Wine ratings explained: How to make sense of wine scores and why they matter
Have you ever bought a wine because of its rating, or respectively score?
Then you are certainly not alone.
Looking at wine ratings can be a helpful way to better understand a wine you don’t’ know. However, there is something very important to keep in mind when picking a wine based on a wine rating score.
Wine ratings are like most things in life. They need to be taken with a grain of salt.
Buying a wine with a high rating is no guarantee you will like it.
Wine ratings take into consideration various characteristics of a wine, which are largely based on the quality of production. However, the final score does not tell how the wine tastes.
How do wine ratings work?
Wine ratings are based on a set of determinants including the appearance of the wine (in the glass), clarity, odour, flavour, and overall appearance.
Each of these characteristics will be evaluated by a group of wine critics, whereby the number of the tasting panel can vary according to the wine publication carrying out the rating.
The first and perhaps still most frequently used system was developed by acclaimed wine writer and critic Robert Parker back in the late 1970s. This system, first published in Parker’s own magazine The Wine Advocate is based on a 100-points scale.
Over time, more and more (wine) publications and wine critics have started to publish their own wine rating schemes. Many are still based on the well-known 100-points system. However, today you will also find ratings using a 20-points or 5-points system. The latter is typically expressed in symbols rather than points, including the ratings of Gault&Millau (grapes), Eichelmann (stars) and Gambero Rosso (glasses).
What all the different schemes have in common, the higher the points given the higher the quality of the wine. The 100-points and 20-points schemes also have a minimum threshold of points where the drinkability of a rated wine starts. For more on this, read on to learn about the different rating schemes and how they work.
Also very common among the different schemes, wines will be usually blind tasted. This typically means, judges will not be given certain information about the wine such as the brand or winemaker. They might however be told about the varietal of the wine and the region it comes from.
How important are wine ratings?
When buying wines you don’t know, looking at the rating of the wine can be very helpful to determine the quality of the wine.
However, the wine score will not give you any indication how the wine will taste – or if you like it at all.
Therefore, it is important not only to look just at the score but also take into consideration the tasting notes provided with the rating. This is the part where you will learn about the aroma and flavour of a wine, the body weight, and often what food goes well with this wine.
Yet beside all this information, you will only know if you like a wine once you have opened the bottle and tasted it for yourself!
And in this context, it is totally fine if you prefer a lower rated wine over one with a higher score.
What you should know about wine ratings
- Wine ratings, or better the scores given to a particular wine by any given expert panel, are based on standardized rating schemes. But as long as people are involved, any rating will contain an element of subjectiveness. Because anybody involved will have her own preferences and taste.
- Wine ratings do not indicate how the wine will taste. They are exclusively based on quality aspects of the wine.
- There is no official body providing regulations in wine ratings. Which means, nearly everybody can publish wine ratings. While the established ratings by leading wine magazines or wine guides will only involve wine experts such as sommeliers, wine critics, or winemakers, increasingly there are also so-called community wine ratings that will be published on online wineshops.
- Wine ratings can provide very valuable guidance to better understand a wine. However, in the end it is down to your own judgement and in particular taste if you like a wine and will buy it again.
Where can you find the wine scores for individual wines?
So you want to buy a wine based on its rating/score? That’s fine, but where do you find the score?
Only few wineries will print scores directly on their bottles. That’s largely because wines will already be bottled and labelled when they are rated. Therefore, it is difficult to add the score although some wineries will use stickers which are more easily to apply at a later stage to feature scores or other awarded the wine has achieved in ratings or competitions.
Instead, the wine score can be found in wine magazines, wine guides, and often online. Many wine shops will also provide scores on the shelfs, and here you are also likely to find tasting notes that will provide additional information about the wine.
Do wine scores influence the price of a wine?
Will a higher scored wine be more expensive compared to a wine with lower scores?
Well, very likely it will.
The higher the score, the higher the likeliness the wine will be in high demand.
On a positive note, though, you will be able to find wines scored at 90-points and higher (based on the 100-points rating schemes) at reasonable prices. That’s because wines will be scored in blind tastings and judges will not know the price range of the wine they are tasting.
