The biggest problem with wine scores is that they evaluate the obvious: how a wine tastes. What really matters is how interesting the wine makes your dining companion. Now that would be worth rating. Indeed, you have to wonder why we rate wine in the first place. After all, it is just a drink. We certainly don’t rate orange juice or lemonade; we don’t have beef shank critics talking about the region from which the cows hailed or syndicated cabbage columnists talking about how the September rainfall affected the leaf set. Perhaps this scrutiny is a testament to the way […]
Month: September 2014
Drinking the Numbers: What’s Your Wine Score?
Continued from Part 1 of Wine Ratings In 2001, Robinson started using a 20-point scale in response, she told me in an interview, to her readers’ request for scores. But only on her web site: her books are “point-free zones” as is her Financial Times column. “The 100-point scores don’t mean much to us in Europe,” she observes. “Points will never be as emotive on this side of the Atlantic. Traditionally, if scores were used here at all, it was simply to achieve consensus on a tasting panel.” She also believes that the most useful assessment of wine comes from […]
Best LCBO Wines: Vintages Release September 13
You can access the 89 wines that I reviewed for September 13 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches and the stock for each bottle in their closest LCBO stores. You can also see my wine reviews for August 30. You can add my wine picks to their custom shopping list with one click and access that list on their smartphone. This is one of the benefits of becoming a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before the release based on the LCBO doing so. Here […]
Why is Mobile and Social the Future for Buying Wine and Discovering New Wineries?
Why Does Responsive Design Work So Well for Wine? – You get a mobile app-like experience without having to download an app: full content and features of the site. – So …. we’ve rebuilt the site from the ground up so that it instantly resizes to any smartphone, tablet or computer. – The new responsive design doesn’t replace our mobile apps on iPhone and Android, it complements it on other smartphones. – Responsive design also makes sharing content on social media far easier. – The profound impact that both Twitter and Facebook have on the wine world is why we […]
My Roman Holiday: A Food and Wine Lover’s Paradise
Just back from a mouth-watering journey through the streets (strada) of Rome. Here are some pictures and videos to whet your appetite, from olive oil and bruschetta tastings to thin-crust pizza and fresh tomato sauce pasta. Click on each picture at the link above if you want to see the comments to the right about the food and wine. Have you been to Rome? I’d love to hear about your favourite food haunts and restaurants. Ciao! Natalia
