Wine Spectator gives Award of Excellence to fake restaurant

[David Glasser]

Not only did this guy make up the restaurant, but he populated the wine list with the worst-scoring wines from the last 20 years of Wine Spectator reviews:

http://osterialintrepido.wordpress.com/

[David M. Bueker]

Hi David!

This was a pretty funny story. The restaurant issue is one of the reasons I gave up on the Speculator.

[AlexR]

David,

That's a real hoot!

Someone has got a bunch of egg on their face...

Alex

[Bruce Hayes]

Love it.

[Bob Hower]

Nice, but has anyone verified this?

[Dale Williams]

Nice, but has anyone verified this?

Multiple people have confirmed Osteria Intrepido's award. And it doesn't seem to exist outside the poster's website (there's a Chowhound post about it, but it leads to the blog - he apparently had a fake website in case WS googled).

[David Glasser]

Osteria L'Intrepido is not listed on the WS website list of award-winning restaurants, but I imagine they would have taken it down by now. WS can't expunge the print versions, though. I haven't subscribed for years, so I can't verify if they did name the restaurant. (Oddly enough, I maintained my subscription for a few years after giving up on their wine reviews, primarily for the restaurant reviews!) The website claim that the award appeared in the August 2008 print edition should be easy enough to check. Any WS subscribers (willing to admit it) on the board?

[David Glasser]

I've been told by people who have seen the August issue that the award is in there.

Between the two major errors WS made, I think giving the award to a list packed with wines they panned is even worse than failing to verify if the restaurant was real.

WS does state that they only visit the Grand Award winners. I can understand the logistical and cost issues associated with visiting all the applicants. It can be argued that wine service is integral to the any restaurant wine program, and that this can only be assessed in person. I agree that by ignoring this aspect, the awards have less meaning. But so long as they are clear that the award is for the list and not the service, at least they are not misleading.

Further, there is little incentive for fake applications, other than to make WS look foolish. And there is no real harm to the consumer from giving an award to a fake restaurant: No one is actually going to go there.

The consumer is harmed by awards being given to real restaurants with lousy lists. If they gave the award to this fake list, there is no reason to believe they would be any more selective with a real list. For that the WS deserves to be roundly criticized.

[Daniel Rogov]

Most interesting (!!!)

As for me, I'm chuckling but I think we should wait to find out if this restaurant listing was actually posted in the print edition of the Wine Spectator (it is not at this moment on the internet listings and might have been removed after this news broke). Or, on the other hand, if this is one of those urban myths in the making. As I do not subscribe to the Spectator cannot make a valid guess.

Oh yes….a discussion on this has started on the Spectator's own forum as well. Those curious enough curious can find that at http://forums.winespectator.com/eve/for ... /281100245. So far (17:19 Tel Aviv time) no response from the editors of the Spectator.

I'm looking forward to whatever the people at the Spectator have to say. That's when I'll make my own comments....

Best
Rogov

[James Roscoe]

I have not received my issue. I will check it.
Should I apologize now for admitting to receiving it? (It was a gift.) I like the pictures actually and Matt Kraemer is usually worth the trouble of picking up the magazine.

[Michael Pronay]

Go to

http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/sho ... 480&page=1

an check posting #20:

I had to check the issue, and there it was, on page 181 [...]. It was noted as a New Winner [...], with the Award of Excellence [...].

[wrcstl]

This is a great story. Servious people do not take WS serious but hey, I'll trade bank balances with Shanken.

I visited eBob and found something equally funny on the post, the names of the wine director and the chef.

"I especially like the names he chose for the Wine Director (Augusto Crazia) and Chef (Paolo Gaggino)."

Walt

[Jenise]

Not only did this guy make up the restaurant, but he populated the wine list with the worst-scoring wines from the last 20 years of Wine Spectator reviews:

http://osterialintrepido.wordpress.com/

Ah, the good old Spectator, where everything's for sale including the ratings!

p.s. David, good to see you posting here again.

