As my wines bubble through malolactic fermentation, my mind is bubbling away over wine ratings. In particular, I’m thinking about Robert Parker’s 100-point rating system and its influence over American wine tastes (and prices).
Just like Mr. Parker’s system, we tend to assign scores linearly, hierarchically in all aspects of life: Reports are graded from 0-100%, essays from F to A, movies from one to five stars. The problem is, our personal tastes, as diverse as the number of wines on the market, cannot fit into one linear rating system that will please us all.
Wouldn’t it, then, be more useful, more empowering, and more personal if instead of scoring from good to bad or low to high, we placed each wine on a spectrum of un-rated characteristics?
I’m developing just such a system — a way to categorize wines based on certain taste factors — so that we can easily visually identify which ones fit into our personal preference profiles.
So before I can squeeze another alliteration into this posting, tell me what you think would be the most useful judging criteria for this new wine rating system. In your colloquial, non-wine snob terms, how would you describe the wines you like best?
I like this idea, and I’ll contribute one criterion. I don’t like wine that has a lot of acid in it. (I get heart burn from it!). I don’t know if acid = tanens or not, but you get the picture. I’d be interested in other criterion that people contribute…
That’s a good one. Heartburn can surely ruin an otherwise pleasant wine experience.
When you make wine, you’re looking for the perfect balance between sugar and acid (the sensation of tartness). So in wines that are too acidic, you might feel like you’re eating unripe fruit or like you need to eat something sweet — or like you’re getting heartburn. Tannins, on the other hand, are astringent; they cause that dry, puckery feeling on your tongue. Too much tannin will taste bitter (think of an over-steeped cup of tea), but just the right amount makes for a super smooth wine.
Anyone else? Your descriptors can be anything from the way the wine feels in your mouth to the images it conjures in your mind. Be creative!
Sarah, I like mine sweet enough–but not too much perhpas– to beable to taste something moreso than the alcohol. I don’t know if that sounds vague, but I am thinking along the lines of the possible equivalent:
a glass of grape juice–100% juice– not Concentrate-ish… (ugh!) in some annoying 80/20% ratio with water; all sugars natural, and just enough alcohol to give it the kind of sharpness that would discourage me from gulping it down fast…just sipping slowly to savor every sweet taste. That’s how I like to drink apple juice anyway! Okay, bad example maybe, but my 2¢ worth.