I, personally, rarely rely on anything from critics. They are usually either paid one way or another for their comments (credibility issues), or they don't know what they are talking about. It is rare you find one that is worth the time to listen to, and you have to wade through so much garbage, it is even more rare that they are worth finding. This is for nearly any product, not just wine.
That said, one of the first suggestions I ever heard from a winery is "Forget what people tell you about wines or that this goes with that. I will tell you some guidelines most people find useful for choosing a wine, but in the end, it is what YOU like." Ever since, I have found that the cheaper white wines are my taste, and it saves me money. What more could I ask for from wine?