VinePair tastes, rates, and reviews wines, beers, spirits, and hard seltzers for publication on a rolling basis. Our mission for reviews and ratings is to provide a clear, reliable source of information for the millennial consumer, providing an overview applicable to day-to-day buying and drinking.
Tastings for review are not typically conducted blind. In alignment with our reviews mission, we believe in purposefully tasting all products as our readers typically would, with full knowledge of the producer, the region, and the price.
All wines, beers, and spirits currently available in the U.S. are open to review, and our scores and reviews are in no way affected by any advertising, partnerships or other commercial relationships.
VinePair’s Wine Ratings in Detail:
80-84
- If a wine shows fruit but with no separation of character
- If a wine is not layered with acidity, tannin, and fruit depth
- If a wine is drinkable but not memorable
- If a wine is homogeneous
- If a wine is neutral but not offensive
85-88
- If a wine is soundly made
- If a wine is truly balanced even though it’s not complex
- If it is a solid wine
- If it is a wine that is not layered yet good
89-92
- If a wine is very good
- If a wine shows the winemakers skill
- If a wine shines based on its very well balanced layers of acidity, tannin, and fruit core
- If you would recommend this wine without hesitation
93-96
- If a wine is outstanding
- Everything is in its right place
- An almost perfect representation of a region or a wine or blend that is almost flawless
97-99
- Goes a step beyond outstanding
- A wine that absolutely defines its sense of place
100
- There is nothing else like it
- It is far above and beyond any wine made in its region
