Surrender to summer: it's time for white wine.

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Heavyweight wine critics like Robert Parker and Michael Broadbent have years of experience and a commitment to applying objective criteria when it comes to rate wines. But they still have their own preferences.

London wine merchants Roberson, who run a terrific store at the wrong end of Kensington High Street, invited Parker and Broadbent to rate a number of fine wines. Paying members of the wine-drinking public then tasted the same wines - without knowing the professionals' scores - and chose their favourites.

There may be something to the concept of a regional or national palate... the local guy won.

Oz - Australian vernacular for "Australia" - is a big wine producer with a wide range of wines. Wine Australia's "Regional Heroes" tour of Canada this past winter was part of an effort to make consumers more aware of the regional characteristics of Australian wines.

Although mostly a hot climate country, there are areas of Australia that manage to turn out cooler climate wines. And of course as the industry matures, certain regions like Coonawarra, Barossa Valley and Margaret River are developing signature styles.

So you think you know what an Aussie from a particular region should taste like? Take the Regional Heroes Challenge from Wine Australian - it's fun and educational.

Alas, no.

In a lengthy and informative article in the New Yorker, Joan Acocella summarizes the hangover: why you get one, colloquial terms for it in different countries, the lack of scientific research into it and hence no magic pill, and a list of informal hangover cures. Chances are you'll chuckle or go "eww" at most of them, then "yeah, that works really well for me!"

Acocella also states that red wine is worse than white wine for hangovers, but then you knew that...

It's the usual amusing and well-written New Yorker prose, only this time about hangovers.

Decanter's breathless coverage of Robert Parker and his pronouncements on Bordeaux continues...

Following hot on the heels of his "slam" of the 07 barrel samples, the Parkster has released his scores on the 05 vintage, which has now been bottled and which will be on the market later this year. According to Decanter, he has "rebuke[d]" the big producers by holding back on big scores.

However the histrionics may be merited - Parker is on record as having said that 05 is the "greatest vintage" of his 30-year wine career, so it does seem odd that there are only two 100-pointers - Chateau Ausone (pictured) and L'Eglise Clinet.

Nevertheless, there are a number of big names that he scores above 95, which basically means "stunningly good".

According to the article, it seems RP really is concerned about the monster he has unleashed with his 100-point wines and there is some interesting detail on the effect his scores actually have on pricing at the top end in  Adam Lechmere and Maggie Rosen's report. 

He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Robert Parker has been criticized for many things, including creating a cult of "90 plus points" and awarding 100 points to some wines (critics of this approach say no wine can be absolutely perfect). He's been criticized for causing prices for wines to rise and criticized for causing them to fall, but then, he is the world's most influential wine critic.

Decanter magazine reports that the British wine community is currently all a-twitter over RP's 2007 Bordeaux en primeur marks because they're so low: "...they aren't pretty," intones writer Maggie Rosen, "He has awarded only three wines up to 100 points - all of them white; among the reds, only four achieved up to a potential 95." Rosen gets reactions from a number of people and declares that "many UK merchants are bearish on the vintage."

Parker's favourite 07 red is Bellevue Mondotte, a small "garage" producer in St. Emilion. The blend is merlot dominated and the property is just five acres. RP scored it 94-97.

On the plus side, with Parker's scores so "low", prices for top wines are likely to be lower than in recent years - and that surely is a good thing.  

Hopefully Vintages will go in, RP notes in hand, and negotiate hard for lower prices for this year's en primeur release...

Read the hand-wringing report on how Parker slams with faint praise.

If you're new to wine or oblivious to critics' names, here's a great magazine feature on RP. It's from 2000, but it gives a good summary of why Robert Parker is important.
 

America's most influential wine magazine has given its biggest ever coverage of Niagara in the May 15th issue. Wine Spectator writer Mitch Frank produced a 6-page piece on Niagara in the Travel section, paying special attention to "small quality-minded wineries".

You can find the magazine at better newsstands, but to read it online, you have to be (or become) a subscriber. Visit winespectator.com and click on the May 15 issue.

It's not just self conscious Niagara and Okanagan producers who want to take on their French rivals - the English are at it too.

The southernmost part of England is actually an extension of the chalky geological formations that give Champagne its edge - think of the White Cliffs of Dover - so a number of producers in Sussex, Kent and other southern counties have been working hard on sparkling wines.

England's problem isn't the winter, it's the summer. It just doesn't quite get warm enough for really ripe grapes. However hot summers recently, including 2003, have encouraged more investment. When I was in England in October, I was knocked out by the quality of Nytimber, which performed well in the taste challege.

As with Niagara, the really good quality English sparklers are not cheap - GBP20 is not uncommon - and also they don't produce or export much.

Here's Decanter's report on a recent England vs. Champagne challenge.

Cheval Blanc is an unusual Bordeaux and it's been winning international awards and attention since the 1860s. Although it's in the merlot-dominated St. Emilion sub-region, Chateau Cheval Blanc uses a high percentage of cabernet franc.

The 1947 vintage has achieved legendary status in the wine world and here's a report on how it was nearly a complete disaster. US wine writer Mike Steinberger fills in the back story and even gets to taste some.