Comments on: Bashing The 100 Point Scale

By: American Wine Critics Are Parasites

American Wine Critics Are Parasites — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:02:29 +0000

[...] As I wrote in a previous post a year ago entitled “Bashing the 100 point scale”, if you decide to make a wine in a style that the market doesn’t want, you really only have two choices: you can either go broke, or you have to somehow create a market for your preferred style. Alice’s book is her attempt to do the latter. [...]

By: Tina

Tina — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:54:41 +0000

Cheers to you, Josh, for taking my “Parker’s bitch” t-shirt dare! It looks fabulous on you:
http://www.winebroad.typepad.com.

By: El Jefe

El Jefe — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 02:31:02 +0000

There is an error on State Va - there is no exit, it just loops back on itself….

Scores and awards can get you attention, but most people in a tasting room environment don’t seem to care either way - though they do enjoy the pretty ribbons covering one wall….

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:49:40 +0000

Hey Mike,

If they don’t sell out, then they hold on to the wine until they do. Not too many wineries sell out every vintage, and if they sell almost entirely direct then the wine simply becomes inventory or they might try and dump into the hands of a distributor.

I would disagree that a 90 point plus score is crucial for boutique wineries. The problem is getting noticed at all. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a score, though that’s the most direct route to success.

Thanks for the kind words and the comment! I’ll have to keep on the lookout for the new Unfiltered.

What’s up Jud!

Yeah, the French have been threatening to blow crap up recently unless the government subsidizes the wine industry (even threatening to kill folks! :0 ), so I was having some fun at their expense.

Comment here anytime bro!

By: Jud

Jud — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 18:23:14 +0000

LTM. So the Nationality is the antecedent eh? (Flowchart IV)

By: Mike Duffy

Mike Duffy — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 23:38:05 +0000

Hi, Josh. Insightful post (and the same topic of some discussion on the “Unfiltered” podcast I recorded with Tim Elliott of WineCast this afternoon).

In fact, I think the 90+ score is more important for the boutique wine maker selling at $50+ per bottle. He or she really does have to sell out at their price.

Here’s an industry-related question: do most wineries sell all their production at their price? What happens when they don’t?

By: Josh

Josh — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 04:05:23 +0000

I’d be honored

By: Tina

Tina — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 20:57:45 +0000

If I send you one, will you send me a picture of yourself wearing it, so I can put it on my blog??

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 20:24:54 +0000

Genius!

I’d buy it in a heartbeat. Then I’ll sport it around town right before I release my thin, acidic pinot!

By: Tina

Tina — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 19:01:51 +0000

“For some people in the wine business, if a wine gets a 95-point score, it’s a tip that the wine will be disgusting to us.”

This comment made me laugh out loud, because I often do find that to be the case. The type of wines that get the 90+ scores tend to be made in a style that I don’t care for–meaning, over-extracted, high-alcohol, jam-o-rama blockbusters. Of course, that doesn’t mean that Parker has made winemakers into his bitches. Hmmmm, sounds like a great t-shirt slogan: “ROBERT PARKER’S BITCH.” Any takers?