eRobertParker.com subscribers finally get their own (free) app

You’d think it would have happened sooner, but wine critic Robert Parker has just released a mobile app that gives subscribers to eRobertParker.com access to thousands of Parker and company’s tasting notes. Thirty-four years’ worth, in fact. It’s free, and there’s a version for iPhones, Windows phones and Android devices. IPad and tablet apps will show up later this year.

The searchable database encompasses more than 230,000 professional wine reviews from wine regions all over the world, with “approximately 4,000 new notes being added with each bimonthly issue....” You can search by vintage, by varietal, by producer and, what’s all-important to Parker subscribers, by rating.

So, for all those wine buffs who wouldn’t think of drinking a bottle that garnered fewer than 90 points, it’s possible to filter out everything with inferior scores and render a search result that includes only wines with those sought-after high scores.

The wine’s retail price will pop up too, and so will a feature called “Find It Online.” At the moment, the iPhone App store has just two reviews for the app. The first declares the app “Awesome! -- Parker reviews, ratings, and my wine cellar all in one place -- and always with me. Perfect! I can even find where specific wines are available for purchase online. For Parker subscribers this is a must have!”

The second review complains that the Vintage Chart does not work. “The App just hangs.” I didn’t have that experience. If, however, you’re a non-subscriber to eRobertParker.com, about all you can access with the app is that interactive vintage chart, which isn’t all that interactive. You can click on each country and then on each region and see a listing of vintages with their quality rating. Not much of a teaser.

But if you are already a subscriber to the Parker world, you’ve got to have the app. However, a $75 print subscription to “The Wine Advocate” newsletter, as opposed to the $99 yearly subscription to eRobertParker.com, won’t get you the free app. It doesn’t seem fair, considering that the newsletter subscribers have supported Parker all these years.

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