Don't Look Up! Inflated Scores Are Attacking the Wine Industry

The 100-point scoring system for wine reviews, popularized though not invented by Robert Parker, is now in its fifth decade. Inevitably, as it has evolved and been adopted by dozens of publications and newsletters, not to mention bloggers and weekend wine writers, the system has gravitated toward higher and higher average numbers.

Do I have the statistics to prove this? No I do not. But I've been tracking these numbers since I bought my first case of wine based on them – a Robert Parker 100 point score given to the 1982 Mouton. Back in those early days Parker ranked wines on a 50 to 100 point scale. That didn't last long. Fairly quickly most influential publications stopped rating or reviewing any wines that didn't score at least 80 points. These days you'll rarely find any wines written about that score less than 85.

The more you look at it, the more you see that the 100 point scale is really a 10 point scale. As noted in the second (2010) edition of my guide to Washington wines and wineries:

"The purported 100-point scale in actual practice is not a 100-point scale at all, nor even close. For all practical purposes, it has become a 10-point scale. Wines rated under 85 are ignored completely. Wines rated 85 to 89 must be marketed as value wines—those numbers work only for wines priced for supermarket sales. If your wine is going to list for $15 or more, it must hit 90 points at least. Once a wine moves up the price ladder from there it becomes increasingly rare and expensive. As a result, wines scoring 95 or above are virtually unobtainable for most consumers."

Now fast-forward to 2022. Even a casual walk through the wine section of your neighborhood Costco or supermarket will find it papered with ads for wines scoring 90 points and higher, including many priced well under $10. 95 point wines, which used to be a rare achievement, are more and more common. And really expensive wines absolutely have to merit at least 95 points if they want to be noticed by those who buy and sell principally on scores alone.

The argument can be made that the overall quality of wine being made almost anywhere in the world has improved over the past 20 or 30 years, so of course the scores have risen. Fair enough. But there is still a 100 point ceiling, so the utility of the system has been dramatically squeezed, along with any significance attached to what used to be perfectly honorable numbers.

Wine Enthusiast, for whom I scored wines for many years, publishes this guide to the different scoring ranges used by the magazine:

"Classic 98 – 100 The pinnacle of quality

Superb 94 – 97 A great achievement

Excellent 90 – 93 Highly recommended

Very Good 87 – 89 Often good value; well recommended

Good 83 – 86 Suitable for everyday consumption; often good value

Acceptable 80 – 82 Can be employed in casual, less-critical circumstances"

I can attest, based on decades of experience, that those bottom half scores are rarely if ever interpreted so positively by consumers and trade.

No doubt these used to be meaningful ranges, and when carefully applied to deserving wines they were of value to consumers. But although scores of 87 to 89 are supposed to represent good value recommended wines, most wineries and the retail trade don't often see it that way. I'd bet that unless it's selling for under $8 anything less than an 87 point wine is going to be a tough sell. Below that it's even worse. 

Among the current crop of respected reviewers who write for leading magazines and newsletters (I'm excluding my friends at Wine Enthusiast as I am not in a position to evaluate their work with any objectivity) it seems that score inflation is rampant. There are several reasons for this. If you are a winery, let's say a very good winery, offering exceptional wines at prices above $50 a bottle (maybe well above!), you are going to look through all the reviews of your wines and promote those with the highest scores. The exact same wine may get a 92 from one reviewer, a 94 from another, maybe a 96 or 98 from still a third. A spread from 91 to 100 points for the same wine is not unheard of. So which review will you send out to your club members and in your e-blasts? Odds are the quality of the writing will not outweigh the impact of the highest score.

Those who review wines for a living recognize this. Some – not all – may game the system in order to get their reviews promoted. They know that a higher score will get them more publicity than a score that falls in the middle of the pack. And if you pay attention you can pin the high number tail on the reviewer donkey with unerring accuracy.

The bottom line for me is I will no longer publish scores on this website or anywhere else. In my view the value of all scores, and especially high scores, has been diminished to the point of no return. My tasting notes make it clear what for me defines an excellent wine. I keep my personal preferences separate to a large degree, so that I may wholeheartedly recommend wines that fall a bit outside of my own taste – as long as they are well-made, interesting and unflawed.

