He pioneered as the first New York Times wine writer when he began doing articles for the Wednesday Woman’s Section and NY Times Magazine in the early 1970s. While working in London as a foreign correspondent during the mid-70s, Robards spent a lot of time in the vineyards of France,Italy and Germany doing research. It was during this time that he authored THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF WINE, which was published in 1976. After his return to the United States he was well known for his book, and in 1979 became the NY Times Wine Critic.