Wine Rating

I have always read about how beers are rated being surrounded by non-snobby beer drinkers.

Taken from BetterBeerBlog

RateBeer.com:
AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 15/20

From Beer Advocate:
appearance = 5% 
The first step. note the beer's colour, carbonation, head and its retention -- not the label or appearance of the bottle. 

smell = 20% 
Now bring the beer to your nose. note the beer's aromatic qualities. 

taste = 45% 
Take a deep sip of the beer. note any flavours, or interpretations of flavours, that you might discover. do they fit the style? 

mouthfeel = 10% 
Take another sip. note how the beer feels on the palate. too light? too heavy? smooth? coarse? 

overall = 20% 

95-100	world-class	must try
90-94	exceptional
80-89	good	try it
70-79	average
< 70	poor	avoid

Why aren't wines rated that way? Wouldn't it be clearer?  It tells you exactly what a person likes and not like about a beer. Everything in the beer rating system is relevant but perhaps Balance should be added for wine.


Wines are more like written testimonies and a score. Probably based on the person's experience. So if you have less experience, like me, then it is kind of hard to score/grade/rate/whatever-you-call-it the wine. Perhaps there is a need for a better system? Nowadays we look for mainly 88 and up, and there is even 100+

Wine spectator's rating is as such

• 95-100 Classic: a great wine
• 90-94 Outstanding: a wine of superior character and style
• 85-89 Very good: a wine with special qualities
• 80-84 Good: a solid, well-made wine
• 75-79 Mediocre: a drinkable wine that may have minor flaws
• 50-74 Not recommended

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate's rating is as such

96-100: An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase, and consume.

90 - 95: An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, these are terrific wines.

80 - 89: A barely above average to very good wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavor as well as character with no noticeable flaws.

70 - 79: An average wine with little distinction except that it is a soundly made. In essence, a straightforward, innocuous wine.

60 - 69: A below average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavor, or possibly dirty aromas or flavors.

50 - 59: A wine deemed to be unacceptable.

Perhaps we should learn from Beer dudes and not just score a wine but give exactly the breakdown of the score? Or maybe it is because wine has less characteristics than beer can have that it does not need a more complicated system? Like this guy says beer is more versatile than wine with a wider range of flavor profile. It seems like a search on the web gives a good idea of the general consensus.

So here is a 100 point system that might be useful in the future.

Appearance (residue, colour) 5%

Smell 15%

Taste 40%

Mouthfeel 5%

Balance 20%

Overall 15%

Total 100%

It sounds like plenty of work though. I will stick to smiley faces for now. :D