Recently Tasted

Beginning this month I will post up additional tasting notes at the conclusion of each 'Let's Discuss' entry. The week's top three wines will continue to be featured above with labels and website links. Wines listed below are highly recommended and were the best among all those in recent tastings. Listed prices are full suggested retail and lower offers may exist.

Lichtenwalter 2020 Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir

100 cases; 12.3% abv; $29

A deep straw hue, this fragrant wine is closer to a Pinot Noir Blanc in flavor and style than to most rosés made from the grape. It's rich and palate coating, with deeper flavors than the low abv might suggest, thanks in part to fermentation with indigenous yeasts. The lightly dusty peach and pear fruit has a hint of cinnamon spice. The wine lingers in the back palate with impressive and expressive intensity. For food matches use this as you would a Pinot Gris or lightly–oaked Chardonnay.

Lichtenwalter 2019 Joy Block Pinot Noir

50 cases; 14.1% abv; $59

This reserve-level block selection uses a clonal field blend planted in 2005. Drew Voit was the winemaker, using just two barrels for the final wine. It's aromatic, elegant, spicy and lightly high-toned, with bright strawberry and raspberry fruit front and center. The fruit concentration and overall length are impressive. This lovely wine is balanced to perfection and should age gracefully.

Marshall Davis 2018 Seven Hills Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

200 cases; 15.8% abv; $40

Despite the rockin' abv this Walla Walla wine goes down smooth and supple. It coats the palate with a blur of black fruits, high cacao chocolate and coffee grounds. The tannins are ripe and proportionate, with appealing silkiness. Though some might prefer lower alcohol, this makes the case for going with the ripeness that the vintage and vineyard give you. It's reminiscent of very good Napa Valley Cabs, here with the added precision and focus of Walla Walla fruit.

Marshall Davis 2019 Black Label Syrah

100 cases; 15.5% abv; $60

Sourced from the XL Vineyard (part of the high elevation SeVein development) this is well-made in the Walla Walla style—firm, meaty flavors of blackberry, black cherry, a streak of cola and just a hint of anise. It's a fine Syrah, delicious now, well-balanced from start to finish with 6-8 years of prime development ahead.

Sokol Blosser 2019 Estate Chardonnay

869 cases; 12.5% abv; $38

Lightly toasty with crisp apple, a hint of pie crust and a great lip-smacking tang to it. A refreshing and chillable style with a buttery finish. 20% was fermented in concrete egg (nicknamed Huevo) and the rest in oak. 

Sokol Blosser 2018 Big Tree Block Pinot Noir

582 cases; 13.5% abv; $72

A complex mix of earth, leather, cherry, tobacco and spice, this wine has terrific aging potential. The new oak percentage (17%) has been kept to a moderately appropriate proportion. Decant for near term drinking, or cellar and revisit it in five years. 

Soter Vineyards 2019 Estates Chardonnay

300 cases; 13.2% abv; $60

There is nothing shy about this young wine, which is a pretty pale lemon hue and brings rich flavors of new French oak front and center. With bottle age the tart flavors of citrus rind framing crisp melon, apple and white peach fruit should further balance the palate. For now decanting is recommended.

Soter Vineyards 2019 Estates Pinot Noir

1800 cases; 13.8% abv; $54

Soter produces four tiers of Pinot Noir, the Estates being the newest – a blend of estate vineyards in the Ribbon Ridge and Eola-Amity Hills AVAs. This steely wine has compact black cherry fruit and an impressive frame of iron filings. The impact of the Eola-Amity Hills estate is felt in the underpinning of clean earth and dried herbs. Additional bottle age will bring it into full flavor.

A Comprehensive Tasting of Toil Oregon Wines

I’ve known Chris Figgins since Leonetti Cellar wines were still being made by his father Gary Figgins in the family garage. It’s now almost a quarter century since Chris grabbed those winemaking reins. Apart from the immense responsibility of bringing the iconic brand into the 21st century, he’s taken on major consulting projects (Doubleback); founded a new winery and vineyard in the Mill Creek uplands (FIGGINS); and most recently added an Oregon vineyard and wine project (Toil Oregon) to his expansive portfolio. 

