Panama Canal Records and a Note to Robert Parker

Revealing Vicissitudes in the Global Wine Trade

Decades ago, in Robert Parker’s Wine Buyer’s Guide, he complained forcefully—perhaps ironically in retrospect—about how the “wine business has become so commercial.” He referred specifically to “people in the wine trade” not taking “the necessary steps to ensure wine is not ruined in shipment.” Parker took special aim at a purportedly large quantity of …