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Food & Travel Home Wine & Food Pairing Free Trial Online Membership Home Wine Ratings About Our Tastings See all articles in the package Wine Spectator Tasting Procedures Wine Spectator editors review more than 15,000 wines each year in blind tastings. Every issue of Wine Spectator magazine contains 400 to 1,000 wine reviews with detailed tasting notes and drink recommendations. We set stringent standards for ourselves and rely on the proven ability and experience of our editors as tasters and critics. (Read our Statement of Ethics.) Below are the guidelines we follow in order to maintain the integrity of our tastings. Why We Taste Blind: A Letter from Marvin R. Shanken and Thomas Matthews What do we review each year? Each year, more than 15,000 wines from around the world are blind-tasted by our editors. The majority of these reviews are published in issues throughout the year, in the Buying Guide section of the magazine. Additional reviews are posted exclusively on our website.

Wine Spectator primarily serves a national audience, and we therefore prefer to review wines that are widely available. Where do the wines we review come from? The majority of the wines we taste are submitted to us by the wineries or their U.S. importers. Additionally, we spend thousands of dollars each year to buy wines that are not submitted, at all price levels.indian wine to buy Where do we review the wines?buy wine online in spain Tastings take place in our offices in Napa and New York, and in the vineyard regions of Europe. where to buy textbook wineEach office has dedicated tasting rooms and staff to coordinate the tastings. The European tastings are organized and conducted at independent sites by Wine Spectator staff.

Who reviews wines for the magazine? Each editor generally covers the same wine regions from year to year. These "beats" remain constant, allowing each lead taster to develop expertise in the region's wines. Other tasters may sit in on blind tastings in order to help confirm impressions. However, the lead taster always has the final say on the wine's rating and description. A taster's initials at the end of the tasting note indicate that the rating and review were created by that taster in one of our blind tastings. Wines that do not include initials at the end of the tasting note are wines that were reviewed by two or more tasters. These tastings are conducted in the same blind setting and are monitored and guided by the lead taster for that region. While the vast majority of our wine reviews originate from blind tastings—in private, under controlled conditions—and result in official scores, as described above and on our Tasting Format page, we occasionally review wines in other formats.

Barrel tastings: Editors sometimes review unfinished wines in barrel tastings. These wine are scored in ranges (eg. 85-88 points) [our score ranges are 4-point spreads] to indicate that the ratings are still preliminary. Most barrel tastings are blind; when they are not blind, this is specifically noted. Unofficial tastings: Editors sometimes review wines nonblind in unofficial tastings, from their cellars or at restaurants, in their blogs and other features. Because these are finished wines, they are given scores, but are always noted as unofficial and/or nonblind (if applicable) in the tasting note. Please select a language / S'il vous plaît sélectionner une langue YOU MUST BE 19 YEARS OF AGE TO PURCHASE ALCOHOL. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ONLY DELIVER IN ONTARIO / VOUS DEVEZ AVOIR AU MOINS 19 ANS POUR ACHETER DE L'ALCOOL. VEUILLEZ NOTER QUE NOUS NE LIVRONS PAS À L'EXTÉRIEUR DE L'ONTARIO.It doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive; simply consider the nature of the occasion and local custom when making your choice.

In some parts of the country, a hostess gift is considered obligatory, while in other places a gift is brought only on special occasions. If it’s the first time you’re visiting someone’s home, then it’s a very nice gesture to bring a small gift. If you have a few extra minutes to wrap it, even if you only use tissue or a decorative bag, it adds to the gesture. Wine, flowers, specialty food items, and small items for the house all make good hostess gifts. Flowers are terrific too, but if you want to go beyond Etiquette 101, bring them in a simple vase (a Mason jar is fine). You could also offer to put them in water yourself when you arrive so your host doesn’t have to arrange them. If you bring wine, don’t expect your host to serve it that evening- the wines may have already been chosen for the meal. And don’t bring food for the meal unless you’ve been asked to. Otherwise you risk putting your host on the spot and upsetting the menu. Here are a few tips on what to bring when:

Dinner party guests usually bring a hostess gift unless they are close friends who dine together frequently. Gift possibilities include wine, Champagne, flowers (preferably in a vase), a potted plant, chocolates, specialty food items such as jams and jellies or other condiments, fancy nuts, olives, olive oil or vinegars, or items for the house, such as cocktail napkins, guest soaps and lotions , a picture frame, or a scented candle. A CD or book is also appropriate if you know your host’s taste. Gifts aren’t usually taken to large, formal dinners, especially if you don’t know the host well. If it’s a birthday, anniversary, graduation, or shower, bring a gift for the honoree. Bring a gift for your host or hostess, or send flowers before the party. After the party, send a thank-you note. It’s customary to bring a gift to a housewarming. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it should be something lasting for the house. Possible gifts include guest towels, a houseplant, a patio or garden plant, glasses, dish towels, a picture frame, specialty foods like a great olive oil or preserves, or a cheeseboard and/or cheese knives.