Figgins is one of a dozen or more Washington-based winemakers who have taken on Oregon projects in recent years, drawn in particular by the challenges of making world class Pinot Noir, which has no meaningful track record in Washington.

For Toil Oregon Chris made exploratory wines 2010 and 2011, but the first official release was from 2012. “I’ve been a fan of Oregon Pinot Noir since my dad and I first went down there probably 20 years ago for fun" Chris told me. "At about the same time I started kicking dirt and dreaming about planting a vineyard there.” On the Toil website he further explains that interest, noting “the original inspiration for making a Pinot Noir from Oregon manifested itself in a simple gravitational pull to ‘Go West’ for a new winemaking challenge.”

Following a seven year search that vineyard dream became a reality with the purchase of a 42-acre parcel in the Chehalem Mountains AVA. Nearby sites such as Olenik (now owned by Cooper Mountain) and Bryan Creek (owned by Adelsheim) confirm the potential for the site.

Figgins' expertise in soil biology and ecosystems also ensures that any new vineyard development has been thoroughly studied and planned. The Oregon vineyard is a convex site occupying what he calls "the Goldilocks zone" (500 to 700 feet elevation). It's anchored by Saum and Jory soils along with cascaded rocks and rubble from an ancient landslide.

Currently 7.5 acres are planted to an exploratory mix of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir clones, having previously grown only timber and hay. The first estate grapes went into the final blends of the most recent (2019) releases.

On a recent Monday Chris and I sat down to taste through and revisit the four vintages of Chardonnay and seven of Pinot Noir released so far. Despite some changes in sourcing, and what Figgins admits has been at times a steep learning curve, all of these wines are still drinking very well and all but the oldest should see further evolution.

One big surprise (for me) was the noticeably present aroma and flavor of brett in several vintages of the Pinots. Chris and I chatted at length about the advantages and disadvantages of that particular yeast. I wouldn't say we are in complete agreement, but unless you are absolutely opposed to any hint of it these wines make a pretty good argument for embracing it when it occurs.

Here are condensed notes from my original reviews (scores have been deleted but were consistently in the 90-93 range) along with brief comments from each of us while tasting.

Toil Oregon Chardonnay 2016 – 2019

Toil Oregon 2016 Chardonnay — The grapes came from McMinnville’s Dupee vineyard. Juicy fruit flavors of pear and peach, along with a light touch (20%) of new oak, make for a full, firm, well-balanced young wine with years of life ahead.

PG:  Aging nicely. Aromatic, lightly nutty, pine needle, spice, punchy.

CF:  You're in one of the best places in the world outside of Burgundy. Why plant Pinot Gris? I've always enjoyed Eyrie's Chards with some age. This is just starting to get that oxidative quality - not oxidized but oxidative. Minerally. We've been almost too clean with our Chardonnay. You think you're destroying the wine but sometimes with a wine if you take it to the edge - like in the cellar let SO2 levels get really low and you bring it back - it can be really amazing.

Toil Oregon 2017 Chardonnay — This marries bright apple and citrus to French oak, 38% new. It has a fine, focused through line, opening up with grapefruit, Meyer lemon and tangerine along with that lovely toasty character. New world fruit to be sure, but Burgundian in its elegance and power.

PG:  Developing nicely but still needs more time.

CF:  There’s more acid than in the 2016. 100% Dupee vineyard fruit – a cooler site, clonal Massale planting (multiple clones in a mixed field blend).

Toil Oregon 2018 Chardonnay — Fresh and nicely detailed, this keeps an elegant frame around tangy nectarine, melon and papaya fruit. The well-balanced acids lend structure and support to a flavorful finish with highlights of caramel and toast.

PG:  Vitamin pill, blood orange, grapefruit rind aromas, lots of citrus and acid. Overall this has a thicker, heavier mouthfeel than the two previous vintages.

