Robert Parker
Hugely influential American critic who seems to evoke strong feelings among wine lovers, especially in the USA. Famed for his 100 point scoring system: you can be sure that any wines rated higher than 90 will suddenly fly off the retailer's shelves. His detractors point to the legion of wine collectors who brainlessly follow his ratings (surely an ugly sight). Personally, I respect the hard work he puts in and find it useful to have so many tasting notes from just one consistent, unbiased and professional palate. Whether or not your palate calibrates with his is for you to decide. 

Jancis Robinson
It is hard not to respect the work that Jancis has done. The Oxford Companion to Wine is an immense contribution to wine publishing and her BBC TV series ('Jancis Robinson's wine course') was brilliantly conceived and executed. She manages to combine an educated and learned approach with popular appeal. Her only downside is that she can come across as rather smug: witness her unkind treatment of Oddbins supremo Steve Daniel in the TV show 'vintner's tales'. Beautifully poised and balanced writing.

Oz Clarke
Effervescent and perhaps a little too populist in front of TV cameras, Oz really shines when he turns to print. He has a good palate and is a pretty reliable judge of a wine, and he can actually write! His 'New classic wines' is a good example of the sort of high quality work he is capable of.

Hugh Johnson
Hugh Johnson deserves kudos because he was there first, and he is still one of the best. His wine atlas, first published in 1971, was a tremendous achievement. He is particularly good on the history of wine. Not one to ever really give advice on exactly which wines to choose -- that's not his thing. Instead, allow him to give you a superb sense of perspective on the world of wine.

Malcolm Gluck
I don't know why he is so popular. Nor do I know why a serious newspaper like The Guardian employs him as a wine correspondent. Of interest to the sort of people who think there is no point spending more that £5 (US$8) on a bottle of wine. His work is totally irrelevant to wine geeks. The tragedy is, he has probably become quite wealthy whereas most serious wine critics haven't.

Clive Coates
High-brow critic who publishes a newsletter called The Vine, in which he is courageous enough to stick is neck out by actually giving wines a numerical rating. Has also published a well received tome on Burgundy, among other books. I'm not too familiar with his work, but it is received well by my wine chums who subscribe to his publication, with the slight reservation that he can be a little patchy once away from his more familiar areas.

Andrew Jefford
Clever and eloquent writer well known as drinks correspondent for BBC radio 4's Food Programme and the London Evening Standard newspaper. Lately he has begun a regular column for Decanter magazine. Generally excellent work and always worth reading.