I am not a cru-k! Robert Parker’s, Richard Nixon’s China visits likened

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By Jim Boyce

If asked to list the similarities of Richard Nixon and Robert Parker, wine aficionados — and I specify them because the average person doesn’t know who Parker is — might say both were born in the United States. And studied law. And have first names starting with “R“. And…

Apparently things go much deeper. Wine company ASC, no stranger to heavily icing the cake that is its public relations strategy, added an especially thick layer yesterday in an announcement that it is the “official importer” for Parker’s visits to Shanghai and Beijing next month. By thick, I mean it compared Parker’s first visit to China, in 2008, to Nixon’s visit in 1972 (my highlights):

“Mr. Parker’s 2008 visit is regarded as having the same magnitude for the wine world as the geopolitical impact of Richard Nixon’s visit to China.”

Really? Who regards it that way except, perhaps, people at ASC? Nixon’s visit ended over two decades of isolation between the United States and China. What is the equivalent of Parker’s visit, especially since by that time wines  from the United States had been around for at least two decades — predating even the founding of ASC. Also, there was an incredible amount of media coverage of Nixon’s visit that underscored the importance of the event. Google “Robert Parker China visit 2008” and these are the top results:

Not exactly the likes of the New York Times, Life and Wall Street Journal let alone major wine media.

That is not to diminish Parker’s impact on the wine world. It’s indisputably significant. It’s just that when it comes to visiting China, he’s no Richard Nixon, and I’m pretty sure he’d be fine with that — especially given what happened later.

Anyway, the press release states ASC is the official importer, as it was in 2008, when Parker’s itinerary included a dinner for ~50 people on the Great Wall of China just outside Beijing. It also notes that ASC’s national wine education manager, Dorian Tang, will translate for him.

Click here for more on Parker’s upcoming visit.

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