CF:  I get a lot of honey in the nose. We found that the first wines were pretty lean, more Chablis than Meursault. Here we started lees stirring weekly; that's where some of that middle comes from. 

Toil Oregon 2019 Chardonnay — Bright gold, this is a sassy, sharp, tongue-tickling wine. Though aged just 10 months in one new oak barrel, the rest in a neutral puncheon, that turns out to be just right. The puncheon softens the edges while the barrel adds pretty highlights of toasted cashews. The fruit flavors of nectarine, apple and green pineapple are beautifully framed and hold firm through the finish.

PG:  Quite tart, juicy, lemon, grapefruit with citrus rind phenolics. Young!

CF: Similar mid-palate to the '18. That lees stirring really makes a difference. 

Toil Oregon Pinot Noir 2012 - 2019

Toil Oregon 2012 Pinot Noir — This first release sourced grapes from the Ribbon Ridge and Schindler vineyards. Dense with an exotic weave of aromatics, it has the irresistible appeal of the 2012 vintage. Mulberry, plum, cinnamon and a dash of truffle salt all combine in a plush, generous, well-integrated wine, with a rich, textural mouthfeel.

PG:  Strawberries, pastry fruit flavors, still has a little peppery character. Maybe the acids are starting to take over. Drink up or wait and see?

CF:  A perfect vintage to start. Still one of my favorites. I'm thinking this Pinot thing's not so hard! Then '13 came along and I didn't release it. I love pepper in Pinot. I think this wine is now in its best spot.

Toil Oregon 2013 Pinot Noir — never released

CF:  I didn't bottle this wine. I hadn't yet picked anything and it rained like eight inches. We picked after that and the wine suffered. I have a couple of cases and it's not terrible; just a simple sipper.

Toil Oregon 2014 Pinot Noir — This svelte, generous wine has some baby fat from barrel aging in 30% new French oak. Cherry, cola and toasty oak flavors come together with a touch of underbrush. Drink it 2020 to 2026.

PG:  Tasted after some years in the bottle this now shows the drying effect of brett. I did not detect any brett when it was first released, but here there is definitely a leathery scent and flavor, enough to dry out the finish. Drink soon.

CF:  If you could dial brett in perfectly... to me it's a spectrum but in small amounts when it's saddle leather it can be really pretty. Does it take away from terroir? No question.

Toil Oregon 2015 Pinot Noir — This drinks beautifully offering a big hit of citrus flesh and rind along with lovely raspberry and blueberry fruit. It’s forward, fresh, balanced tightly against its lush acidity, and is already just about irresistible.

PG:  Beautiful aromatics in this vintage, the wine still tight, sharp and phenolic with some stem and seed flavors. The aromas promise a bit more than the palate delivers so I’d decant it aggressively. This was a warm year and the wines are coming into a nice drinking window. 

CF:  I honestly think that climate change is going to benefit the Willamette Valley by moving up harvest windows ahead of the inevitable fall rains.

Toil Oregon 2016 Pinot Noir — A plummy purple hue, lightly scented with toast, sandalwood and cedar. Silky smooth in the mouth, it's a bowl of ripe blueberries, done in an elegant, sexy style. It’s beautifully crafted and may be enjoyed over the next 5 - 8 years. 

PG:  Across the board the 2016 Pinots are my favorites of the past decade in Oregon. Still compact, with pine needle flavors around cranberry fruit. The oaky toast has popped up with a vein of caramel running through the finish. Could easily go till 2030.

Toil Oregon 2017 Pinot Noir — Opens with an aromatic mix of fresh roses and milk chocolate, then places perfectly-ripened fruit into a broad palate with a pleasing dusty character. Berries, cherries and highlights of ground coffee linger through a silky finish.

PG:  Brett shows in the nose, but here it's an asset because it's light and elegant. 

CF:  The lightest vintage. It's bright but lacks the density of the others.

Toil Oregon 2018 Pinot Noir — This shows a strong streak of citrus along with juicy blueberry and blueberry pie fruit flavors. There's a light vein of tanned leather and a finish with lemon verbena and herbal tea highlights.

