My Column
Jancis Earns World's Best Title Deservedly!
Claiming the title of the world's best critic is none other than the illustrious Jancis Robinson MW from United Kingdom. Renowned for her illustrious career and unwavering impartiality, Robinson's victory resonates worldwide. Surprisingly, over 70% of her votes hailed from outside Europe, particularly from America, underscoring her global appeal.
Jancis Robinson MW - Best Wine Critic of the World 2024
Tb: Your illustrious career has been ongoing for quite some time,
"Understatement! 48 years!"
and you have been particularly praised for your impartiality and "incorruptibility" - these factors surely contributed to your selection as the world's best - what aspects do you consider particularly important to succeed as a wine critic?
"If I look at my career, I’d say it has been characterised mainly by hard work(!), and also, still, insatiable curiosity. I really, positively enjoy writing but in-between the writing, I like to keep my mouth shut (except when tasting) and to listen to what wine producers, researchers, growers, consumers and merchants have to say."
-Tb: Which wine critics do you yourself follow, and who do you see as your successors in the future?
"To be absolutely honest, I have so many work commitments - to JancisRobinson.com, the Financial Times and a host of books that need updating - that I have shockingly little time to read other wine writers (a term I much prefer to ‘wine critic’). Hugh Johnson has long been an inspiration as a stylish writer and Andrew Jefford is always worth reading. I’d love to have time to work my way through Jon Bonné’s latest book on France. And I am keenly aware that there re myriad talents, notably female ones, bubbling up."
"As for our successors, I think they will be communicating in new ways we can hardly imagine. I sincerely hope that scoring wine will diminish and feel extremely lucky that my career happens to have coincided with a golden age in which wine quality has soared, like enthusiasm for wine which seems currently to be fading unfortunately. I think it must be quite challenging to embark on a wine writing career nowadays."
Tb: How do you envision the future evolution of the wine critic's craft, and do you believe there's still a place for wine critics in a world where artificial intelligence reigns supreme?
" It’s taken almost 50 years’ programming to get my palate to where it is so that I can do all this without even making a conscious effort. Please don’t tell me it would take only a few hours to construct a machine that could do what I do."
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