Robert Finigan
Encyclopedia
Robert Finigan was an American
wine
and restaurant
critic
based in San Francisco, California
. Finigan exerted his greatest influence as a wine critic in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with his monthly newsletter.
Robert Finigan's interest in wine was sparked while studying at Harvard University
. After having completed his studies, he moved to San Francisco in 1967 to take up a position in management consulting
. There, he became acquainted with Napa Valley
wines, at a time when California wine
had not reached national popularity, but was primarily consumed on the west coast. Several business trips to Europe also offered him opportunities to become acquainted with French
, German
, Italian
, Portuguese
and Spanish
wine regions. His first opportunity to try his hand on wine criticism came in 1970, when San Francisco wine merchant company Esquin's asked him to evaluate the 1969 Bordeaux
vintage
, since Esquin's was uncertain whether to buy the wines en primeur
. After tasting the unbottled wines from cask, Finigan was unimpressed and advised against buying, and it turned out that this evaluation was later reflected in other critics' evaluations of the vintage.
. In difference to the numerical scale popularized by Robert M. Parker, Jr.
some years later, Finigan initially rated wines in four broad quality categories: Outstanding, Above Average, Average and Well Below Average. Finigan's newsletter was consumer
-oriented, did not shy from criticising wines that Finigan thought were substandard, and quickly became popular. In 1977, Finigan added a national edition of his newsletter, and was to some extent also read outside the US. Finigan's base in Bordeaux was at his friend Alexis Lichine's Chateau Prieure Lichine in Margaux. Robert was such a close friend to Alexis that he literally had the keys to the Châteaux. Even if Alexis was not in Bordeaux at the Châteaux, the housekeepers were told to treat Robert with the same courtesy as though Alexis were at home. Robert was very accustomed to tasting the Bordeaux of the ‘house’ every time he was at the Prieure. In 1975, while at the Chateau he tasted and reported on the fabulous vintages of Prieure and Lascombes 61, 62, and 64. ( see The Pope of Wine- the biography of Alexis Lichine in the selected publications).
and Alexis Lichine
. However, when he tried the barrel samples, he was generally disappointed, and found the wines too alcoholic and lacking in flavor. He therefore gave the 1982 Bordeaux vintage a fairly bad review in the March 30, 1983 edition of his newsletter, and recommended his readers buying Bordeaux wines of the 1980 and 1981 vintages instead.
Another US wine critic who tasted the 1982s from barrel was Robert M. Parker, Jr., who at this time was much less established than Finigan. Parker gave the 1982s the highest possible acclaim, described them as one of greatest Bordeaux vintages of the century, and predicted steep price increases for those who did not secure their 1982s en primeur. Later in 1983, Wine Spectator
through its writer James Suckling
concurred with Parker, while Finigan strongly stood by his negative evaluation of the vintage.
After more and more critics adopted Parker's view on the 1982 Bordeaux vintage and prices rose, Finigan's influence as a wine critic started to decline, while Parker achieved his breakthrough. In the late 1980s Finigan was considered much less influential than Parker and several others.
His newsletter was eventually cancelled in 1990, but Finigan has remained an influential San Francisco restaurant critic.
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...
and restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
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...
based in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. Finigan exerted his greatest influence as a wine critic in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with his monthly newsletter.
Robert Finigan's interest in wine was sparked while studying at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. After having completed his studies, he moved to San Francisco in 1967 to take up a position in management consulting
Management consulting
Management consulting indicates both the industry and practice of helping organizations improve their performance primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and development of plans for improvement....
. There, he became acquainted with Napa Valley
Napa Valley AVA
Napa Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Napa County, California, United States. Napa Valley is considered one of the top wine regions in the United States...
wines, at a time when California wine
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...
had not reached national popularity, but was primarily consumed on the west coast. Several business trips to Europe also offered him opportunities to become acquainted with French
French wine
French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...
, German
German wine
German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of the German wine production is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions ...
, Italian
Italian wine
Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...
, Portuguese
Portuguese wine
Portuguese wine is the result of traditions introduced to the region by ancient civilizations, such as the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and mostly the Romans. Portugal started to export its wines to Rome during the Roman Empire. Modern exports developed with trade to England after the...
and Spanish
Spanish wine
Spanish wines are wines produced in the southwestern European country of Spain. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 2.9 million acres planted—making it the most widely planted wine producing nation but it is the third largest producer of wine in the world, the largest...
wine regions. His first opportunity to try his hand on wine criticism came in 1970, when San Francisco wine merchant company Esquin's asked him to evaluate the 1969 Bordeaux
Bordeaux wine
A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...
vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
, since Esquin's was uncertain whether to buy the wines en primeur
En Primeur
En primeur or "wine futures", is a method of purchasing wines early while a vintage is still in a barrel, offering the customer the opportunity to invest in a particular wine before it is bottled. Payment is made at an early stage, a year or 18 months prior to the official release of a vintage...