[Barb Freda]

I rushed here to post about this...only to find you've all beaten me to it...another blogger's take on it:

http://culinary-colorado.blogspot.com/2 ... -wine.html

[Mike Pollard]

Not only did this guy make up the restaurant, but he populated the wine list with the worst-scoring wines from the last 20 years of Wine Spectator reviews:

http://osterialintrepido.wordpress.com/

Ah, the good old Spectator, where everything's for sale including the ratings!

p.s. David, good to see you posting here again.

For sale is apparently correct - Robin Goldstein the guy who set up the sting (also author of The WIne Trials) had to pay a $250 entry fee! For what?

I'm ashamed to say the WS is one of the 4-5 wine magazines I get, - but I only get it for the pictures, you understand!

Mike

[Matt Richman]

This is classic. It's about time somebody did this. Boy, WS is getting lazy. They can't even hire a couple of fact checkers for their big annual issue? Pathetic.

The New York Times did a piece about WS's phony "awards" several years ago

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h ... A9659C8B63

The restaurant issue is also one of the reasons I stopped subscribing to WS.

[Marlene R]

Unfortunately, this has been going on for a very long time.

For a fun read on restaurant wine please check out my blog posts at Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marlene-r ... 17338.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marlene-r ... 18508.html

They were looking for an experienced writer/blogger, and whether or not you agree with the site’s politics, I have created a good amount of buzz and a couple of laughs. I also write for Chef Mag, the Restaurant Standard and California Homes mag--mainstream publications.

[Robin Garr]

Hello, Marlene ... just out of curiosity, are you quite this self-aggrandizing in real life, or only on Internet forums?

We're happy to have winefolk here, but generally speaking, most of us don't think of it as quite tasteful to post our resumes within our first five forum visits.

Just a thought!

[Marlene R]

My apologies, Robin. It was not meant to be self-aggrandizing.
I just thought the forum members would get a kick out of this and did not want them to think I was just snarky.
Again, I apologize.

[Robin Garr]

My apologies, Robin. It was not meant to be self-aggrandizing.
I just thought the forum members would get a kick out of this and did not want them to think I was just snarky.
Again, I apologize.

No harm, no foul, Marlene. We're glad to have you here, and I'm sorry I had to yell a little bit. We're happy to have you talking with us about wine, and in appropriate settings, certainly don't mind you mentioning your blog. It just seemed awfully forward, awfully fast, and I figured I'd better jump in with an Official Scolding before any of the troops got violent ...

[ChefJCarey]

Now, Robin, you know there aren't any violent troopers here...

[Alejandro Audisio]

On a related side note (Robin, sorry for going somewhat OT), my experience with Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence has been very variable (to put it diplomatically). In Buenos Aires, my biggest issue with these "awards" is that they have Cabania Las Lilas as one of the top places to have a meal while folks are in town.... and IMO, its the biggest tourist trap in the city. Grossly overpriced for Buenos Aires standards, and unless you are a writer from a well known publication or have a similar inside track, food and service will not be up to par with the accolades the place has received.

[Robin Garr]

On a related side note (Robin, sorry for going somewhat OT)

Not OT at all, Alex. Frankly, from the standpoint of a guy who also wears a food critic's hat, I won't even publicize the Speck's award-winners on my Louisville restaurants Website because they're so bogus ... fill in a form, send in your money, get your plaque. <shrug>

This delicious scam doesn't do anything but shed a bright light on reality, and if Marvin had any shame, he'd drop the program - or seriously revise it and make it meaningful. Anybody want to hold your breath until this happens?

[Alejandro Audisio]

Very well put...... I cant stand places that get awards for telephone book long wine lists and when you get around to ordering the wine it turns out they dont have half the list (sold out), or then its a different vintage (200x is better than 200y)... etc. etc. etc. In the end, some of the reviews end up reading like an infomercial....