San Diego Reader

But Hendra explains himself in the review's first line -- I just hadn't noticed it right off: "Robert M. Parker Jr., wine cop to the world, is a polarizing figure whose fierce judgments are echoed by the ferocity of his advocates and opponents." Ah.

About the review, McCoy says, "My book tends to be a kind of Rorschach test. People who really hate Parker and his influence think I'm not critical enough of Parker. People who absolutely love Parker think that I'm too critical of Parker. Personally, I don't see how anybody could read my book and think that I am a disciple of Parker. But I was surprised by certain things when I was writing the book, and one of them was the vehemence which people had when they spoke about Parker, the polarization I found. So many people would say to me either 'He's been awful for the wine world' or 'He's practically a saint.' I tried to reflect that polarization, because it's interesting that somebody would evoke that kind of emotion. One person said that some of the reactions to Parker are almost more like religious reactions."

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