PG:  Aromatic with strawberries and leather. Again I find brett here and stiff phenolics. This has more muscle and stuffing than the 2017 but to me it’s less interesting.

CF:  I love the '18s. This is one of my favorite vintages, like the '12s.

Toil Oregon 2019 Pinot Noir — This opens with strawberry, raspberry and cranberry fruit, along with a whiff of smoke. It’s well set up with ample acidity, and aging in one third new French oak. 

PG:  This is the current release. Despite the 14.1% abv it has a certain lightness to it, along with flavors of rhubarb and berry, sharp acids and phenolics. With breathing it opens up and adds nice cinnamon spice. Very clean, good acid/fruit balance.

In conclusion I asked Chris if he’d made Toil wines in 2020, a notoriously difficult year due to wildfires. "Yes we did" he confirmed, "about 800 cases of Pinot Noir and 150 of Chardonnay, plus another 450 cases of 2021 Rosé." The planned release date for these wines is March 8th. Prices remain quite moderate by current Willamette Valley standards.

To Blend or Not To Blend?

There are countless steps between the start of the process leading up to a finished wine and the bottling of that wine. Some of my most cherished bottles are field blends produced from vines planted in the late 1800s. In such instances those first steps may have been taken in a foreign land, by a youngster growing up in a vineyard thousands of miles away.

Those field blends were designed to solve any number of problems in the vineyard and to simplify the winemaking process. At Bucklin Old Hill Ranch in Sonoma, which I visited some years ago, Will Bucklin's 'Ancient Field Blend' red is still sourced from the original vines planted in the 1880's. The vineyard includes 30 different varieties, many harvested and fermented together. Here's a look at its remarkable history: www.buckzin.com/history/

In California in the late 1800s such field blends were quite popular. They required no fancy calculations about which block or clone or soil type or weather event pointed to the perfect moment to pick each vine. Just pick a day, take them all, toss them in the fermenter and voila! – a finished blend.

Make no mistake about it – I personally love these wines. But now such old vine sites are rare, and the art of blending has become more and more sophisticated.

In many places there are standard, almost formulaic blends, which include some or all of a list of specified grapes. Bordeaux style wines, G-S-Ms and other Rhone blends are good examples. In recent decades in places where such regulations were seen to smother experimentation, adventurous winemakers were willing to accept more generic labels in order to experiment with new styles. Italy's SuperTuscan blends are one successful result.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, as well as in Chile, Australia and California, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon have proven to be viable partners, especially when the grapes are grown in common ground, such as the Rocks District, Walla Walla and Red Mountain AVAs.

But most blending trials, which are often done around this time of year, go well beyond just mixing batches of two or three different varieties. When blending a single variety wine such as a Pinot Noir, it means separately picking, fermenting and possibly barreling many different lots based on parameters such as vineyard block, soil type, clone, rootstock or vine age; then working with as many of those samples as needed to find the perfect final blend.

Having done more than a few of these trials over the years, I can tell you they are a total thrill and also quite challenging. The addition or deletion of a very small percentage of any one component can dramatically impact the aroma and flavor. It also creates its own problems even when you find the right mix. What do you do with all the wine you don't use in the blend?

It may be that the proliferation of single block, single clone and soil-specific Pinot Noirs is in part a solution to that challenge. Many wineries release numerous such wines from a single vintage, along with a Reserve or Winemaker's Selection. In some respects this is simply following a Burgundian model; in others these unblended, tightly-focused Pinots (which might be thought of as component wines) follow a certain undeniable logic.

There is often a potential financial benefit to bottling components rather than blends. It's less labor intensive, and such wines often sell for higher bottle prices to collectors who want the whole set. Fair enough.

Some of the most subtle blending trials I've experienced with 'pure' varietal wines were done with James Frey at Trisaetum. Frey makes eight different Rieslings each vintage, in dry, off-dry and reserve cuvées from three estate vineyards. My recollection was that he fermented as many as 80 separate lots of Riesling in order to prepare for blending, which seemed a Herculean task in and of itself.

