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Author Topic: Wine Ratings Are For Suckers: Fun Article  (Read 9092 times)

mouser

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Wine Ratings Are For Suckers: Fun Article
« on: July 02, 2007, 10:49 PM »
This is a bit old, but it's from one of the blogs i read regularly and hadn't seen before..

Wine Ratings Are For Suckers

"On many levels [rating wines on a numerical scale] is nonsensical," Joshua Greene, the editor and publisher of Wine & Spirits, said. He has been using the 100-point system to judge wines in his magazine for about a dozen years.
...
My one complaint about the article is that it failed to discuss two of my favorite experiments in wine tasting. They were done by Frederic Brochet, of the University of Bordeaux. In the first test, Brochet invited 57 wine experts and asked them to give their impressions of what looked like two glasses of red and white wine. The wines were actually the same white wine, one of which had been tinted red with food coloring. But that didn't stop the experts from describing the "red" wine in language typically used to describe red wines. One expert praised its "jamminess," while another enjoyed its "crushed red fruit." Not a single one noticed it was actually a white wine.

The second test Brochet conducted was even more damning. He took a middling Bordeaux and served it in two different bottles. One bottle was a fancy grand-cru. The other bottle was an ordinary vin du table. Despite the fact that they were actually being served the exact same wine, the experts gave the differently labeled bottles nearly opposite ratings. The grand cru was "agreeable, woody, complex, balanced and rounded," while the vin du table was "weak, short, light, flat and faulty". Forty experts said the wine with the fancy label was worth drinking, while only 12 said the cheap wine was.


cthorpe

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Re: Wine Ratings Are For Suckers: Fun Article
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2007, 01:23 AM »
Nice find!   :Thmbsup:

Tekzel

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Re: Wine Ratings Are For Suckers: Fun Article
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2007, 08:03 AM »
Haha, I always said critics are full of dung.  Nice to be validated. 

f0dder

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Re: Wine Ratings Are For Suckers: Fun Article
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2007, 08:09 AM »
I think I heard about this test several years ago, and well... that just shows how snobby some people are. French wines suck anyway :down:
- carpe noctem

Lashiec

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Re: Wine Ratings Are For Suckers: Fun Article
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2007, 02:41 PM »
As with everything they try, after a time critics turn into snobs.

steeladept

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Re: Wine Ratings Are For Suckers: Fun Article
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2007, 03:42 PM »
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?

edbro

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Re: Wine Ratings Are For Suckers: Fun Article
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2007, 05:34 PM »
I agree for the most part but, I have been turned on to some pretty good wines by reading reviews. Lately, I have been drinking a lot of Australian blended wines. My current favorite is a Rosemont Shiraz/Grenach blend. The current Australian blends are a great value for your money.

f0dder

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Re: Wine Ratings Are For Suckers: Fun Article
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2007, 06:01 PM »
Australian or Chilean wines are my favorite, definitely Shiraz. Merlot isn't all bad either, if perhaps a bit fruity.
- carpe noctem

Lashiec

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Re: Wine Ratings Are For Suckers: Fun Article
« Reply #8 on: July 03, 2007, 06:44 PM »
You guys seem to be wine connoisseurs :D

iphigenie

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Re: Wine Ratings Are For Suckers: Fun Article
« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2007, 11:36 AM »
There's reviews and then there's single number grades - I do agree that grades dont mean much and a lot of people do far too much about those grades.

Then you have medals, and some are meaningful (qualitative, only won if wine is good, some categories might give several medals and some none if nothing is great etc.) and some arent (marketing, 200 categories and always a winner in each...)

I cant imagine that people know the difference

steeladept

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Re: Wine Ratings Are For Suckers: Fun Article
« Reply #10 on: July 04, 2007, 11:44 AM »
I agree for the most part but, I have been turned on to some pretty good wines by reading reviews.

I can understand that.  I personally like going on wine tasting tours so that is how I find them.  If the reviews work for you, great.  I just don't find them worth my time.