Also please remember that I was not speaking as much about an educated consumer such as yourself who researches wines before they go to a wine store, I was thinking more in terms of a less savvy consumer who is at Safeway and needs to know on the fly what wine to grab, or maybe a buyer for a retailer chain that has less experience and less opportunity to taste the wines themselves. They do not read four or five critics reviews and cross reference them with their own experiences. Obviously the ideal scenario would be for the consumer to determine what they like themselves, but we know that is not generally the norm.

Critics can be helpful but I find that all too often their critiques rely on flowery language rather than on what the structure, balance, alcohol, tannin and acidity in the wine is like. This is my pet peeve. If you were to read a review “blind” I would think you would be hard-pressed to figure out what the wine was. While some critics taste blind the consumer that buys according to critical review does not BUY blind. Which of these three Spectator rated wines would you buy? And how much would you pay?
WINE A”Ripe, plush and deeply concentrated, with tiers of currant, plum, blackberry and spicy cedary oak. Firmly tannic, lively and deep revealing extra flavor nuances on the long engaging finish. Best from 2008 through 2013. 11, 800 cases made. J.M.”
WINE B”Very ripe, but also racy with an exotic array of graphite, tar, sweet dark chocolate, plum, fig and violet. Has great structure and drive through the grip-filled finish. Drink now through 2009. 3,000 cases made, J.M”
WINE C”Firm and well-structured, exhibiting ripe raspberry, wild berry and blackberry flavors that are supported by ripe, integrated tannins. Ends with a pepper and cedar note. Drink now through 2011. 2, 213 cases made. J.L.”

Do these wines sound similar to you? The pricing, varieties and regions are all different (all are New World Wines though.)

Here’s a Decanter review of one of the wines above, same vintage… can you match it to the wine? “Intense spice, dark fruit and liquorice, rich concentrated cherry and damson fruit with vanilla oak and fresh acidity, stylish. 2-7 years (AR)”

Ron judges with me in San Diego. I think he just meant to say that he is aware that I have extensive tasting experience and as such I am a credible judge. If you were to look around the room in San Diego you would see many judges more experienced than I as well a handful that are just starting out. While scores are aggregated the panels are managed by the head judge to ensure that the veteran judges are able to show the newer judges the ropes. In San Diego we were even shown our individual medal count to give us an idea of how overly harsh or overly generous we were (I was on par). American Idol would not work if you had three Paula’s judging and no Simon, similary judgings try to create checks and balances.

Sadly there is no one good way to suggest wines for a consumer. I just did not appreciate the backlash for an activity that, along with critics, attempts to help the consumer. Each consumer will make their own choice as to what matters to them, but they should have as many options open to them as possible. The Los Angeles International Wine Competition has been judging wine for seventy years. They bring wine to the consumer directly through extensive educational tastings at the fair. They help to promote spirits and olive oils in their judgings now too. They give me an opportunity to taste numerous wines that would never have crossed my lips otherwise. They do much more than just dole out bronze, silver and gold medals. Why mess with a good thing?

Compare this knowledge vacuum to what I get from the four or five critics that I follow (all of whom taste blind, by the way). I have a pretty good idea of their likes and dislikes, and know where we agree and disagree. I can benchmark against their evaluations, and know that I typically agree with critic A on Zin, critic B on Pinot Noir, critic C on Italian reds, and so on (as well as who I disagree with on various varietals). And, importantly, it’s not the score that I look at, it’s the description of the evaluation that supports the score. An 89 from Wine Enthusiast, for example, doesn’t mean much to me until I drill down to the see who the critic was and what their review had to offer. But at least I can get at this information, so in reality, an 89 from WE means a lot more to me than a silver medal from wherever.

I’m curious. Ron says that he trusts your judging results. But how would he know it’s you? Wouldn’t you be on a panel, with aggregated results? Don’t see how that could work…unless you talk about the wines you judged on your blog or elsewhere. Should this be the case, under my criteria you then morph from judge to critic….

Even though she seems to be so young (worth asking for her ID?) Chapa has an incredible (and consistent) palate. I trust her judging results.