Not too surprisingly, he's streamlined his approach in recent years. "In the beginning," he writes in response to my query, "we did do 80 or so individual fermentations not really knowing which blend they may end up in. As time has passed, I have a better idea of which blocks and which picks are better suited to Dry versus Medium Dry Rieslings…so they are picked, pressed and fermented with a pretty specific intention as to which blend they’ll be a part of. The decision making is now done at harvest versus a blending process later. Not much blending happens now except for a barrel selection for the two Estates Reserve Rieslings."

In an interview earlier this week with James Rahn for Oregon Live Michael Alberty notes that the winery makes "site-specific, single varietal wines" and quotes Rahn as saying "I don't blend, and I want the grape variety and site to speak for itself." This is about as clear a non-blending argument as can be made, and it is certainly valid.

So maybe the pendulum is swinging back, at least part-way, to the notion that blends should happen, if at all, in the vineyard. Which leads me to wonder if there is any consensus regarding blended vs. what I'll call 'component' wines? Winemakers - your thoughts?

An Inflection Point for Willamette Valley Wineries?

In recent months a number of generational changes have been occurring in the Willamette Valley wine community. Founding wineries such as Adelsheim and Ponzi have been sold (to co-owners Jack and Lynn Loacker and Champagne Bollinger respectively). Jackson Family Wines now owns Penner-Ash and WillaKenzie Estate. Henriot has taken a majority interest in Beaux Frères. And on it goes as the Boomers age out.

Other factors are at work as well. Last summer Laurent Montalieu's expansive NW Wine Company took on an equity partner. And just this past week Rollin and Corby Stonebraker-Soles announced that their ROCO winery had sold a majority ownership position to Santa Margherita USA, the import arm of Italy's Santa Margherita Gruppo Vinicolo.

Each of these transactions is unique and done for quite different reasons that may or may not include the ongoing participation of the sellers. But they all generate press releases that are unfailingly upbeat and offer little insight into the future. Looked at all together as an ongoing trend they hold a more interesting story.

It seems clear that the way forward for the Oregon wine industry, which has been spearheaded for decades by the commercial and critical success of the Willamette Valley wineries, has reached an inflection point. This is partly caused by the difficulties of transitioning small businesses across generations. It is partly the result of the piling on of obstacles to smaller wineries in particular—vastly increased competition, limited distribution, Covid shutdowns, wildfires, disappearing seasonal labor, and on and on. And there's no doubt that well-heeled wine companies in California and France especially have been looking at Oregon and seeing vast potential anchored in unquestionable success.

So what does this mean for the future? Remember that the heart and soul of the Oregon wine industry was fashioned in the back room of Nick's Restaurant by a handful of starry-eyed newcomers. The gestalt of the wine culture ever since has been to propagate that original sense of being pioneers, close-knit outsiders with the goal of making great wine, not great fortunes. Stockholders? There were none for at least the first decades of the past half century.

On the plus side, investment and expertise from outside can enable growth and improvement. Laurent Montalieu emailed me to explain that the sale of the company he spearheads was mostly for "infusion of capital for growth, giving also an exit equity event for some partners. I am staying as CEO," he continued, "and retain some equity and am thrilled to continue the expansion."

Regarding the somewhat similar sale of ROCO, Rollin Soles, who is nothing if not a straight shooter, had a comparably upbeat explanation. "Corby and I had taken ROCO up to a level where ROCO could really thrive with increased sales representation and capital investment. SMUSA represents an incredible sales force, while the Marzotto-owned properties offer an exciting opportunity for exchanging expertise in winemaking and vine growing."

Few outside the wine business know much if anything about Santa Margherita USA apart from their ubiquitous Pinot Grigio, which must be on 95% of the Italian restaurant wine lists in the country. It wouldn't be surprising if your first reaction to news of the sale was colored by the general impression that if this is the future of Oregon Pinot Gris, it's not encouraging.

