The most widely used marketing tool for wine is the score.
In just about every wine shop you’ll find tags on the shelves stating that the above wine got a score from some self-anointed wine expert that supposedly indicates its quality.
But have you ever asked: On what was the score based? Is a wine with a score of 88 really 2 points better than one getting an 86?
Or, more importantly, just how was a score determined? How qualified is that expert at rating wine? And was that wine tasted blind or with sight of the label?
This last question is germane if you ask the additional question: Is it possible that a part of the score is composed of preconceived notions based on the brand on the label, and the price?
Have you ever seen a wine selling for $5 scored above 90 points? I haven’t either. Then the following story might be of interest.
Three years ago, at the Riverside (Calif.) International Wine Competition, which I coordinate, three separate panels of four wine judges evaluated various groups of wines double blind. By consensus, three different panels of judges had ruled that three different Sutter Home wines deserved gold medals.
The judging was done without regard to price. Thus, the Sutter Home wines were up against wines selling for $20 to $30 a bottle -- or more.
Each of the three Sutter Homes wines had a suggested retail price of $5.
That, among many reasons, is why I trust the results of wine competitions a lot more than I do the scores of disparate wine experts who rarely if ever say how they judge the wines they rate.
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