Wine Ratings, What Do They Mean?

Wine ratings seem to be an objective way of describing wine; after all, we are dealing in numbers, not abstract terms such as "lush buttery taste with a hint of orchid". What does that mean?

But numbers we can understand. We may not all be mathematicians, but we know that usually a 10 is better than an 8. Higher is better than lower (unless you are trying to lose weight!)

So how are the numbers calculated? Wines are rated on a 100 point scale. The values are assigned as follows, and usually this is what they mean:

95-100 A great wine

90-94 An outstanding wine

85-89 A very good wine

80-84 A good wine

75-79 An average wine

50-74 Below average wine,don't even bother

Experts will write their wine tasting notes describing the wine and also assigning it a number. This gives some objectivity to the evaluation, and it helps the rest of us to decide if we want to try a particular wine.

What Do You Like?

What we need to remember is that this is someone's opinion of the wine, in some ways no different than the "hint of orchid" description.

However, that particular number does offer a clue; and helps us to understand that someone, probably more knowledgeable than us, and with more experience in wine tasting, has judged this wine to be an 89.

This number should be helpful to us, but it doesn't mean that we should ignore our own opinion; after all, we are the best judges of what we like.

It is possible that the wine that someone considers a 93 makes your mouth pucker. Whereas the wine that someone rated an 86 or an 82 tastes wonderful to you.

Remember that the numbers should be a starting point for you, not the law. Don't limit yourself to only highly rated wines, you could miss out on a good experience.

Your Taste Preference Is The Most Important Guide

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