Comments on: Wine Ratings. Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator Don’t Agree. – Episode #149

By: John J.

John J. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:31:47 +0000

Nice to see another opinion on those wines, especially since they scored so differently Gary.
Would be really nice to see you do a vin jaune episode

By: Grif

Grif — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 04:26:03 +0000

Your tablecloth makes the Jets emblem on your spit bucket look a bit purple. This is reminiscent of the problem Lars was having. Love your show. Iâ€™m watching them in order and have a long way to go.

By: Mike Best

Mike Best — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:04:45 +0000

The market lacks the transparency in wine ratings and wine pricing. Wine producers and wine merchants know a great deal about them. On the other hand, the public in general has no way of knowing or determining the ratings and pricing on the spot, while buying wine at the store or over the net.

As a result, the wine merchant has an upper hand in these transactions and can induce the buyer into buying a low ranking wine or grossly overpriced wine. Often, we see wine bottles prominently for sale at a local store at say, $25 a bottle. A quick check shows that its â€˜street priceâ€™ is only $8.

If the wine industry was regulated same way as, say, debt or equity markets, you would see a lot of wine dealers and wine merchants behind bars.

Well, the industry is not regulated and you and I are taken to the cleaners every day.
This site is designed to level the playing field. Next time you buy a bottle of wine check WineRank.com on your cell or PDA for prices and wine ratings.

The website uses a 100-Point Wine Rating Scale. Ratings, directly or indirectly, are based on chance and probability. There is a continuum of wines from exceptionally good to good, so-so, to just awful and vinegar. A scale that doesnâ€™t incorporate these extremes simply doesnâ€™t do justice to wine. As a matter of fact, even the best and the most expensive wines degrade with time and go to wine hell â€“ the vinegars. Some wines take 100 years to get there, some are born that way.

To ignore the universe of wine ratings and to focus only on the upper part of the rating scheme is just plain wrong.

We’re attempting to right the wrong. We give you the real prices. And we give you a true 100-Point Wine Ratings Scale.

By: thefanjestic

thefanjestic — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:53:31 +0000

This is probably one of if not my favorite episode!

Qotd: I sent in two seperate videos on 2 seperate occasions – 1 10 seconds long and the other was about 5 minutes long! So I delivered but did Gary play them – answer sports fans – NO! And my precious baby girl was extremely disappointed her “I brought the thunder in my pants” line didn’t make the show. Probably because of the Sideways book – oh well, I did what I could….no love from the GV, not even a keep trying?…..cold blooded GV!

By: Goosecross Cellars Blog

Goosecross Cellars Blog — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 18:07:01 +0000

[...] And, of course there was Gary on Wine Library TV, tasting through and talking about the vast gulf separating the Wine Enthusiast and the Wine Spectator ratings of 4 different wines and offering his own opinion.Â Who are we supposed to believe???? Â [...]

By: Schnazola

Schnazola — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 21:04:33 +0000

So, a wine that tastes like rotten green peppers and has a finish that “tastes like crap” scores 82 points from GV. Curious. One wonders what a wine has to taste like to get a bad score.

Seems like GV uses a 20-point scale, not a 100-point scale.

By: Marty E

Marty E — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 20:19:29 +0000

Found you in the LA Times. You have an incredibly unique approach to getting regular people to trust their own palate in evaluating wines that work for them – sounds simple, but some people just need to be “nudged” in the right direction. How 2 respected publications can have such varying opinions makes you think there may be something else behind their ratings other than the actual taste of the wines themselves. Keep it up – I’ll be back for MORE!!

By: LXA_Harris

LXA_Harris — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 07:27:57 +0000

I love how excited you got over the “black raspberry” reference on the Robert Young. I totally went and bought some red currant jelly and am tasting it every day since that episode. Maybe next week I’ll get black currant. Too bad that Ehlers is waaay out of my price range, I’m still waiting for the best wines under $8 episode. As for the QOTD, I think sometime over the summer me and the boys of lambda chi alpha will hook you up with a SWEET intro video.

By: Miguel Arias

Miguel Arias — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 20:00:37 +0000

loved your videos, saw your ad in the LA TIMES

By: Cliff A

Cliff A — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 16:22:06 +0000

Wine Ratings. Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator Donâ€™t Agree. – Episode #149: Great episode. Here is another instance of a wide range in ratings. Havens Bourriquot Napa Valley 2001: Spectator (Laube) 67, Wine Advocate (Parker) 90, IWC (Tanzer) 91-94. I got a bottle of this from a monthly wine club I was in. Had to taste it! Result – I ordered another 6 bottles. My tastes were with Parker and Tanzer. I don’t know where the Spectator is at times anymore. This is not the first time I’ve experience this kind of range in ratings. One doesn’t live and die by the ratings, but they are an indicator. I tend to go more with who distributor is , the vintage and the winery. Then comes the ratings from the pros. Although I do aligne with Parker and will buy solely on his rating for a wine that I am other wise unfamiliar with. Keep up the good work – Gary.