Archive for the ‘Rating Wine’ Category
I am absolutely compelled to report on a newly released wine that, as far as I can tell, is among the finest Napa Valley wines. This 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley can be described as boasting black jammy fruits, cassis, freshly plowed earth and dark chocolate. I can also report the opulence and massive texture is undeniable while the glycerol-like body and silky tannins elegantly glide through an expansive, palatable finish. The wine is unquestionably reflective of a winemaking…
I have in the past defended and lauded the wine critic and wine criticism, be it in the form of reviews or prose. Like most other forms of professional criticism, wine criticism I think is an act of reverence. When it is done at its best, it is a work of art. I'm reminded of the vital role of the critic upon learning of the death of the great art critic, Robert Hughes. Hughes brought art criticism to the mainstream…
It takes equally large doses of humility and confidence to successfully participate as a judge in a wine competition. But perhaps more important, it requires an all too often lacking appreciation of the enormous diversity of wines that make up the totality of the wine world to be an adequate judge at a wine competition. I was reminded of all these things as I spent the weekend as a judge at the Long Beach Grand Cru Wine Competition. As with…
It's certainly clear to me and it ought to be clear to anyone else considering the issue that human beings are positively inclined to share the details of their lives as broadly and widely as possible. Interestingly, we didn't know this until very recently. Or, at least we didn't have solid evidence it was true. The ease with which social media tools, mobile broadcast platforms and simple publishing platforms allow us all, individually, to broadcast what we think, what we…
Noob: So when these wine experts taste wines, it's not just a matter of whether they just like it I see. It looks like there are 100 different levels of quality. Me: You mean the 100 Point system? Yes. Well, No. The 100 Point system is really a 50 point system because no wine is given 50 points. That's really the starting point. Noob: So when a wine is rated 88 Points out of 100 points the wine has really…