But in Italy the company has a much more interesting portfolio. My former colleague Kerin O'Keefe, who lives in Italy and covers Italian wines for Wine Enthusiast, explains that “in the States, Santa Margherita is almost synonymous with its Pinot Grigio, but the Santa Margherita group has long invested in top estates in important regions across Italy. Some they’ve invested in include Kettmeir in Alto Adige, Ca’ del Bosco in Franciacorta, Cà Maiol in Lugana and Lamole di Lamole in Chianti Classico just to name a few. So it makes perfect sense that as their first investment outside of Italy they’d want to start expanding into select areas of the US, and in particular an exciting state like Oregon and a celebrated estate like ROCO.”

Rollin wraps it up this way:  "It’s a SUPER validating time for us in the Willamette as we’ve seen recent Euro investments by Bollinger, Henriot, Jadot! Smart high quality Euro winemakers recognize the potential, the beauty, and the authenticity of Willamette Valley wines. It is a Marzotto tradition to invest into high quality wine production. This will be the future for further Willamette investment as well."

I tend to agree that this type of investment may turn out to be every bit as important to future growth as the original foreign investment made by the Robert Drouhin family 35 years ago. I'd love to hear further thoughts from others who have been in a similar situation. Both pros and cons, successes and disappointments. The comments are open so please jump in.

Statement of Purpose

Elsewhere on this website I have posted up notes on my background, tasting methodology and contact information for submission of wines. Here is the reasoning and purpose motivating this new venture.

It's fair to ask... why would I voluntarily give up what has been a privileged and rewarding role as a Contributing Editor/Reviewer for Wine Enthusiast? The answer boils down to this:  by so doing I gain the type of journalistic freedom that can never exist in a work-for-hire environment.

In no way am I unhappy, disgruntled or burned out. I have always received generous support from my numerous editors as well as the owners of the company. But companies have rules, and I have come to realize that those rules, however fair and reasonable, have placed significant limitations on my ability to cover the wine industry as thoroughly as I know I can.

While setting out on a completely independent path I will continue to focus on the wines of Oregon. But I will also be able to compare and evaluate them in relation to the wines of Washington, California and other important wine-producing regions, as I did during my years as the Seattle Times wine columnist. I will be able to cover all of Oregon, including the essential coverage of the Rocks District sub-AVA of the Walla Walla Valley AVA. I will be able to cover wines from both sides of the shared AVAs that Oregon has with Washington and Idaho.

I will resume in-person tastings with winemakers, both at my home near Walla Walla and during visits to wineries. I will no longer be bound by the rules of blind tasting as I will no longer be scoring wines. Blind tasting eliminates context, and the mass tastings—blind or otherwise—of dozens upon dozens of wines at a single sitting, which is standard operating procedure for many reviewers, further conceals any true measure of quality in young, recently bottled wines.

I will continue to taste regularly and post up notes and reviews and specific recommendations. But not scores. I believe it is time for wineries to find other ways to promote their wines rather than just listing the highest numbers they can find from the myriad of options. For those wineries who have never sent wines to me because they objected to scores, my door is now open and I welcome the opportunity to connect.

By going entirely digital I will be able to post up notes and recommendations as soon as I have tasted the wines. This in turn will allow consumers to find these often limited wines before they sell out. Recommended wines will have links to winery websites, so that consumers may purchase directly from the wineries. DTC is becoming vitally important for wineries in these pandemic times and I will support connecting consumers and businesses in every way possible.

Along with wine reviews and recommendations this website will feature industry news and discussions on topics such as closures, regenerative farming, proposed AVAs, misleading and vague terms... the list is a long one. The intent is to encourage dialogue. There are plenty of websites offering a single point of view, be it from a critic, a winemaker or a wine business entity. But those offering a chance for diverse opinions, including from consumers, are few and far between. I intend to make this site a place where differing points of view are welcome, where anyone who loves wine may weigh in without fear of getting a bad score or review in return. 

Most importantly this will jumpstart my research for a proposed book on Oregon wines and wineries. PaulG on Wine is entirely my own self-funded project. There are no advertisers or sponsors, no solicitations or back door deals. I do ask that you send new releases regularly, and email all winery news to me at paulgwine@me.com. Your thoughts, suggestions and comments will always be welcomed. Your participation will be what makes or breaks this enterprise.