I recently attended the Blood of the Gods event in Walla Walla , Washington , an amazing heavy metal , wine , and graphic art show . As part of the festivities there was a panel of very welleducated master sommeliers , master winemakers , and socially impactful wine professionals . They debated many things , but the topic that caught my attention was wine scores . They almost universally agreed that wine scores are on their way out . My immediate question was , what will replace them if they go ?
“ They almost universally agreed that wine scores are on their way out . My immediate question was , what will replace them if they go ?”
I had some interesting conversations with two influential retail buyers on how scores impact their buying decisions . One former buyer at a wine shop with one of the biggest wine clubs in the Pacific Northwest had some interesting insight . His take was scores had been more important in the past but have waned a bit recently . With further discussion , he revealed they had taught their clients to use scores maybe a little too much . Meaning buyers didn ’ t necessarily use scores exclusively to buy , as much as they used them to sell . They have since been more cognizant of moving more to “ wine shop recommendations ,” as they know their clients more intimately over years of service .
My next discussion was with Kyle Pottorff from The Thief wine shop in Walla Walla . With one of the more dynamic wine selections in the Pacific Northwest , it ’ s easily one of my favorites . His thoughts were that scores are not inherently bad , especially if you find a critic you relate to and rely less on overall companies . He uses scores as more of a gauge from vintage , to vintage on higher end bottles as a peek into each vintage , especially if he doesn ’ t have access to tasting that vintage . Some bottlings have very limited access and allocation which can make it impossible to taste every wine sold . But since they have a very knowledgeable staff , they have the unique opportunity to hand-sell each bottle . This makes scores necessary but can help to offset a customer ’ s trepidation about a larger purchase . Confirmation bias … maybe , but we don ’ t need to get into the phycological part of buying .
Lastly , I spoke to current wine reviewer Sean Sullivan , formerly of Wine Enthusiast , who
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