Lecturer, Faculty of Business and Law, School of Business, University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong
Paul Chad does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
University of Wollongong provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.
Wine is the most popular alcoholic beverage in Australia. The country boasts over 2,100 local wineries, in addition to a substantial variety of imported wines. Given the extensive range available and the vast price spectrum – from under $5 to over $1,000 – even seasoned wine lovers can find selecting the right bottle a challenge.
Does a $1,000 wine necessarily provide 200 times the pleasure of a $5 bottle? The enjoyment of wine is profoundly personal and subjective. However, without the chance to try before buying, one must rely on other indicators of quality.
When purchasing wine, consumers often consider factors such as the brand’s reputation, critiques, ratings (including suggestions from friends), flavor preferences like grape type and sweetness, the occasion for drinking, price, and the attractiveness of the label, packaging, or product name.
Moreover, wineries and alcohol retailers frequently engage in marketing their products by showcasing high ratings from wine reviews and competition results. But the real question remains, how beneficial are these ratings and accolades?
First, what qualifies someone to be a wine reviewer? Although there are no specific qualifications, reviewers will typically have extensive training and experience in wine appreciation and/or winemaking.
Importantly, wine is generally rated based on its quality relative to other wines of the same grape variety and growing region. This means it is problematic to directly compare ratings across different wine varieties and regions.
Robert Parker, one of the world’s top wine critics, developed a 100-point rating system for wine. While variants exist, the 100-point scale typically starts at 50, with points awarded for colour (5 points max), aroma/bouquet (15 points), flavour/finish (20 points) and overall quality (10 points).
In Australia, James Halliday is a legend of the wine industry and founder of the Halliday Wine Companion, which provides tasting notes, ratings based on Halliday’s own version of the 100-point system, winery ratings and annual awards.
Renowned critics such as Huon Hooke and Bob Campbell, who is one of the few with the esteemed Master of Wine title, contribute to The Real Review. This platform provides wine critiques, scores, an annual “top wineries” list, and a “wine classification” scheme for wines from Australia and New Zealand. More on Bob Campbell and The Real Review.
While submitting wines for evaluation at Wine Companion and The Real Review is free for wineries, the control of these reviews remains with the respective platforms. If wineries wish to use the reviews for promotional purposes, they must obtain a membership from Wine Companion or The Real Review.
In addition, Wine Pilot, initiated by Angus Hughson in Australia, levies a $70 fee plus GST for each review, which the winery can then employ freely for marketing. Concurrently, Wine Orbit, under Sam Kim in New Zealand, reviews each bottle of Australian wine for $30, and the reviewed wineries may use these assessments in their marketing without further charge. Details on Wine Pilot’s fees and Wine Orbit’s charges.
Opinions diverge on whether upfront charges for wine reviews are justified, comparing this approach to the model of offering free reviews and then requiring annual memberships for marketing use. Diverse perspectives on wine review payments.
This is a question readers will need to judge for themselves.
There are many discussions about the objectivity of reviewers and their potential financial incentives to provide favorable reviews. If a reviewer consistently rates a winery poorly, it’s possible that said winery might cease to seek their services, impacting the reviewer’s earnings. However, the reviewer’s personal integrity is also at stake.
The Conversation spoke with Sam Kim, who explained that his $30 flat fee assists in the operation of his small business, adding that offering his services for free was not sustainable.
When questioned about his unbiasedness, he remarked, “I would like to say ‘no’, but it’s not up to me to judge. Consumers will ultimately decide that. And given I have been around a while, perhaps I’m doing okay much of the time.”
Angus Hughson of Wine Pilot noted that “various factors could sway opinions of wine reviewers,” including personal relationships with vintners fostered by their profession.
He mentioned that the essence of wine review relies on personal integrity, emphasizing that reviewers who exaggerate their scores for more visibility or recognition might harm their reputation, ultimately “diminishing their impact over time.”
Jacinta Hardie-Grant, Managing Director at Halliday, asserted that the platforms’s subscription-based marketing approach does not affect the neutrality of reviews. She clarified that the reviewers are unaware of whether a winery submitting samples for review holds a subscription.
The Real Review was not available for comment before the deadline.
Let’s now consider wine shows and awards. There are some prestigious wine shows such as the London-based Decanter Awards, as well as various smaller shows.
Show operators typically charge wineries to enter their wines, so you really do “have to be in it to win it”. Some wineries choose not to enter, while others are renowned for repeat entries.
But there is a potential problem with the wine show process. Ideally, a rigid, scientific method would be used to determine the winners – but this is not always possible, or indeed practical.
Wine is judged “blind”, whereby judges are unaware of the brand. This is a positive. However, the judges will typically judge numerous wines, so the order of judging can affect the results, which is a negative.
Wine show results and awards also often compare across wine varieties and regions, or have a “Winery of the Year” award. These results and awards have their own sets of judging criteria and are often viewed with a level of scepticism.
Consumers should remember these results and awards, while they do have some science behind them, are subjective.
Wine reviewers regularly release results of their wine review activities. My inbox subsequently gets bombarded by wineries promoting their winning wines, referring to reviews and award results.
But these reviews and results remain subjective. Just because one person likes a wine, that doesn’t mean someone else (you) will definitely like it!
It’s always wise to sample before making a purchase. To do this, consider attending wine tastings at local shops, visiting wineries for cellar-door experiences, or ordering a glass of wine at various restaurants.
When you decide to purchase a bottle, referring to reviews or awards can still be helpful, but remember to stay within your budget.
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