We give each wine three ratings. This frees us up to give an honest opinion of how much we enjoyed the wine without having to factor a bunch of other criteria in. We rate each wine 1, overall, 2, for value and 3, for the group of drinkers that would find it most appealing.
Some of our first wine reviews may not have this rating.
1. Overall rating.
This is simply a measure of how much we enjoyed that wine on that particular day.
10 exceptional, 9 excellent, 8 very good, 7 good, 6 just OK – drinkable, 5 no flaws but not enjoyable, 4 flawed. Our 10 point scale stops at 4. It’s down the sink at 5 anyway.
2. Value rating.
This is the overall rating plus the price rating divided by 2. By averaging these two numbers we feel it gives a general feel for how good a value the wine is overall. This is a good benchmark for bargain wine hunters. People who care only about the taste and not the price can pretty much ignore this.
The price rating is:
- under $5 – 10
- under $9 – 9
- under $13 – 8
- under $17 – 7
- under $21 – 6
- under $30 – 5
This is an arbitrary cut off, but most of the wines we review are under $20.
Example – an excellent wine that rates a 9 overall, but that cost $25 would get a 5 for price. By adding these together and averaging them, you get a value ranking. 9 + 5 /2 = 7
A wine that is only a 6 in taste but that costs $4. might get a 10 value rating. 6 + 10/2 = 8
So the value rating factors in both taste and price. We won’t give a value rating to any wine that rates less than a 6 overall since we doubt anyone wants a wine that is not enjoyable, no matter how cheap it may be. 
3. Challenge rating.
Not everyone is in the same place on their wine journey. Many people just starting out drinking wines prefer softer, sweeter, or less tannic wines. Experienced tasters may be looking for a more challenging, chewy, heavy wine that would send a novice running. The majority of wine drinkers are right in the middle.
The challenge rating is meant to allow us to judge a wine on its merits overall, and then indicate what group of wine drinkers might appreciate it most. Think of it as movie ratings for wineaux. We have tasters from all these groups, by the way, to help us decide.
E – Easy to drink and would appeal to wine drinkers liking softer or sweeter wines or anyone looking for a simple undemanding wine.
A – Average – Would appeal to most semi-experienced or experienced wine drinkers. Generally a little dryer, better balanced and/or more complex than “E’ wines. We fit ourselves into the average wine drinker category.
C – Challenging – More tannic, chewier, less fruity and/or some bone dry wines. These may simply be great wines that still need aging or are wines that have some of the more unusual tastes or aromas found in wine that are more of an acquired taste. Generally for very experienced and or adventurous wine drinkers or, sometimes, those looking for wines to age.
A tip of the tail to the Reverse Wine Snob for pointing the way with his great value rating system.
