Allen Meadows
Encyclopedia
Allen Meadows is an American
wine
critic
and publisher of the Burghound.com quarterly newsletter and website. A financial executive and private wine collector until a profile published in Wine Spectator
in 1997 led him to decide to follow his passion for wine. By 2000 Meadows had left banking and launched the Burghound.com site which offers subscribers newsletters with reviews of Burgundy wine
and California
and Oregon
Pinot Noir
wines. Meadows also regularly speaks on Burgundy and other wine subjects. Burghound.com also organises wine events such as the Asia Symphony of Wine and Flavours - Burghound in Asia, which is held in Singapore
.
Within relatively short time following its launch, and despite a relatively high cost of subscription, the service came to be viewed by many as "the definitive word on matters Burgundian", and Meadows "a leading Burgundy critic".
Among the reasons cited for the rapid success of Burghound.com are that Meadows already held a strong online discussion-group reputation, and that Robert Parker
had ceased to cover Burgundy for The Wine Advocate
in 1996, and delegated coverage of the region to Pierre Rovani with limited success, providing an opening for Meadows. As Parker already had strained relations with the Burgundy wine community, wine critics of global coverage such as Stephen Tanzer
and Clive Coates
were perceived to dominate the field. It has been suggested that the Burghound coverage of the 2005 vintage of Burgundy did as much to Meadows' reputation as 1982 Bordeaux did for Robert Parker.
In 2010, Meadows and his wife Erica released a book by way of self-publishing, titled The Pearl of the Côte on the subject of the history and vineyards of Vosne-Romanée
, while opting not to list the book on channels such as Amazon.com
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
and publisher of the Burghound.com quarterly newsletter and website. A financial executive and private wine collector until a profile published in Wine Spectator
Wine Spectator
Wine Spectator is a lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertainment pieces...
in 1997 led him to decide to follow his passion for wine. By 2000 Meadows had left banking and launched the Burghound.com site which offers subscribers newsletters with reviews of Burgundy wine
Burgundy wine
Burgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as "Burgundies" - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from...
and California
California wine
California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state...
and Oregon
Oregon wine
The state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine. Oregon has several different growing regions within the state's borders which are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the border between Oregon and the...
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
wines. Meadows also regularly speaks on Burgundy and other wine subjects. Burghound.com also organises wine events such as the Asia Symphony of Wine and Flavours - Burghound in Asia, which is held in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
Within relatively short time following its launch, and despite a relatively high cost of subscription, the service came to be viewed by many as "the definitive word on matters Burgundian", and Meadows "a leading Burgundy critic".
Among the reasons cited for the rapid success of Burghound.com are that Meadows already held a strong online discussion-group reputation, and that Robert Parker
Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. is a leading U.S. wine critic with an international influence. His wine ratings on a 100-point scale and his newsletter The Wine Advocate, with his particular stylistic preferences and notetaking vocabulary, have become very influential in American wine buying and are...
had ceased to cover Burgundy for The Wine Advocate
The Wine Advocate
The Wine Advocate, informally abbreviated TWA or WA, is a U.S. bimonthly wine publication featuring the consumer advice of wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr....
in 1996, and delegated coverage of the region to Pierre Rovani with limited success, providing an opening for Meadows. As Parker already had strained relations with the Burgundy wine community, wine critics of global coverage such as Stephen Tanzer
Stephen Tanzer
Stephen Tanzer is an American wine critic, editor and publisher of thebimonthly International Wine Cellar since 1985, with particular expertise on the wines of Burgundy, Piemonte, California, Washington State, South Africa and Bordeaux....
and Clive Coates
Clive Coates
Clive Coates is a British wine writer and Master of Wine, best known for his books about the wines of Burgundy.-Biography:Born in 1941, Clive Coates worked for The Wine Society in Stevenage in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1975 he founded the award-winning magazine The Vine, a monthly fine...
were perceived to dominate the field. It has been suggested that the Burghound coverage of the 2005 vintage of Burgundy did as much to Meadows' reputation as 1982 Bordeaux did for Robert Parker.
In 2010, Meadows and his wife Erica released a book by way of self-publishing, titled The Pearl of the Côte on the subject of the history and vineyards of Vosne-Romanée
Vosne-Romanée wine
Vosne-Romanée wine is produced in the commune of Vosne-Romanée in Côte de Nuits of Burgundy as well as in the neighbouring commune of Flagey-Échezeaux. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée Vosne-Romanée may only be used for red wine with Pinot Noir as the main grape...
, while opting not to list the book on channels such as Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
.