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THE
FRUGAL OENOPHILE
Wine
Appreciation through Education
email
newsletter: january-february 2006 |
Knowing the Score
If
you pay even token attention to the wine press, you are no doubt
aware of Robert M. Parker Jr. and the impact he's had on the
wine industry. Publisher of The
Wine Advocate, Parker is also a major force behind the 100-point
wine scoring system, and is credited with making scores a near
religion for those who simply must have the best of the best.
But wine scoring systems have been criticized for a number of
legitimate reasons.
How
they work
The 100-point scale, the most widely recognized system, is used
by various wine magazines -- The
Wine Spectator, Wine
Access, etc. -- and the scores you'll see in these reviews
will range from about 85 to perhaps 95. (Scores over 95 are rare
and the wines rarer still). Wines usually fall into a "good,
better, best" pattern, with the good wines scoring in the
high 80s, the better wines in the low 90s, and the best will
score 93 and above.
What
most people don't realize about a 100-point system is that it's
almost always a 30-point scale that runs from 70 to 100, and
a score of 50% (15 out of 30, or 85) is a pass. This means that
you'll never see a wine scoring 68 or 74; it's always 85, 89,
91, etc. A wine that scores less than 85 usually won't make the
cut, so a score of 82 is nearly as good as a score of zero.
The
entire idea of a 100-point scale is also somewhat misleading.
A 90-point wine did not score 90 on some carefully devised 100-point
checklist. It scored 20 out of 30 on a reviewer's mental checklist,
or possibly 10 out of 20 in the opinion of a reviewer who thinks
only in terms of 80 and above.
Are
they accurate? Consistent?
Most wine professionals go through a rigorous training program
designed to imprint aromas, styles and various faults on their
sensory systems and memories. Tasters will practice with aroma
samples, blind aroma samples, "triangulation" tests
(two samples of one wine and one sample of a similar wine), and
exercises consisting of the same wine with increasing levels
of acid, tannin, sugar, etc. For the most part, the training
gets the job done. And when it fails, it fails for an interesting
reason -- the student just can't do it. Sometimes, despite hours
of practice, a person just can't get a handle on the concepts
or the aromas or whatever. Moreover, you'll never know who these
people are; some even go on to be wine writers and consultants.
(One famous wine writer lost his sense of smell in his later
years, but continued to write elaborate -- and well respected
-- wine reviews.) So presumably a well-trained noser should
able to do the job consistently, with some exceptions.
One
argument in defence of numeric systems is that a competent reviewer
can rate the same wine within 3 points of a previous assessment.
Sounds pretty good, but that means the wine could score 91 one
day and 88 the next. Or on a third trial, the wine might be elevated
to a 94! Not too scientific.
Wine
Judging Systems
A
qualified wine judge will have done the necessary training to
be able to accurately assess a wide variety of wines. Judges
usually assess wines on a standardized score sheet, scoring wines
out of 20 or 30. The evaluation forms they use cover the standard
5 aspects of wine: appearance, aroma, flavour, body and length.
Wine judges are usually very consistent, however each wine judge
tends to mark in a certain way -- consistently low, consistently
high, or in the middle. This is an important consideration, because
it means that the score any one judge gives to a wine is influenced
by a number of personal -- and therefore subjective -- factors.
Wine judges will also freely admit that their ability to judge
accurately varies depending on time of day, mood, amount of sleep,
and so on. It's therefore logical to assume that anyone who recommends
or writes about wine will have good days and bad days as well.
Alternatives
In
an effort to get away from either the arbitrariness or the ubiquity
of point systems, some writers use modified scoring systems.
Many will use a five-point scale, assigning half marks as needed.
The buyer can then choose whether to get the 4-point wine for
$30 or the 4 1/2 point wine for $25. (One writer I know will
rate an exceptional wine at 68. I have no idea what his criteria
are).
Replacing
numbers with symbols doesn't change the nature of this game.
A wine that receives 4 1/2 stars or 4 1/2 bottles or 4 1/2 happy
faces is still being measured on a 5-point scale. Nor does changing
the scale have any real effect, although a 4-point scale is a
bit more difficult to interpret than a 10-point scale.
Tipsy
Bottle Systems
You may have seen wine reviews that include images of bottles
at various angles. These can be helpful, as their purpose is
to give you some idea of the wine's maturity and/or ageing potential.
A bottle standing straight up is ready for the table. Lying down
means it's one for the cellar, and in between means open or save,
depending on your mood or preference.
Should
you buy into it?
Scoring systems can be quite useful. They take an extremely difficult
and rather subjective topic -- wine quality -- and distill it
into a simple number. A 90-point wine is probably better than
an 85-point wine; four stars is most likely better then three
stars.
Aside
from leading people to believe that a score is an objective measure
of a wine's value, it also hides the author's preferences and
prejudices from the innocent wine fan. Parker's fondness for
rich and somewhat jammy wines, for example, has had a visible
effect on the wine industry, and many winemakers are changing
their wines to suit Mr. Parker's palate. In some cases they're
throwing away generations of winemaking knowledge and refinement
and making obvious, "fruit-forward" wines. And because
people believe that a wine with the Parker stamp of approval
is the "chosen one", they are being systematically
lead away from elegance and subtlety.
