Ratings scale

Most wine reviews use some form of rating scale that are useful, but I feel are either too broad (0-100) or too narrow (1-5).

How many times do you hear about a 33 point wine reviewed by Wine Spectator? Based on what I found on a quick Google search (here's a pretty good summary - http://www.winelegend.com/wine-rating-wine-spectator.asp), their ranking system is actually based on a 50-100 system and more practically 80-100.

At the same time, if you have a 1-5 point system, it's pretty tough to figure out the real range in such a confined spectrum. I have this problem with my NetFlix account. At this point, I've reviewed so many movies, I've forgotten my criteria between 3 stars and 4 stars. I've given up and only started ranking the "I love It" - 5 stars and "Hated It" - 1 star (still confused how that gets a star).

So, if I may suggest a system for your blog, I think many users may find it helpful. Personally, I'd go with something annoying like 3-17.5 out of spite, but that's about as useless as other scales.

Although we could debate a whole range of options, how about 1-13? I won't give a description of each level, but I'll cover each end of the spectrum:

1- A shame that this doesn't have a higher alcohol content because then, at least, it could be used as fuel or disinfectant.
2- Designed for mixing "punch" in the Greek system at college or if you've ever wanted an excuse to stick your head in an ice bath tomorrow to make the pain go away.

9 - A fantastic wine to really enjoy when treating yourself, your family, or close friends
10 - A superb wine that would be a great choice at a dinner or to impress guests.
11 - This is an unbelievably good wine. One of the best I've tasted.
12 - Buy everything you can find. Call up local/national stores and buy their inventory. This is one to horde.
13 - Highly recommended that you never drink this wine because it will be the last one you enjoy. Once tested, this will completely change the way you look at wine and to go to anything less will be a disappointment.

Just a thought. Thanks for the reviews.

On a side note, the New York Times had an interesting article (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/business/yourmoney/13rate.html) about the issue of wine ratings.

2008 Coltibuono Chianti Classico
From: Chianti, Italy
Grapes: Sangiovese
On the nose: Sour cherries, flowers, spices, leather, dirt and dried plums.
On the palate: Medium weight with wild cherries, flowers, forest floor, tobacco, some red currants, and a floral note. Good acidity.
Picked this up on the recommendation of a friend to bring to an Italian theme dinner with several people who visited Italy recently.
Tried it first at home to make sure it was a good choice. It was, but I recommend decanting for a bit to calm the tail end tannins.

2007 allegrini palazzo della Torre
Grapes: 70% Corvina and 25% Rondinella, 5% Sangiovese
From: Veneto, Italy
On the nose: Black currants, dark berries, dates, and chocolate.
On the palate: Chocolate, coffee, dark fruit, leather and licorice. Good weight and a bit rustic.