How Wines Are Rated
By Jon Lauderdale

Wines are rated with stars, from 1 to 6. The more stars, the better is the wine. You need not be an expert to rate wine, but you need to follow four main parameters in order to rate the wine properly:

• Aroma



• Taste



• Appearance



• After Taste

The highest rating that you can award a wine is 6 stars, which makes it the perfect wine. Nothing can be better than that. But there are very few wines in this world which get a 6 star rating. The 6 star rated wine has the right combination of look, smell, taste and aftertaste. There is nothing that needs to be added to the wine and nothing to be removed. These wines are very difficult to come by because they are usually bought by collectors, and never opened.

A wine that receives a 5 star rating is a wine with balanced color, richness and harmony. They have a wonderful aroma, feel and taste. They are almost perfect.

A four star wine is almost as good as a 5 star wine. They too have great character, flavor and finesse, and can be upgraded to a five star if left to age a bit longer. They constitute about 5% of all the wines produced around the world.

Three star wines are average wines. Even though they are produced the same way as the 4, 5 and 6 star wines, they were produced using ordinary ingredients. Their taste and texture is almost as good as the 4 star, which makes them sometimes difficult to differentiate.

You should stay away from anything less than 3 stars. These wines will have flaws in their appearance, taste, aroma and texture. Sometimes you will find one of these wines that taste good, but it will lack in character and complexity.

Wine tasting is usually done with a group of wine experts. They all get together and rate wines on their taste, aroma, appearance and after taste. The labels of the wines are removed, so that there is no influence from the brand or cost of the wine. The wine has to stand on its own merits.

These types of ratings are particularly useful for the rest of us consumers to help us in the choice between a good or an excellent wine. By looking at the star rating of a particular wine, we are assured of its level of quality and taste. But even after all the guidelines and ratings, the final decision rests in our palate. You should always select the wine that tastes best for you and your guests.

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