Wine ratings
Why does Wine Magpie use wine ratings?
Ratings guarantee quality
Wine Magpie makes a promise to you, the wine consumer, that the only wine deals shown on this website will be based on wines which are held in high regard by the wine community. Wine Magpie believes that, with the abundance of wines on the market, combined with changes in quality with every vintage, the best way to quickly assess the quality of a potential wine purchase is to use independent professional and public opinions. This system gives you confidence that Wine Magpie is not biased when promoting deals.
Independent ratings
Wine Magpie realises that different people prefer different grape types and wines from different regions, however, independent ratings allow you to quickly receive assurance that a particular wine is well regarded in its category. It may even encourage you to try some new types of wine, safe in the knowledge that you will be buying a great example.
Wine Magpie also recognises that there are many good wines outside of those which are independently reviewed, however, he is a busy bird and there are more than enough wines with this assured quality to keep his cellar stocks at capacity!
What types of ratings does Wine Magpie use?
Wine Magpie uses four different types of ratings to assess if a wine really is a good deal or not.
Rating icons explained
Wine Magpie has developed this wine ratings system to make things easier for you when scanning through the deals. It is the most objective way Wine Magpie could find to visually represent all of the ratings information from the public domain. However, it is by no means perfect, as it does not take into account the quality of the review source, so please click on the wine you are interested in if you want to further assess the positive rating sources yourself.
Competition awards
Competition awards are a great indicator of a good wine as they are usually blind tastings judged by wine professionals. The most prestigious competitions are the Decanter World Wine Awards and the International Wine Challenge.
Wine Magpie uses the following icons to indicate what sort of medal the wine has won:
A silver medal winner
A bronze medal winner / Commended
Professional scores
Professional scores come from a handful of wine professionals, most of whom hold the prestigious Master of Wine qualification. Professional scores normally give wines a score out of a total of one hundred. The most common scores that Wine Magpie uses are Robert Parker (Wine Advocate), Stephen Tanzer (Wine Spectator) and Bob Campbell (BobsWineReviews.com).
Wine Magpie uses different icons depending on the score that the wine was given:
A score of 90-100%
A score of 80-90%
A score of 70-80%
Press reviews
Press reviews are a more subjective rating as they aren't given a score and they are the opinion of one individual but they are often very useful as they give an indication of what the wine tastes like.
Wine Magpie uses icons based on the number of positive reviews found:
Three or more positive press reviews
Two positive press reviews
One positive press review
Public opinion
There are many websites where members of the public can rate wines that they have drunk and these can be a good place to double check a wine and see what 'an average punter' thinks. The most common websites where Wine Magpie searches for reviews are Snooth.com and the retailer's website customer feedback.
Wine Magpie uses icons based on the number of positive reviews that can be found on the internet:
Three or more positive reviews/comments
Two positive reviews/comments
One positive review/comment
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