A score above 90 pointy does not mean the wine will automatically be in the high price range. While many will be, you might be pleased to hear that you will be able to find a wide range of wines in the high-scoring range that still sell below 20 euros.
Different wine rating systems explained
So now that you know how wine ratings systems work, and how to make sense of them, let’s have a look at the different, most established schemes.
What all schemes have in common, the higher the rating the higher the quality of the wine. Still, it’s worthwhile to know the main differences and how to apply the different scorings to different levels of quality.
Below you will find a short summary of the most widely used rating schemes and how to read the various point ranges.
The 100-points wine rating scheme
The 100-point wine rating system initially developed by wine critic Robert Parker was later adopted by many leading wine magazines, including the likes of Decanter, Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Spectator among others.
Typically, these magazines will employ fairly large wine tasting panels (sometimes up to 100 judges but sometimes also significantly less) who will give their own individual scores to a wine. These scores will then be averaged to arrive at the final score.
While each rating has a slightly different approach, as a rule of thumb you could apply the following classification.
75 – 79 points: meeting the standards but not considered to be more than average
80 – 84 points: above average to good
85 – 89 points: good to very good
90 – 94 points: outstanding to excellent
95 – 100 points: exceptional
Any wine rated below the 70/75 points threshold would be deemed not drinkable.
The 20-points wine rating scheme
Less frequently used but still widely established, the 20-points wine rating scheme largely follows the 100-points system. The higher the given points, the better the wine. Here, the limit for wines that are deemed worth drinking is 10 points.
As a rule of thumb, wine scores applied for the 20-points scheme can be translated as follows:
Below 14 points: basic to poor
14 – 14.5 points: meeting standards but still below average
15 – 16.5 points: average to good
17 – 18.5 points: outstanding
19 – 20 points: exceptional
The 5-points wine rating scheme
Another frequent rating scheme is based on a 5-points scheme. Scorings from a 5-pionts scheme are typically shown by symbols, rather than publishing a numeric score.
Wine ratings expressed by symbols are often used by wine magazines or wine guides.
The Gault&Millau wine guide applies a 1-5 scoring system shown as grapes. Scores are given in 0.5 steps, black grapes highlight a full point, red grapes a half point.
Eichelmann Weinführer (wine guide) from Germany is published by acclaimed wine critic Gerhard Eichelmann. The publication only rates wines from Germany. The scheme follows a similar approach as the Gault&Millau, using 1-5 scheme with 0.5 steps. However, full points are expressed as stars filled in, and half-point are shown as stars not filled in.
Gambero Rosso from Italy is using a system applying a maximum of 3 glasses though the scheme is based on four different quality groups. 1 glass describes a good wine, 2 glasses a very good wine, while 2 red glasses highlight those wines that were considered for the highest quality level but in the end did not make the cut. Meanwhile, three glasses are reserved for exceptional wines.
Wine medals rating scheme
A perhaps more simplified way to apply wine ratings is the usage of medals. The scheme still uses a points approach, with the 100-points scale the most common.
The wine medal scheme is most widely used rating wines in wine shows, or wine competitions.
However, instead to show an acurate score the ranking is broken down to three larger groups of quality levels.
Bronze medal: wines scoring above 70 points
Silver medal: wines scoring above 80 points
Gold medal: wines scoring above 90 points
Regional wine quality classifications worth knowing about
Most wine rating schemes are applied on an international level. While wines might be grouped by varietal and region of origin, especially wine magazines will carry out wine ratings for wines coming from around the world. Major exceptions are the various ratings carried out on the 5-points scheme with wine guides such Eichelmann and Gambero Rosso typically rating only wines from their own countries.
However, if you are looking for wines from a particular country or region, it is well worth considering some of the other regional classifications.
Germany’s VDP rating
Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter, in short VDP is a national German wine association including only select high-quality wineries. Wine scores awarded by the alliance are based on its own private regulations.
VDP’s rating system is complex but once you get a hang of it, it will be a great help to find top quality wines.
- VDP.Grosse Lage is awarded to wines originating from the very best vineyards, yielding the most unique and distinct wines.
