Wine Wednesday-What The Heck is the Point System for Wine?

It is time for Wine Wednesday.  Today I want to talk about Wine Points.  I had never heard of wine points until I was invited to a wine party.  Everyone has to bring a bottle to share.  The bottle has to be rated 85 points or above.  Having never heard of such a point system, I decided I needed to do my research before the event. 

So What the Heck is the Wine Point System? The wine rating system is a grading process.  This rating is based on opinion, so it is an subjective grade.  Market View Liquor states that these scores are basically "a point of reference and not an official decree."

Who makes the determination on the rating of a bottle of wine?  There are usually three groups Professional Wine Critics, Wine Competitions, and Wine Bloggers.

The wine score is based on various criteria such as Appearance, Consistency, Nose, Taste, Complexity, Varietal Representation, and Room for Improvement.  More can be found on this at Market View Liquor.

Wine Spectator has its own 100-point Wine Scale.  The points are given based on the opinion of the Wine Spectator Tasters.  Here is the scale they use. 

• 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

I think most of us don't bother to look at wine scores.  It is a subjective result, but it can help guide us if we have no idea which bottle to try.

Now that I will be attending a wine event where the bottle has to be rated 85 or higher, I am on the search for the perfect bottle.  I found a site that has a score for many wines.  Some wines on this site are very expensive, and some are under $20, which are the ones I usually buy.  The site is called Wine-Searcher.  I did notice that the Josh Chardonnay that I enjoy has 85 points...see, I have good taste:-)

Happy wine-sipping, everyone!

KathieyV