Episode Details
Back to EpisodesWine Scores Explained: What Do They Really Mean?
Description
Ep 176
You see 90, 92, or 95 points on a bottle of wine, but what do those wine scores actually mean and should they influence what you buy?
Wine scores can make choosing a bottle feel easier, but there’s a lot more behind those numbers than you might realize. In this episode, we’re digging into where wine rating systems came from, how Robert Parker’s 100-point scale became the industry standard, and why a wine rated in the 80s can still be considered very good even though you rarely see those scores advertised.
You’ll also learn how major wine critics approach scoring differently, why some wines are tasted blind while others aren’t, and why the same wine may not receive the same score every time. Plus, we’ll look at score inflation, Parkerization, and how the pursuit of higher ratings may have influenced the way some wines are made.
By the end, you’ll have a better understanding of what wine scores can tell you, what they can’t, and how to decide whether they deserve a place in the way you choose your next bottle.
Thank you to Full Pull Wines for sponsoring this episode. Go to www.fullpullwines.com to sign up for their FREE mailing list and start discovering delicious wines at ridiculously low prices!
Episode Highlights:
- What wine scores actually mean
- How the 100-point wine scoring system began
- Why you rarely see wine scores below 90 advertised
- How major wine critics score wines differently
- Blind tasting versus knowing what’s in the glass
- Why wine scores may not be as objective as they seem
- How high scores can influence winemaking
- Whether wine scores should influence what you buy
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Podcast production and management by Liz Chapman