Select, which tends toward the Parker/Rolland/Marc De Grazia style, may have broadened his range a bit.

[David M. Bueker]

It's not that DS and RMP did not mix. DS and publishing deadlines do not mix.

[Robin Garr]

It's not that DS and RMP did not mix. DS and publishing deadlines do not mix.

Does it have to be either-or? Can't it be both-and?

It's not that DS and RMP did not mix. DS and publishing deadlines do not mix.

I've seen nothing to indicate that his departure had anything to do with a clash with Parker. More likely he, like others, has had problems with the new ownership of TWA and its subsequent change in focus. Wasn't there also an IP issue, too?

Mark Lipton

[David M. Bueker]

Well they were at least going to have to employees instead of contractors, which likely would have put a crimp in David's freelancing for every magazine with a pulse.

[Robin Garr]

I've seen nothing to indicate that his departure had anything to do with a clash with Parker. More likely he, like others, has had problems with the new ownership of TWA and its subsequent change in focus. Wasn't there also an IP issue, too?

Since i'm the one who raised the point of David and RMP being an odd "mix," I should clarify that I didn't mean to suggest any "clash." I was just saying that David seemed closer to the ASWE ideal (which I personally favor) and thus quite distinct from Parker's Big N Frooty palate. This isn't a bad thing, but it just struck me as odd, particularly since one of Parker's advantages over the Speck - at least back in the day before Parker took on partners - was that his tastes were consistent, like 'em or not, which gave him an advantage over the Speck's committee system.

Before David went to work at the Advocate he would be in Napa on business once or twice a year. Mark Anisman who lives here in the valley and at times posts on wine boards is a personal friend of David for quite a few years. When David would visit we would always get together for dining and drinking. I've never known anyone as knowledgeable as David and more enjoyable to be around. He'll talk about wine a blue streak but not about himself. He was very candid about the fact that Parker gave him his word he would not interfere with his opinions on wine. In fact we chipped in and bought him a carefully wrapped "light saber" (Star Wars origin) with a card saying "to protect him from the Dark Side", before he left to work at The Advocate. He broke up laughing.
Year or so ago met his son at Anisman's home, while he was attending law school at Cal. Spitting image of his dad, with all the same mannerisms and speech patterns. Charming, bright articulate, young man. Wish David all the best and hopefully he'll be back here soon.