- VDP.Erste Lage is composed by wines distinguished by their excellent ability to express the essence of a particular vineyard.
- VDP.Ortsweine are wines made from grapes harvested from the best vineyards within a single destination.
- VDP.Gutsweine are wines made from grapes harvested from a winery’s own vineyards.
In addition to the various classifications, which are stated on the wine label all VDP wines also feature the VDP.Eagle symbol on the bottleneck.
Halliday Wine Companian, Australia
Australian leading wine guide, the Halliday Wine Companian, uses a similar 100-points ranking scheme to rate individual wines.
But the guide does also provide a rating on wineries in general, not only their individual wines. This winery rating is expressed in a 5-star ranking.
- 5 Red Stars: indicates a winery producing exceptional wines, at least two of the winery’s wines are rated at a minimum of 95 points, and the winery had received a 5-star rating for the previous two consecutive years. Within this top category, there is another level, which is the Red Red Star rating. This ultimate rating singles out the absolutely best of the best Australian wineries.
- 5 Stars: indicates outstanding wineries, producing the highest quality wines, and at least two of its wines need to be rated at 95 points or above.
- 4.5 Stars: an excellent winery that produces high quality wines. It should have at least one of its wines rated at a minimum of 95 points, and at least two more rated at 90 points or higher.
- 4 Stars: a winery capable to continuously make good to excellent wines. At least one wine should be given a 90 points rating, or higher.
- 3 Stars: a winery making good to very good wines with several of its wines scored at 86 to 89 points.
Platter’s Wine Guide, South Africa
Published by John Platter, Platter’s Wine Guide is South Africa’s first and still most highly valued wine rating guide.
The guide provides wine ratings based on a 5-star rating system translating into the 100-points and 20-points scheme. It perhaps offers the narrowest scoring ranges of all ratings.
5-stars with start not filled out: somewhat less than ordinary
5-stars with half a star filled out: very ordinary
5-stars with one star filled out: unexciting
5-stars with 1.5 stars filled out: plain and simple
5-stars with 2 stars filled out: pleasant
5-stars with 2.5 stars filled out: slightly above average
5-stars with 3 stars filled out: good, for early drinking
5-stars with 3.5 stars filled out: very good
5-stars with 4 stars filled out: excellent
5-stars with 4.5 stars filled out: outstanding
5-stars with all 5 stars filled out: superlative
What about community wine ratings and how do they work?
The days wine ratings came from distinguished, professional entities such as well-known wine magazines and wine guides and based on expert wine panels are definitely over.
Today, nearly all online wineshops will provide those visiting their sites the possibility to rate wines based on each person’s individual taste.
These people are usually not wine critics, and their wine knowledge will range from the basics to good to excellent understanding of wines.
An excellent example of community wine ratings can be found on Vivino.com an online wineshop that allows individuals to rate wines based on a 5-scale rating system. The final rating of a wine is derived from the average score of all individual scores provided. Once you look at a particular wine on the website, you will be not only given the score given by everybody who rated it. You will also be shown how the wine relates to ratings of similar wines, i.e. the same varietal from the same region and vintage.
A significant difference between expert and community wine ratings is that the latter will also allow poor scores given to a wine to be published; while expert ratings will simply not list any wines below a certain threshold.
So what should you make of community wine ratings?
It is down to your own judgement if you are willing to consider community wine ratings. Personally, I think they are quite valuable as they will taka into account the view of a large crowd. And while they are based on personal taste – and therefore will express mostly subjective reviews – knowing that a particular wine was liked by many, or disliked by many, can provide a good guidance whether you will like the wine or not.
Final thoughts on wine ratings
With so many wines on the market, ranging from the most basic quality to the best of the rest, I certainly appreciate being able to relay on easy expert advice in form of wine scores.
Including community wine ratings more than everything else highlighting if a wine is a crowed pleaser or not.
Quite importantly, once I have found a wine I like, I do not longer care about the scores. Because, in the end all what matters is personal taste.
Do you buy wines based on scores? What has been your experience doing this so far?
Carrots and Tigers 