I'm 100 points on this blog post

It’s easy for one who follows wine as closely as most of my wine friends to understand the nuance and subjectivity of the 100 point rating system. A 92 on a given wine can mean completely different things depending on the reviewer. A 92 can also mean completely different things to the reader. There can be any numbers of variables in play; we all know that. Understanding it in this way makes it no different than placing in the proper perspective the rating system of any given form of art, craft or culture.

 To me, the dynamic that comes into play with wine ratings is the factor of intimidation on the part of a given consumer. No matter what type of music a person listens to, they’re probably not intimidated by the subject of “music.” On some level there’s a common bond that everyone has with it. Styles and preferences go from there, and a person thus knows how to place the subject of music criticism in perspective according their context.

The same could be said for many other forms of reviews. Movies, books, food – we’re not really intimidated by those words alone. A person can choose the level of criticism to follow based on the area of interest one has within the subject.  Also the great works of literature, music and film do not have a collectable aspect to them.

I think of wine criticism as I would art criticism. A work of art is finite and can fetch great sums of money. Collectable wine is similar. So the original context of the criticism takes on an entirely different meaning. To me it filters down through all levels of a wine purchasing decision. Ultimately, the wine review is a statement on the relative value of a purchase decision.

A person may love wine and care about it enough to spend large sums of money on it, but they may not sit on the computer writing wine blogs and reading wine message boards to the point where they assign context to a wine review. Or the person walking into a store may love to drink wine, but doesn’t feel comfortable asking a question. This is the point where the wine review along with an assigned number becomes king.

Two moments I experienced over the last week shed light on why the debate over the 100-point scale in wine criticism continues to live and breathe as it does. Whether on blogs or part of winery marketing, it’s an exhaustive dialogue that constantly breathes with new life.

I was working with a guest in a tasting room the other day. The guest was reading a sheet of recent reviews and asked with a sense of amazement how the stated drinking windows of the wines could vary as written. It was as if ‘the word is law.’ A few days later I was speaking with a wine merchant about the change in California reviewing in The Wine Advocate. A customer who had purchased and enjoyed recent vintages of a wine that Robert Parker gave 98 points was reluctant to buy the new vintage of the same that Antonio Galloni gave 95 points. It’s as if the publication was a united front that could not allow for a deviation of 3 points at the top of the scale from one reviewer to another.

That’s a lot of power to give to subjective numbers.