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I just finished a chapter in Red, White and Drunk all Over in which the author Natalie MacLean examines the \u201cpurely American phenomenon\u201d of wine scores. Hugely interesting stuff, and very relevant to us Winos; the vast majority of us, I would hazard a guess, are influenced by those 100-point-scale ratings that we see taped up next to displays of wine in stores. <\/p>\n
Charged with a mandate to buy something relatively obscure (a bottle of Pinot Noir from Chile, lets say), and discovering two similarly-priced bottles at your local wine shop \u2014 both with positive reviews but one featuring a 92-point designation as well \u2014 who among us wouldn\u2019t err on the side of critical approval and go for the numbered bottle? This inclination, though, raises some important questions: which critic was it? Is his\/her taste similar to your own? Do you know? Do you even care\u2026 or is a \u201cgood\u201d number from some expert simply enough?<\/p>\n
The 100-point scale has been around for a while, but the critic who really brought it to the forefront of American wine consumer culture was Robert Parker. According to Natalie MacLean: \u201cfew topics provoke more controversy than [Parker\u2019s] 100-point scale. Retailers refer to the \u2018Parker effect\u2019: a wine he scores above 90 can\u2019t be bought (because demand for it is so high), and one below 80 can\u2019t be sold because drinkers think it\u2019s inferior).\u201d<\/p>\n
She describes the distaste that many Europeans have for the 100-point score, citing the example of British wine critic Hugh Johnson, who \u201crefuses to rate wines at all. \u2018It\u2019s a very useful shortcut for people who don\u2019t want to make up their own minds or become involved, or even bother to read tasting notes,\u2019 he writes. \u2018The idea that you can score quality is fundamentally strange\u2026 I\u2019ve never seen it tried on works of art.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Natalie\u2019s personal summation? \u201cI didn\u2019t score wines for the first five years I wrote about them. But\u2026 I eventually responded to readers who wanted them. Many people buy their wine as they do their toothpaste: they want to make a quick decision, but a good one (or at least, a safe one). A good score may give novice drinkers the confidence to make that precipitous leap from bladder-box swill to bottled poetry. So I\u2019m conflicted: while I agree that the essence of wine can never be trapped in a number, I do want as many people as possible to experience the pleasure of wine. If that means using a tool they can relate to, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The official position of the Young Winos of LA on the 100-point is currently under consideration. My personal inclination is to agree with Hugh-J above; you don\u2019t score art on a 100-point scale, so why score something similarly expressive and subjective, like wine? However, the Young Winos remains a populist organization, and in that spirit we\u2019ll embrace the sentiment that Ms. MacLean displays in her commentary. At least for this week, we\u2019ll use those goddamn scores, and we\u2019ll use them good.<\/p>\n
Not only that, but we\u2019ll take it a step further by injecting a healthy dose of value into the proceedings. This week, please bring any wine you want, purchased for less than 20 dollars, which received a score of 90 or higher in some kind of wine publication. I\u2019m leaving that last part pretty open, because I don\u2019t want us to feel like our only choices are Wine Spectator, Wine and Spirits, Stephen Tanzer, or Robert Parker and his Wine Advocate magazine. (True, you\u2019ll see these names more often than any others on the shelf next to the bottles, but that\u2019s not to say you won\u2019t see others.) There are lots of critics out there using the 100-point scale, and if you\u2019re open-minded about it, you might just find one whose taste matches your own. How convenient would that be? You\u2019d never have to think at all.<\/p>\n
So when you show up to the meeting, bring not only your bottle, but also the score, the source, and some tasting notes. The latter won\u2019t be a problem \u2014 any time a wine is rated by anyone, tasting notes are also given, and you\u2019ll generally be able to find these somewhere online (wineries\u2019 websites often feature such accolades). Trust me, this isn\u2019t the easiest assignment in the world \u2014 remember that \u201cParker effect,\u201d which suggests that wines rated 90 or higher by him, and likely by just about anyone, will be more expensive. (My suggestion is to perhaps focus your search on burgeoning regions where the price-points haven\u2019t quite caught up to the critical acclaim just yet. Spain\u2019s a good one, South America has promise, and even Australia and New Zealand still feature values.) <\/p>\n