. After tasting the unbottled wines from cask, Finigan was unimpressed and advised against buying, and it turned out that this evaluation was later reflected in other critics' evaluations of the vintage.
Finigan's newsletter
In September 1972, Finigan published the first issue of "Robert Finigan's Private Guide to Wines". As a subscriber to "Jack Shelton's Private Guide to Restaurants" (which he later bought), Finigan's intention was to do to the wine scene what Shelton did to restaurants, and covered Californian and European wine including wines available in restaurants in the Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. In difference to the numerical scale popularized by Robert M. Parker, Jr.
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...
some years later, Finigan initially rated wines in four broad quality categories: Outstanding, Above Average, Average and Well Below Average. Finigan's newsletter was consumer
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
-oriented, did not shy from criticising wines that Finigan thought were substandard, and quickly became popular. In 1977, Finigan added a national edition of his newsletter, and was to some extent also read outside the US. Finigan's base in Bordeaux was at his friend Alexis Lichine's Chateau Prieure Lichine in Margaux. Robert was such a close friend to Alexis that he literally had the keys to the Châteaux. Even if Alexis was not in Bordeaux at the Châteaux, the housekeepers were told to treat Robert with the same courtesy as though Alexis were at home. Robert was very accustomed to tasting the Bordeaux of the ‘house’ every time he was at the Prieure. In 1975, while at the Chateau he tasted and reported on the fabulous vintages of Prieure and Lascombes 61, 62, and 64. ( see The Pope of Wine- the biography of Alexis Lichine in the selected publications).
Evaluation of the 1982 Bordeaux vintage
In March 1983, Finigan was one of very few US wine writers or critics to travel to Bordeaux for the tasting from the barrel of the 1982 vintage. In late 1982, Finigan had reported in his newsletter on the enthusiastic early evaluations coming out of Bordeaux from proprietors like Jean-Pierre MoueixÉtablissements Jean-Pierre Moueix
Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix, or JP Moueix, is a Bordeaux négociant house founded byJean-Pierre Moueix in 1937, situated on the Quai du Priourat in Libourne, in the Bordeaux wine region of France...
and Alexis Lichine
Alexis Lichine
Alexis Lichine was a Russian wine writer and entrepreneur. He played a key role in promoting varietal labelling of wine, was a masterful salesman of wine, and owned Château Prieuré-Lichine and a share of Château Lascombes in the Médoc. He was married to actress Arlene Dahl from 1964 to...
. However, when he tried the barrel samples, he was generally disappointed, and found the wines too alcoholic and lacking in flavor. He therefore gave the 1982 Bordeaux vintage a fairly bad review in the March 30, 1983 edition of his newsletter, and recommended his readers buying Bordeaux wines of the 1980 and 1981 vintages instead.
Another US wine critic who tasted the 1982s from barrel was Robert M. Parker, Jr., who at this time was much less established than Finigan. Parker gave the 1982s the highest possible acclaim, described them as one of greatest Bordeaux vintages of the century, and predicted steep price increases for those who did not secure their 1982s en primeur. Later in 1983, 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...
through its writer James Suckling
James Suckling
James Suckling is an American wine and cigar critic and former Senior Editor and European Bureau Chief of Wine Spectator as well as European Editor of Cigar Aficionado...
concurred with Parker, while Finigan strongly stood by his negative evaluation of the vintage.
After more and more critics adopted Parker's view on the 1982 Bordeaux vintage and prices rose, Finigan's influence as a wine critic started to decline, while Parker achieved his breakthrough. In the late 1980s Finigan was considered much less influential than Parker and several others.
His newsletter was eventually cancelled in 1990, but Finigan has remained an influential San Francisco restaurant critic.
Selected publications
- Hennessy, Leslie A. The Pope of Wine- a biography of Alexis Lichine. SF: Montrachet Publishing, 2009.
External links
- http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R612201000Radio interview with Robert Finigan in 2006 on KQEDKQED-FMKQED-FM is an NPR-member radio station owned by Northern California Public Broadcasting in San Francisco, California.KQED-FM was founded by James Day in 1969 as the radio arm of KQED Television. The founding manager was Bernard Mayes who later went on to be Executive Vice-President of KQED TV and...
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