Wine rating

A wine rating is a score assigned by one or more wine critics to a wine tasted as a summary of that critic's evaluation of that wine. A wine rating is therefore a subjective quality score, typically of a numerical nature, given to a specific bottle of wine. In most cases, wine ratings are set by a single wine critic, but in some cases a rating is derived by input from several critics tasting the same wine at the same time. A number of different scales for wine ratings are in use. Also, the practices used to arrive at the rating can vary. Over the last couple of decades, the 50–100 scale introduced by Robert M. Parker, Jr. has become commonly used. This or numerically similar scales are used by publications such as Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, and Wine Advocate.^[1][2][3] Other publications or critics, such as Jancis Robinson and Michael Broadbent, may use a 0–20 scale, or a 0–5 scale (often in terms of numbers of stars) either with or without half-star steps.^[4]

In recent years, with the advent of aggregated user-generated ratings, there has also proliferated group rating systems, such as the one employed by CellarTracker, using input from non-professional wine tasters who taste under differing conditions.^[5] In addition to a simple numerical score, most wine ratings are meant to supplement the wine tasting notes, which are brief descriptions of the wine critic's overall impression of the wine, including its flavor qualities. However, often the emphasis (in particular in marketing) is on the score applied by a critic rather than on the total wine tasting note.^[6]