The Weekly Wine Journal reviews wines, wine makers, wine bars and wine events.

What rating system is used

As of January 2014, a point system loosely based on Wine Spectator’s 100 point scale will be used:

• 95-100 Classic: a truly great wine
• 90-94 Outstanding: a wine of superior character and style
• 85-89 Good: a decent wine.
• 80-84 Just OK: a drinkable wine.
• <84 Not very good, not recommended

I subscribe to the idea that it is important to consume the entire bottle to get a true idea of all the aspects of the wine.  Though maybe not all in one night!  I don’t taste thousands of wines a year mainly because of the cost but also because I prefer to taste less wine, but taste more of it.  Less is more?  I like to review each wine at least twice,  sometimes wines can taste different depending on mood, presentations, factors not directly attributable to the wine itself.  And I also like to see how the wine is aging.

Special attention is taken to ensure that the wines are stored and tested at the correct temperatures.  Wines are decanted and samples are taken at regular intervals throughout the analysis which is usually spread over 3-6 hours and then again 24 hours later.

The wines I review are a mix of personal purchases and winery provided review samples.   If you are a vineyard/winery/winemaker and would like your wine reviewed contact me.  I can’t guarantee that I’ll review all the wines I receive but every effort will be made to provide feedback.

weeklywinejournal (at) gmail (dot) com