Wine Rating System

How wines are rated? Let's find out!

To evaluate the quality of wines there are different wine ratings. The wine ratings help everyone to understand immediately the quality and the value of a wine. Wine ratings helps you to make decision but everyone has a different palate and different preferences, so basing purchases on wine ratings may not garner the perfect wine match for your tastes.


There are different wine ratings provide by different publications:
Wine Spectator
All tastings are conducted "blind." Tasters are told the type of wine (varietal or region) and vintage. Flawed wines or wines that score very highly are re-tasted.
Wine Spectator's 100-Point Scale:

  • 95-100 -- Classic; a great wine
  • 90-94 -- Outstanding; superior character and style
  • 80-89 -- Good to very good; wine with special qualities
  • 70-79 -- Average; drinkable wine that may have minor flaws
  • 60-69 -- Below average; drinkable but not recommended
  • 50-59 -- Poor; undrinkable, not recommended

The Wine Advocate
Robert Parker is a renowned wine critic and publisher of The Wine Advocate. Parker is not the only critic at the Advocate and many wines are tasted by colleagues at the publication..

Tastings are conducted in peer group, single-blind conditions, which means the same types of wines are tasted against each other and the wineries' names are not revealed, so niether price nor the reputation of the winery influences the rating in any way..
The Wine Advocate's 100-Point Scale:

  • 96-100 -- Extraordinary; a classic wine of its variety
  • 90-95 -- Outstanding; exceptional complexity and character
  • 80-89 -- Barely above average to very good; wine with various degrees of flavor
  • 70-79 -- Average; little distinction beyond being soundly made
  • 60-69 -- Below average; drinkable, but containing noticeable deficiencies
  • 50-59 -- Poor; unacceptable, not recommended

 

Wine Enthusiast
Wine Enthusiast wine ratings are based on tastings by the magazine's editors and other qualified tasting panelists, either individually or in a group setting. Tastings are conducted blind or in accordance with accepted industry practices. Price is not a factor in assigning scores to wines. Only wines scoring 80 points or higher are published. When possible, wines considered flawed or uncustomary are re-tasted.

Wine Enthusiast Scores:

  • 95-100 -- Superb. One of the greats.
  • 90-94 -- Excellent. Extremely well made and highly recommended.
  • 85-89 -- Very good. May offer outstanding value if the price is right.
  • 80-84 -- Good. Solid wine, suitable for everyday consumption.

Wine & Spirits Magazine
All wine evaluations for tastings section are conducted under controlled, blind conditions, no exceptions.

Wine & Spirits Scores:

  • 80 to 85 -- good examples of their variety or region
  • 86 to 89 -- highly recommended
  • 90 to 94 -- exceptional examples of their type
  • 95 to 100 -- superlative, rare finds

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Wines are scored relative to their peer group based on their expected quality during their period of peak drinkability. A "+" after a score denotes a wine that is likely to merit a higher rating in the future.

  • 95-100 -- Extraordinary
  • 90-94 -- Outstanding
  • 85-89 -- Very Good to Excellent
  • 80-84 -- Good
  • 75-79 -- Average
  • 70-74 -- Below Average
  • <70 -- Avoid

The Gambero Rosso
The Gambero Rosso wine ratings in Vini d’Italia are built up on the number of glasses (bicchieri) awarded to a wine, which is indicated in the wine guide with a number of stylized glasses next to the wine's name. The highest rating is three glasses (Tre Bicchieri),[1] and the wine guide only includes wines which are seen by the editors as "above average". The ratings are based upon blind tasting by independent experts. The guide is edited in Italian, English and German language.

  • Three glasses indicate "extraordinary wines".
  • Two red glasses indicates a wine which was selected as a candidate for three glasses (which far from all wines with two glasses are), but did not make it all the way. This feature was introduced in the 2002 edition.
  • Two glasses indicate "very good wines".
  • One glass indicates "good wines".