(Eater) - As the debate around whether the 100-point scale should be applied to wine rages on, the utility of the wine tasting note — with all of its flowery adjectives and laundry lists of fruits — has also come into question. American wine writers (mostly notably Robert Parker) popularized the fruity tasting note, along with the wine score, in the early 80s as a way to democratize wine for a country that still had very little knowledge of it. By defining wine by familiar flavors, they made it more accessible.