Wine Ratings

What kind of wine ratings are there and what do they mean? Red & white?

Public Comments

1. There are numerous publications & oenophiles that rate wine. The most well known are Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, and Robert Parker. There are numerous others, but these are the most frequently seen and heard about. Most rate wines on a 100 point scale, 95+ being superb and near perfect, 90+ points being a superior quality wine, 85+ being good quality, and 80-85 being palatable and drinkable with some complexity. Wine Spectator can be a great guide to finding a good wine. If a shelf tag says that it got an 88 or above, this should be a safe purchase. However, WS also seems to rank according to who they like and who advertises with them. I'll use WS to help me find wines that I might like, but if a wine I love gets a bad rating from them (Twomey Merlot), I just disregard it. WE seems to have a little more flexible standards. They seem to be a little more suited to regular normal people. This is another great way to find some good deals. If WE gave an $8 wine 92 points, it's probably worth giving it a try. Robert Parker tends to like palatable big wines and agrees with what I like. The aforementioned "Twomey" was 76 points on WS but 94 with Robert Parker, and it's one of the best Merlots I've ever had (I'm not a Merlot person). He likes traditional style wines, but is never afraid of new things. I've heard that his palate has been a little off, but I don't see his rating often enough to agree or disagree with that. In short, using a ranking to help you find a wine can be a great idea. Just don't get overly caught up in it. It's a great way to find good deals and to compare your palate with that of an "expert" . But, wine is so subjective, so go with what you like. : )
2. here's a great articles to help you understand wine and wine ratings....plus some good links..hope these help ya.....smile ..... good luck: ***1) How to rate a wine Understanding and rating wine Rating a wine is not for experts alone. This skill can be developed by anyone with enough practice and exposure and it starts with understanding the elements in wine making and rating. There are basically 4 areas where wines are rated. These are appearance, smell or aroma, taste, and aftertaste. Below is some information on how wines get their scores: 1. 6 star wines are exceptional vintage, so perfect that nothing more can be removed or added to improve it. Only less than 1% of the total worlds production of wine belongs to this category. They possess all the complex characteristics of a classic wine. They aren't usually sold online or elsewhere and tagged as collector’s items. 2. 5 star wines are almost perfect because they have extraordinary organoleptic characteristics. These wines have balanced richness, color, and overall harmony so that they produce extraordinary texture, smell, and taste. 3. 4 star wines are 5% of the worlds production and they don't have noticeable flaws and they display high character, finesse, and flavor. These are the types of wine commonly collected today. They are expected to get a higher rating as they age. 4. 3 star wines are what they usually call average wines. They are made from ordinary ingredients but are soundly made. They are the same as 4 star wines in that they don't have noticeable flaws and they have excellent texture and taste. 5. 2 star wines on the other hand are below average. They contain noticeable flaws (ex. Floating particles, unpleasant odor, watery substance, etc) due to extra tannin or acid. However, they can be generally pleasant but lack complexity, depth, or character. 6. 0-1 star wines are usually homemade wines that don't make it to the wine market. These are commonly made from poor quality ingredients and they are noticeably dull. They are flawed, terribly diluted, and imbalanced. Wine tasting and ratings are usually done within large groups. This group of people rate unlabelled wines without considering the brand and cost. Their ratings are compiled to be used in comprehensive analysis to determine the ratings and classes of wines. These are designed to help buyers in choosing the best wine on the market today. Though these ratings can be used by buyers when buying wine, they aren't guidelines that are strictly to be followed. It will still be the buyers call on what to put in their cart when they are shopping. The Differences Between Red Wine and White Winemaking There are significant differences between red wine and white wine production. Basically, red wine is the outcome of crushed, fermented grapes. White wine is the outcome of fermented grape juice (that is, no skins or meat of the fruit). Blush wines, out of interest, are made from red grapes that are made into wine as though they were white grapes. The red grape skins add a bit of color and nutrients to the juice being made into blush or rosé, leaving a slight blush of red in the wine. Red Wine All grapes contain the same kind of green fruity-meat, but red grapes have red skins and in the winemaking process, there is a considerable amount of color, flavors and tannins that are imparted to the final product. After crushing, the red grapes, skins and all, sit in a fermentation vat for a period of time. Picture a huge plastic bin with a mixture of crushed grapes and juice with a layer of crushed wet skins on top. The skins tend to rise to the surface of the mixture, forming a layer on top. This top layer is frequently mixed back into the fermenting juice (called must). After fermentation has stopped, about one to two weeks later, the new wine is drawn from the vat. A bit of "free run" juice is allowed to pour and then the remaining must is squeezed, yielding "press wine". The wine is clarified and then transferred to oak aging barrels so that it may mature. When the winemaker considers the wine ready, it is transferred to bottles and labeled. White Wine Right after picking, white grapes are put into a crushing machine. In the process, the skins are separated from the juice, an important difference over the red wine process. Some adjustments are sometimes made to the acid or sugar levels at this stage (the addition of sugar is called "chaptalization"). The clarified juice is then ready for fermentation. Yeast is then added to the juice for fermentation. Before long the white grape juice becomes white wine. At this point, some further tinkering is usually called for: filtering, and perhaps the addition of sweeter juice to round out the flavor. The wine is then aged by storing in oak or stainless steel containers, and after a few months, it is bottled.