By
all means, check the published scores. Compare the 88s to the
91s, and buy whatever fits your tastes and your budget. But you
should always try to approach each wine on the basis of what
it is rather than what some wine writer says it is. And if a
reviewer consistently pushes wine that you don't like, it's easy
enough to find another reviewer to follow.
| I
heard a story (now 3rd or even 4th hand; possibly true, possibly
not) about a woman who went into a wine store and demanded
a certain bottle of wine that had scored 95 points according
to some wine writer. The very next day the women came back to
the wine shop, practically threw the wine bottle at the clerk,
and spat out "This wine is WHITE!" |
In Other News...
Rich
Drunk; Poor Drunk
According to a recent study, there is a significant difference
in the drinking patterns and life-affecting results between the
haves and the have-nots. The report states that wealthier drinkers
tend to drink almost daily, simply because they can afford such
things as wine clubs, wine cellars and good scotch. Those with
less disposable income, on the other hand, tend to binge when
they have some cash and abstain when they don't.
Now
here's the interesting thing: Well-heeled drinkers tend to suffer
from the problems attributed to chronic alcohol use or abuse
- liver disease, etc. The rest tend to be involved in episodic
mishaps such as car crashes and violence.
Relax,
have a glass of wine, and TURN OFF THAT %!$# CELL PHONE!
(I
realize this isn't wine related, but I so rarely get a chance
to vent about my pet peeves.)
Something I've long suspected is that, rather than improving
the quality of life, cell phones are making a lot of people unhappy.
And it's not just the quiet folks who have the misfortune to
be sitting close to some meat head who's carrying on an agitated
conversation with an unseen "cell mate". No, it's the
cell phone users themselves who are suffering.
According
to research done at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, cell
phones and pagers have blurred and even eradicated the lines
between work and home. Cell phones and pagers make people available
24/7, and that means work can follow you home. It also means
that home life can follow you to work, or anywhere else. The
result is an increase in stress and increased dissatisfaction
with home life. And it affects both men and women, although women
seems to get hit a little worse.
| "For
a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality
of life, please press three"
(Alice Kahn) |
Let
the Cork Breathe
There's been a long drawn out argument over whether natural corks
allow wine in the bottle to "breathe". Now the University
of Bordeaux has proven that, yes, corks breathe. The U of B's
study showed that solid natural corks had a transpiration rate
of between .24 and .5 mg. of oxygen per liter per month. It's
not a lot, but perhaps enough to make a difference in wine quality
over time.
And
what of alternative closures? Agglomerated cork and "twin
top" corks allowed in far less air, whereas plastic corks
let in far more, enough to cause wine to oxidize prematurely.
Screw caps were not tested, but there are plans to test them
in the future.
Make
Mine User-friendly
In yet another study, researchers found that British consumers
are less than thrilled with wine labels. While buyers admitted
to being attracted to nice labels and bottles, they had much
to say about labeling practices. First of all, they like labels
to be clearly written. The majority (65%) prefer varietal labeling
because it's much easier to understand. More than half of the
respondents felt that labels were often misleading, and a quarter
of them thought that labels contained too much useless information.
But the best news is that about a third would be quite willing
to try new wines, if the labels would only help them to do so.
Try to Keep Up
The
very latest trend in internet communication is PodCasting. In
simple terms, a PodCast is an audio file that is referenced in
an RSS(*) feed. What that means is that if you have an RSS reader,
you can subscribe to a Podcast (or any other news feed), and
once you've subscribed, your RSS software will check for updates
to the Podcast and automatically download them to your computer
or MP3 player.
I
recently launched a wine Podcast called "It's About Wine".
You can subscribe by visiting my Podcast
Page. You can also listen online by clicking on the broadcast
title. My purpose in creating the podcast is to bring you topics
and material that just aren't doable in printed format. As one
subscriber put it:
"It
would take a long time to write up a 23-minute interview in your
newsletter so it is, clearly, more time effective. For those
of us with iPods this is an interesting way to go."
(*
For practical purposes, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication)
Poor, Misunderstood Epicurus
Merriam-Webster's Word
of the Day for January 01, 2006 is:
epicure \EP-ih-kyur\
noun: one with sensitive and discriminating tastes especially
in food or wine
Epicurus,
a Greek philosopher who lived from 341-270 B.C., believed that
the best life was one of simple pleasures in which a person
lived with a tranquil mind and freedom from pain (emphasis
added). When "epicure" entered English in the 16th
century, it referred to someone who followed the philosophy of
Epicurus. But over time people came to believe that the philosopher
actually encouraged his followers to pursue material and sensual
gratification, so the term was soon applied to anyone devoted
to materialistic self-indulgence; it later came to be used for
one who loves good food and wine.
A Sweetie for Your Sweetie
Valentine's
day is just around the corner, and I can't think of a more appropriate
wine to mark the event than Pillitteri's
Sparkling Riesling Icewine. I sampled the 2004 and was swept
away by every aspect of the wine. The robe is a deep amber gold,
with a wonderfully fine mousse. The nose is classic Old World,
with an eruption of deep, captivating aromas of dried peach,
mango, buckwheat honey,dried grass and cooked sugar. The palate
was sweet and unctuous, made wonderfully delicate by a crisp
acidity and vibrant mousse. Of course you don't need to hold
off until Valentine's day, but if your goal is to make a statement,
this classy wine will do it for you with room to spare.
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From "The Frugal Oenophile's Lexicon
of Wine Tasting Terms"
Aerate/Aeration
The
process of exposing wine to air. Can be beneficial during fermentation
and racking. Also achieved by decanting a bottled wine or swirling
in the glass. Some air is necessary but too much can kill the
wine
You can buy my Wine Lexicon and other items at my
Online Store
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