[6][7] Robert Parker first developed an interest in wine on a trip to France while in college studying law.

He released his first edition of The Baltimore-Washington Wine Advocate in 1978, originally as a complimentary bi-monthly feature.

[8] It soon changed to a subscription periodical and by 1984 was successful enough that Parker could quit practicing law full-time and focus on wine reviews.

[1] As of December 2012[update], many changes were announced concerning the management and format of The Wine Advocate following the sale of a majority stake in the publication to investors from Singapore.

Joe Czerwinski reviews the wines of Provence, the Rhône Valley (North and South), Languedoc-Roussillon, Australia and New Zealand.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW reviews the wines of Bordeaux, Napa Valley and Sonoma County.

Stephan Reinhardt reviews the wines of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Alsace and Loire Valley Erin Brooks reviews the wines of Oregon, Sonoma County and California Central Coast.

[15][16][17][18] Previous Wine Advocate critics include Pierre Rovani, Jeb Dunnuck, Daniel Thomases, Jay Miller and Antonio Galloni.

This system was familiar to Robert Parker's original target audience—the average American consumer—and provided a guideline for quantifying a wine's quality in a standardize format.