The bogus business of wine ratings

An interesting article cropped up in the Wall Street Journal, entitled “The Bogus Business if Wine Ratings“. Tis the season for wine guides such as the Platter Guide and newly released Peoples Guide to hit the shelves as the ideal Christmas gift. The question of just how ratings influence wine prices and how wine prices influence ratings has always fascinated us. In a recent video interview with Neil Pendock we discussed the merits of blind vs sighted tasting. The problem with blind tasting is that we never drink a wine blind, we assess it due to the label, where it was made, by whom it was made and finally by the taste and smell of the wine. This leads us into the main flaw with sighted tastings is that humans are easily skewed towards the look and feel of a label, the brand name, the fashionable wine region. Can you imagine the pressures on a Platter taster when evaluating an icon like Meerlust? Not easy to bestow a 2.5 star on a Rubicon.

In the Wall Street Journal article a recent study by a Robert Hodgson concludes that the successive judgements of the same wine by the same wine expert vary so widely that the ratings and medals bestowed on the wine are merely a powerful illusion. In Mr Hodgson’s study he conducted blind tastings with some of the top wine judges in California and ensured that the same wine was showed at least three times. The variance of rating in these wines was large, averaging at 4 points in a 100 point scale. We all know the difference a 91 point award and 87 point award can have! In another study he proved that the awarding of gold medals at certain shows “mirrors what might be expected should a gold medal be awarded by chance alone.”

Read the original article here.

Take what you want from the study but for us it just proves that wine is a very difficult thing to rate. I mean there is no Robert Parker of art dishing out 90 point ratings for one Picasso and a 85 for another. By it’s nature wine is an enigma, bringing forth different flavours and aromas for different people and different associations of quality. A honeymoon spent in Greece can perhaps give a different take on pine soaked retsina wines, than someone tasting it in an airconditioned hall. In 2010 Under the Influence is embarking on public sighted tastings, where we want our community to choose the wines they want to see more of. Importantly, these can’t be chosen by one palate in one sitting, they need to be experienced in a relaxed and open environment, preferably with food. Wine needs to be rated in the same way it should be drunk, with friends, family and food! Keep using the guides, because they are an anchor point from which to explore from, but remember to make up your own mind with wine, as this is surely better than the flip of a coin!