Ratings? We don’t need no-drink grades

Since the beginning of wine, people have rated the varieties they consume. Some people rate wine in simple twists: a thumbs-up and lip lick or a dramatic slap of a wine glass against a living room wall and simulated vomiting. Others prefer to rate it with established criteria, such as the 100-point scale. Used by magazines, editors, connoisseurs, and the plain and simple John Q Wine Drinker, this scale packs a lot of weight – it has the ability to make or break a bottle.

According to Wine Spectator Magazine, the 100 point wine scale is broken down accordingly: 95-100 for exceptionally excellent wine, 90-95 for superior wine, 85-89 for very good, 80-84 for good, 75-79 for average and 50-74 for wine that is not recommended, at least not for consumption.

Each person views the 100-point scale differently – some think it is a way to buy only the best wine, others think it is a way for beginners to learn not to get stuck with the wrong grape. Some people swear by, they never take a sip of anything without the 100-point scale looking at them and nodding in approval. Others find it pretentious, biased, unrealistic, and unfair. I fall into the last category. For me, using the 100-point rating system allows for stereotyping the wine: in short, it is grapism.

There are many reasons why I am against the 100 point system. Not only do I think it dictates too much on wine sales, but I also think it makes some vintages feel bad – there’s no need to lower a wine’s self-esteem, especially when it increases ours so much. In general, the main reasons I am against the 100 point system are as follows: it makes people trust the opinions of others rather than their own, it is based on the mood of critics, and, of course, it paves the way for a wine conspiracy. .

Makes people trust the opinions of others instead of their own

No one can argue with the fact that we all have different likes and dislikes: some people enjoy white wine, others hate it; some people love boxed wine, others think boxed wine is better bottled; Some people think Merlot tastes like berries, others can just swear it tastes like chicken. For this reason, it is difficult to give too much credence to a wine rating scale. After all, trusting him is simply trusting someone else’s tastes, someone with unavoidably different tastes than your own.

Trusting someone else’s tastes also takes away the individual’s ability to make a decision. There may be a wine that has received a lousy rating of 73 and, because of the rating, it will never be tasted by someone who, given the chance, would discover that it is the best wine that has ever touched their lips. On the other hand, there may be a 95-rated wine that many people find unappealing. But, because it received such a high rating, they convince themselves that they like it, occasionally wrapping it in their napkin and feeding it to the dog when no one is looking.

When it comes down to it, the 100-point rating scale tells people what kind of wine they should like and what kind of wine they shouldn’t like; it simply tells people how to think and what to drink. Any concept that tries to dictate what you like and what you don’t like simply does not work for a human race laden with individual tastes and differences. People should be able to make their own decisions and fill their own glasses; give the lemmings a 100 point scale.

It is based on the reviewer’s mood

Another problem with the 100-point rating scale is that it relies too heavily on the opinion of a small group of people – people with opinions that can be affected by their mood. Take, for example, a review from someone who is in a bad mood. Maybe you just got into a fight with your spouse, got your son out of jail on bail, or got an urgent letter from the IRS. Already feeling the pressures of life, the wine you are tasting may not be as pleasant as it would if life had not sunk you. A gloomy mood can lead them to give a wine a rating of 89, instead of 90.

This may seem of little value. After all, the difference between 89 and 90 is only ONE number. But for the wine salesman, it might as well be a hundred numbers. This number can mean the difference between the bottles that are out of stock or the bottles that need to be placed on the discount shelf next to the Boone and White Zinfandel.

This number may also not be fair from a scientific point of view. Many scientists argue that reviewers cannot logically determine the difference between an 89 and a 90; humans lack the basis to make this distinction. In simple terms, our senses are not keen enough to fairly determine which wines have an aroma and flavor that deserve an 89 and which wines have an aroma and flavor that deserve a 90. For this reason, the rating scale of 100 points would be more legitimate. when the wines are checked by bloodhounds.

Pave the way for a wine conspiracy

Okay, the concept of a wine conspiracy might seem a bit far-fetched – it’s not very likely that a bottle of wine was actually shot from the grassy knoll. But, every time an entire industry is dictated by a rating system, the door to collusion opens slightly. There is always the possibility that certain wines are highly rated for reasons other than their fine characteristics. The rating does not even have to be assigned by a reviewer who knowingly conspires against a certain crop; I could easily ignore their bias.

Perhaps a critic once had a bottle of Cabernet stained his new, and of course white, dining room carpet. He may unconsciously hold a grudge against all the Cabernets in the world, assigning them a low number forever. Or maybe a certain type of wine evokes pleasant memories: memories of a tour of France, memories of being in love, memories of Christmas reunions. These wines would likely receive a higher rating not because of their characteristics, but because they come packed with pleasant memories.

In looking at the 100-point system, I can’t help but wonder why wine is rated when nothing else we consume is judged similarly; Why isn’t chocolate, beef, or pumpernickel assigned a number? Why are Cheese Wiz and Golden Grahams overlooked? What about soda, beer, or cooking oils? What about Campbell’s soup? Without rankings, how can we Really Do you know what M’m, M’m Good is?

In short, the 100 point scale has no place in the wine industry. It takes away the opportunity for people to experience wine for themselves, leaving them preoccupied with drinking only high-ranking wines. This perpetuates the absurd notion that wine is a serious drink: the people who drink it must be intellectual, sophisticated, and naturally have a British accent.

Wine is fun and exciting and should be judged as such. In the end, the 100-point system deserves nothing more than a zero.