World Of Wine Winter 2019

INSIDE VOICES
growing and winemaking. No
chemical pesticides, herbicides and
manufactured fertilisers are used
in or around the vineyard and
winery, nor are artificial additives,
making these wines a good choice
for wine drinkers sensitive to
particular compounds. Biodynamic
wineries follow the lunar calendar,
apply particular tea preparations,
homemade compost and other plant
life to enhance soil health, and for
weed control and vine growth.
The organic movement in New
Zealand is significant enough that
increasing numbers of producers
practice. Some wonderful examples
pass through my tasting table (see
page 45).
FINE WINES OF NEW
ZEALAND
Some of the best wines in New
Zealand are regularly rated by wellknown
critics, or through wine
competition events (though there
are select wineries who don’t enter,
for many reasons including supersmall
production or already sold
out production). The most recent
addition to the review process here
has been the Fine Wines of New
Zealand programme, of which I am
a proud member (see marked bottles
in my Tasting Notes). This Air New
Zealand-supported programme
is available to producers of wine
in New Zealand. It is not a wine
competition, but an opportunity to
showcase current release wines to a
team of local Masters of Wine and a
Master Sommelier (yours truly).
If the wines meet the rigid
standards, samples of older vintages
are also reviewed to demonstrate
potential longevity and style
consistency. There are no gold
stickers – rather a recognition
of prestige and confirmation
from some experienced and
knowledgeable palates that the
wine represents the best from New
Zealand, making it an excellent
purchase decision. W
Scores & Stickers
There are a plethora of brightlycoloured
award stickers. In the
very competitive world of wine
any recognition of quality a
producer receives can become very
important, so it pays to be aware of
the meaning and significance (or
otherwise) of these accolades.
Some wine lovers will talk to their
friends or a trusted sommelier,
some to wine store hosts - others
regularly read wine reviews and
scores to assist in their decisions.
Displaying scores and accolades
by way of stickers on the bottle
can unquestionably be a successful
marketing tool - those gold, silver or
bronze decals draw attention, and a
high score or critic review can be a
recipe for successful sales.
But. What do all these scores,
stickers and reviews mean for you?
Wine scoring originated in wine
competitions to allow a group of
judges to recognise quality wine
by using a relative scale. Many
wine writers and critics adopted
the strategy for their own reviews –
these days I, like many others, use
the one hundred point scale (see
page 7), though some use the 20
Point, or *star* awards. An 88/100
score generally equals a very nice
wine, equivalent to a bronze in a
wine show. On the same scale,
95/100 equals an excellent wine –
which will translate to a gold sticker if
that is offered (silver sits between).
The Star system is also recognised
by consumers. It’s an easy-to-follow,
simple for consumers to understand
system (for example, 3.5 Stars would
be a recommended wine and 5 Stars
an excellent example).
Some wine producers choose to
display layers of stickers, or worse
- make labels littered with stickers
in the design. I am not a fan of
this approach.
Take care to read stickers – while
some represent a genuine review
from a recognised critic, wine
competition, or reputable magazine
panel, others may simply refer to an
award the winery has received.
WORLD OF WINE – WINTER 2019 47