Learning How To Rate A Wine

I sit and wonder just how to start this blog and decide that I just need to jump in feet first. Please bear with me as I pour out unorganized thoughts on the screen.

My first goal is to learn how to rate wines. I figured that I couldn't have a wine blog that anyone would take seriously if I couldn't even properly rate a wine. I know if I like a wine I'm drinking, and I know when I don't like one. It's a pretty simple concept that works for me, but it really won't fly with anyone who might read this blog. Keeping that in mind, I'm going to try to learn from some of the best wine blogs online.

One of the funniest and probably most honest entries I read came from Brentwood Wine Company titled Confessions of a Wine Novice. This one pretty much summed up where I am in my journey. Complete novice. I can handle the color depth part of judging a wine because I used to own a highly ranked web development firm and learned a thing or two about color. I can probably make that transition. The color hue bit is something I think I can handle too. Clarity? Sure, either its clear or not. The aroma area is where I get into trouble. I have a big enough nose to take on the most formidable glass of wine, I just don't think it is developed enough to determine the bouquet. I don't know whether I detected hints of blackberry jam with light pepper spices finishing with tones of violets. I've never eaten a violet. I don't know weak from astringent, tart from flabby, light from full bodied or dry from off dry. I only know if I like it or not and whether I would recommend it to a friend or not.

That brings me to my task of learning how to rate a wine. There are several scales being used around the world from the Robert Parker / Wine Spectator 100 point scale to the Jancis Robinson 20 Point Scale. There are 5 Star Scales, 4 Star Scales, 3 Star Scales and even a Bond Rating Scale. 1 fish, 2 fish, red fish, blue fish. There is a great PDF provided by Steve de Long that shows all of the popular wine rating scales used around the world. Steve de Long also provides a fantastic Guided Tasting Note form. All you other novice wine snobs should take a look at these.

Now that I am armed with the collective infinite wisdom that is the Internet, I am ready to take on the challenge of learning how to properly rate a wine. Keep reading. This is about to get real fun, or real tragic. Either way, you won't be able to look away.