The 100 point rating system for wines... good or bad?

Well, I was reading this because I couldn't sleep and I got to thinking. For example, given a choice between random white wines I know nothing about, I'll tend to take a moscato first and then a pinot grigio. But a lot of people I know almost always like the chardonnays best.

It depends on your individual tastes, and if you're drinking with dinner it depends on what you're eating as well, but people are hearalding these numbers (that is, the ratings assigned to these wines by various sources) as if they're some kind of bible (in some cases without even considering the source!)

I'm more apt to read the tasting notes than anything else, really!

So what do you think? Is the 100 point rating system a useful thing to include with wine, or is it pretending a percision which is both a)silly and b) keeping people from discovering a lot of things they would like. Or you can have your own answer, of course!

It's interesting. There are like twenty people in the world who can grade cotton. You hand one a sample and he'll feel it and say, "Well obviously it's grade such-and-such" and then the next one will agree with him a startling fraction of the time.

Are wine graders as consistent? That's what I would wonder.

Oh well I would say, who am I to doubt these people? They are experts on the matter (and what a matter it is!), so I would happily put my trust into them. I like clear structure and regulation, I think if there was no grading to wine it would be rather...messy? (insert better word here)

Hi Kyrian, I think I would go for a Riesling.

I’d suggest doing a wine appreciation course, as rating systems are ultimately flawed because they come down to peoples taste and preferences.

Whilst I agree that it would be a rating system for the quality of certain things so that the customer isn't buying reconstituted cat-pee or antifreeze, the rating system seems to be nothing more than a marketing tool so that certain people can justify charging God-knows how much more extortionate prices for their wine. (is Dom Perignon REALLY that much tastier or are people just buying the name brand?)

Plus it keeps the critics in business! It's a symbiotic relationship. Reviews are just there for marketing purposes... Public service announcements are useful (aforementioned antifreezeand cat-pee) but anything else is just pure self-indulgence...