Ever picked up a bottle just because wine ratings had it at a 90+—only to be disappointed? You’re not alone. In Episode 19 of the Everyday Sommelier Podcast, you’ll learn to unlock the truth about wine ratings and whether they actually help or hinder your wine-buying confidence.
By the end of this episode, you’ll discover:
- How wine ratings are determined and who the critics are
- Why a high score doesn’t guarantee you’ll love the wine
- The biggest misconceptions about relying on ratings
- Simple strategies to choose wines based on your taste, not just a number
You’ll gain insider tips, and a fresh perspective on breaking free from score-driven wine shopping. If you’ve ever felt boxed in by numbers, this episode will help you trust your palate and enjoy wine your way.
Tune in now and start sipping with confidence!
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Wine Ratings SNEAK PEEK (transcript)
You and I are both invited to a birthday party this weekend, and we’ve decided to go in together on a great bottle of wine for our friend. We both pick out a Merlot, and we’re trying to decide which one we should pick. So, hey, why not look at the reviews and ratings? They might be helpful. Now, your wine that you picked scored a 4.5 out of 5 on the rating scale in Wine Searcher, and it reads something like this. Gorgeous black forest cake, perfume, baked plums, et cetera. Well, it does sound really great, right? Well, the wine I picked also had the same 4.5 out of 5 rating from a big box store. And it reads something like this. Smooth, subtle, succulent black plum and toasty mocha.
Equally enticing. Now, from these reviews, they both sound like we’re going to pick the perfect gift for our friend. They’re both four and a half points out of five. They should be comparable in quality, wouldn’t you agree? Doesn’t that make sense? But what if I told you that one retails for around $5 and the other for more than $100? Could you tell from the ratings or reviews which one was which? Exactly. And neither can I. Ratings and reviews can be super confusing, super frustrating to understand. So let’s just take them to task, try to understand them a little bit further, and most importantly, figure out how you can use them to your advantage. So stay tuned and let’s get started….
