Decanter

With a print run of 40,000 copies and over 660,000 online visitors, Decanter reaches wine lovers in 99 countries. The monthly magazine was founded in London in 1975 by Colin Parnell and Tony Lord and is part of the IPC Media group of magazines. In addition to a mix of content from various wine topics, the wine ratings are the magazine's main focus.

Journalist and TV commentator Guy Woodward has been editor-in-chief since 2007. The world's most important wine experts regularly write for Decanter, including Jancis Robinson, Tim Atkin MW, Andy Howard MW and Andrew Jefford. Steven Spurrier was also closely involved with Decanter until his death. For example, he helped to establish the Decanter World Wine Awards, which were held for the first time in 2004 and are now among the most important wine competitions in the world.

Decanter often produces specialised report about for example Rioja wine, Ribera del Duero wine or Spanish wine in general.

Until 2012, Decanter wine journalists used a 5-star system developed by Michael Broadbent, which was then replaced by the traditional European rating system with scores between zero and twenty. But as early as 2016, the 100-point system finally replaced the rating system.

Allen Meadows (Burghound)

Originally, the American Allen Meadows was a very successful finance manager who collected wines privately. For over three decades, he focused on French Burgundy wine. When Wine Spectator magazine published a portrait of Meadows in 1997, the Burgundy expert took this as an opportunity to set up his own quarterly newsletter and website, Burghound.com, as a wine critic.

Since then, Allen Meadows and Burghound have become some of the most important voices in the world when it comes to wines from Burgundy. Every year, he spends at least five months there to delve deeper into the wines. His main focus is on Pinot Noir.

Although Meadows‘ focus is still on Burgundy, he is also considered an expert on Napa valley wine, Oregon wine and Champagne. This is also the big difference to Robert Parker, who is considered an expert on Bordeaux wine above all. Like Parker, Meadows uses a 100-point scale for his wine ratings.

Jeb Dunnuck

Jeb Dunnuck is actually an aerospace engineer from the US who had nothing to do with wine for a long time. But when he was living abroad and travelling in Europe in 1996, he became interested in high-quality wines. Dunnuck quickly developed a passion for Rhône wines in particular. They are still his main focus today. However, he is also considered an expert on southern France, Bordeaux, Washington State and California wine.

In 2006, Jeb Dunnuck worked in wine retail for a while to get to know the business side of the wine industry better. He started publishing a quarterly newsletter called ‘The Rhône wine Report’ in 2008. In just five years, he became an absolute Rhône expert. It was only logical for him to switch completely to the professional side of the industry. From 2013 to 2017, Dunnuck rated Rhône wines for Robert Parker's Wine Advocate before setting up his own business with JebDunnuck.com in 2017. Dunnuck uses the American 100-point system.

Jasper Morris (Inside Burgundy)

Wine has always been the profession of the Brit Jasper Morris. He began his career in 1979 at the British wine merchant Birley & Goedhuis, before founding Morris & Verdin in 1981. He eventually sold the company in 2003 to the wine and spirits merchant Berry Bros & Rudd (BBR), for which he then worked as Burgundy director until 2017. In 1985, Jasper Morris was awarded the prestigious title of Master of Wine – a year before his sister Arabella Woodrow, in fact. This makes them the only brother and sister in the world to hold the title of Master of Wine.

Jasper Morris has long been regarded as an accomplished Burgundy expert beyond the borders of Great Britain. He cemented this reputation with the book ‘Inside Burgundy’, which was published by Berry Bros & Rudd Press in 2010. It is considered the definitive work on Burgundy and its wines. In 2016, Morris was appointed Senior Consultant for Christie's, responsible for the annual wine auction Hospices de Beaune (Cote de Beane and Cote de Nuits). Since 2021, he has held the same position at Sotheby's.

After retiring from the business, Jasper Morris embarked on a new career as a Burgundy expert and critic, culminating in the launch of the ‘Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy’ website in September 2018. Morris uses a mixture of a 100-point scale and 5-star ratings for his wine ratings because, in his opinion, this leads to a more accurate judgement. On his website, however, he only discloses the rating criteria for the star rating.

Falstaff

The Austrian wine and pleasure magazine falstaff has been published ten times a year since 1980. falstaff was founded in 1980 by business journalists Hans Bibold and Helmut Romé. Romé ran the magazine until 2009. The falstaff Wine Guide was also founded in Austria by Wolfgang M. Rosam in 1980. He also gradually acquired shares in the magazine, before taking it over completely in 2009. Since 2010, there has also been an independent German edition. Rosam continues to publish the magazine, which specialises in wine (of course German wine and Austrian wine), cuisine and travel, together with Dr. Ulrich Sautter. As editor-in-chief, Sautter is responsible for the wine section, while Sebastian Späth is editor-in-chief for the gourmet topics.

The wine critics in the magazine work with the 100-point scale developed by Robert Parker. In the falstaff Wine Guide, the 5-star system is also used for the wineries in order to be able to differentiate better.

Wine Enthusiast

Adam Sturm practically grew up with wine, because his father was a wine salesman in the American state of New York. After graduating from college, Sturm followed his father's example and sold wine. In 1979, he and his wife Sybil were looking for a particular corkscrew, but couldn't find it anywhere. That was the birth of Wine Enthusiast. Even though the format is now one of the most important wine magazines in the United States, it actually started out as an order catalogue.

It was only in 1988 that the Sturms founded the Wine Enthusiast magazine, which has since inspired more than five million readers worldwide with its print and online versions, with reviews and articles on topics related to wine, entertainment, travel, restaurants and renowned sommeliers. Today, Jacqueline Sturm, one of the two daughters, is responsible for the Wine Enthusiast magazine. Industry giants such as Monica Larner, Kerin O'Keefe, Tim Moriarty and Michael Schachner have already written for the magazine and judged wines. The wines are rated using the 100-point system, as is common in the USA.

Tim Atkin

Tim Atkin is a British wine journalist and award-winning author of international renown. He is known for presenting wine topics in a very entertaining and sometimes controversial way. Tim Atkin received the title Master of Wine in 2001. However, he has been working as a wine journalist and critic since the 1980s. He writes for Decanter, among other publications. Tim Atkin is also a successful photographer. His photos have been published in The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The World of Fine Wine, and exhibited in London, Mendoza, Provence, Poland and Lebanon.

Atkin specialises in European wines from the UK, France, Spain and Italy, as well as New World wines, particularly from the USA, Argentina, South Africa, Chile and Australia, which he rates using the classic 100-point system. In addition to his work as a wine journalist, Tim Atkin is also co-chairman of the International Wine Challenge (IWC), the world's most rigorous blind tasting competition.

Guía Penín

The Peñín Guide to Spanish Wines is the most comprehensive Spanish wine guide in the world. With editions in Spanish, English, German and Chinese, it helps wine professionals and enthusiasts alike to make informed purchasing decisions. The first edition was published in 1990 under the name ‘Vinos y Bodegas de España’ by José Peñín, the current honorary president. At that time, Spanish wines were still largely ignored on the international wine market.

José Peñín managed to summarise all the relevant data for consumers in a guide that served as a reference for anyone wanting to explore the world of wine. Over the years, with more than 11,500 tastings a year, this guide became the guide to Spanish wine. The Guía Peñín team now also evaluates wines and spirits from Mexico, Argentina and Chile.

To ensure international comparability, the Guia Peñín uses the American rating system with 100 points. The rating system describes the different qualities of the wines according to assessment criteria, which are divided into blocks of 10. Only the absolute top ratings from 90 to 100 points have been further subdivided.