Rating System Explained
Hello everyone! I wanted to explain my simple rating system so you can see what goes into each review. Before we start, two quick (but important) points regarding my system:
– I visit wineries unannounced and almost never volunteer that I’m a wine blogger (I may leave my card on the way out).
– Wineries get only one shot! If they’re having an “off day,” they don’t get a re-do, regardless of their reputation.
Every review covers five categories, and each is rated from 0 to 5 points:
- Quality of the wine. My most important category!
- Price points
- Service
- Tasting room decorum / Scenery
- X-factor
Every winery gets an average score, based on my personal algorithm for how I weigh each category. 5 points is a perfect score; 0 is the absolute worst! Though it’s a secret algorithm, I can tell you the quality of their wines will always be the most important thing in every review.
The composite score is a weighted average so I can try and keep consistently “good” wineries around 2.5 or higher. For example, the quality of wine bar is raised in Napa, because everything in that region (or price point) is pretty consistently good (and expensive!), while the bar might be a bit lowered in Connecticut.
I do this slightly (ever so slightly), keeping in mind what the region is known for, or the AVA the wine is from. Think of this as similar to how a teacher grades with a curve, or how the housing market reflects value with respect to similar homes sold in that area.
Though I present a composite score, you’ll always be able to see each category breakdown if you’re the type of person who really cares about the scenery or service, but less about the wine. Always feel free to make your own judgments about the winery based off the ratings in the five categories, and not the average score.