Wine Ratings - What Do Those Numbers Mean Anyway?

There are actually many wine rating scales. Some of the more common ones include "The Wine Advocate System," "The Wine Spectator," and the "Connoisseurs Guide to California Wine."

Typically one would think that the higher the rating the higher the cost of the wine, but that isn't always true. In fact there are many 90+ wines for under $20. However due to the fact that these wine ratings are based off of a taster, your personal pallet may not agree with the point amount its given. The best choice is to find a wine scorer who's taste run similar to yours.

At Wine of The Week we provide you with the rating given by "The Wine Advocate System." The Wine Advocate System is one of the most respected wine rating systems as well as one of the most widely known. This scale was developed by Robert Parker in The The Wine Advocate. The scale goes from 50 to 100 and awards color, appearance, aroma and bouquet, flavor and overall quality.

The ratings break down as follows:

96-100: An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase, and consume.

90 - 95: An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, these are terrific wines.

80 - 89: A barely above average to very good wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavor as well as character with no noticeable flaws.

70 - 79: An average wine with little distinction except that it is a soundly made. In essence, a straightforward, innocuous wine.

60 - 69: A below average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavor, or possibly dirty aromas or flavors.

50 - 59: A wine deemed to be unacceptable.

Along with a number rating given by Robert Parker, he also includes extensive tasting notes on each of these wines. We will be bringing these to you when we feature our Dinner Table wine. These are always nice when you want to get ideas of the flavors, aroma's or grapes used in the wines.

Now here at Wine of The Week Club, we don't want to be the type of wine snobs that only depend on Robert Parker's likes. We are going to give you our 2 cents and trust us we won't be sending it if its no good!