Have you ever found yourself in a wine shop or grocery store dazed and confused by the plethora of choices before you? You may have thought buying a few bottles of wine would be relatively straightforward; however, navigating the different years, colorful labels, and descriptions is a lot of information to process. Then there are bold numbers placed on some of the wines. These numbers “score” the wines according to a particular system, but they also can make a purchase a bit more complicated than you initially thought.

In general, wine rating systems are designed to provide consumers with additional information about a wine ’ s overall quality and potential. These systems typically use a 50 -100 point scale to score wine, with 90 -100 points indicating a great or exceptional wine, 80 -89 a good wine, 70 -79 as average and anything below as poor/undrinkable. These numbers are determined by wine industry experts and professionals whose job includes tasting groups of wines together (often what’ s known as blind - without knowledge of varietal/ maker/origin/other particular telling characteristics) and designating each with a score based upon a particular rating system. It might be helpful to see a score of a wine you have never tasted or know nothing about. On the other hand, it might be confusing to see a range of scores that do not necessarily correlate with their prices. Tasting notes that accompany wine can further muddle your decision, especially if they describe wines similarly but have vastly different ratings.

How do you know who to trust?

When ratings are placed on a bottle (or advertised alongside the wine in print) the name of the publication or wine critic who judged it is emphasized to draw consumers ’ attention. Presumably, if you know that one or more wine professionals believe a wine is great, okay, or simply not worth it, it may help you in your selection. On the contrary, if you do not know anything about wine critics, knowing a bit about how rating systems work should give you a better basis for making an educated wine purchase.

A few of the contenders are:

• Wine Spectator magazine is a well known, respected publication that has a commonly used wine rating system. They have a team of experts that taste and review over 15,000 wines per year using the blind tasting method and use a 100 point scale to rank them as Classic (95 -100), Outstanding (90 -94), Very Good (85 -89), Good (80 -84), Mediocre (75 -79) and Not Recommended (50 -74).
• Another popular wine rating scale is called the Wine Advocate Rating System and was created by renowned wine critic Robert Parker for his bimonthly Wine Advocate newsletter (first published in 1978). Parker rose to public spotlight in the 1980s for his outstanding critiques of French wine and essentially put the idea of wine ratings on the industry ’ s radar. It is a similar 50 -100 scale (Parker Points®) for judging wine quality by its drinkability, prominent characteristics and potential for aging.
• Founded in 1988 by Adam Strum, Wine Enthusiast is a magazine and website specializing in wines, spirits, food and travel. With a combined readership of over 4.1 million, it is the most influential voice in wine and drinks journalism today. Their rating system uses a smaller range between its scores. Classic (98 -100), Superb (94 -97), Excellent (90 -93), Very Good (87 -89), Good (83 -86), Acceptable (80 -82). BARGETTO received some great scores in 2021 from Wine Enthusiast. Here are just a few...

An alternative to point-based systems

Certain local wine shops and small grocery stores like Trader Joe’ s often have staff picks and tasting notes to help guide their customers instead of or in addition to ratings. Taking this advice may be hit-or-miss because it is highly subjective and may not relate to your preferences. Although, if you like to know how other individuals score wine, take a look at CellarTracker, a free online database that synthesizes the personal ratings of thousands of consumers on hundreds of wines around the world. Using this approachable website, consumers can easily browse what others have written, just like asking a friend what their thoughts are on a particular bottle or brand.

We’re also here to help you!

At BARGETTO Winery, our Wine Counselors always welcome questions about making wine selections and what role rating systems can play in those decisions. Stop into one of our tasting rooms or email us at wineclub@bargetto.com and let us help. While there is more than one way to gauge the potential of a wine prior to purchase, you make the final call. Who knows, the next time you see a rating on a bottle of wine, you might take a chance and find you really enjoy it!