“Is it time to rethink wine guides and wine criticism?”
This article will start with few questions.
How do we know if a high scoring wine rated in one magazine is really a high-quality wine and not just an act of kindness towards a sponsoring winery? Participating in a wine competition and wine magazine is a big investment indeed, more wineries stopped sending samples and buying advertising page.
Is wine tasting a science? The Guardian wrote «Wine tasting is junk science. Experiments have shown that people can’t tell plonk from grand cru. US winemaker claims that even experts can’t judge wine accurately.»
Can high score increase the price of a bottle of wine? «A working paper posted on the website of the American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE) claims that producers can increase their prices by 13% if they gain a medal in a wine competition.»
Is there a consensus among the wine critics at these major wine publications? I am afraid not …
With so much quality, so many different wines and so many guides (see the previous article on the “Most popular Italian wine guides“), it is increasingly difficult to find labels that receive the maximum recognition from all publications. In fact, looking at the last few years, no Italian wine succeeded.
There are only 5 wines that most Italian wine guides agreed (6 out of 9):
- Mastrojanni, Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Schiena d’Asino 2015
- Tenuta San Guido, Bolgheri Sassicaia 2017
- Ferrari, Trento Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore 2009
- Valentini, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2015
- Rocca del Principe, Fiano d’Avellino Tognano 2017
Source of the 5 wines list: WineNews article
