The WineStatistics rating system is easy-to-read and, at the same time, quite detailed, so that it can be used by a wide range of wine enthusiasts.

The core of the system is a well detailed wine tasting table, which divides a wine’s profile into 10 equivalent elements, grouped in 4 categories: visual aspect, olfactory aspect (the nose), gustatory aspect (the palate) and finale.

The maximum rating a wine can get is 100, as a result, each element can get maximum 10 points, which represents exactly 1/10th of the maximum score:

Each category has it’s own weight, based on its importance in the wine profile:

• the visual aspect (10%) contains 1 element: color – everything related to the wine’s appearance will be reflected here – max 10 pts;
• the olfactory aspect (20%) contains 2 elements: aroma and flavor – this category will group all the aspects of a wine’s aromatic profile – max 20 pts;
• the gustatory aspect (50%) contains 5 elements: sweetness, alcohol, acidity, tannin and balance – this category will group all the aspects that describe how a wine tastes and the overall harmony of the palate – max 50 pts;
• the aftertaste (20%) contains 2 elements: finish and aftertaste – here will be reflected those feelings and sensations that still persist in the mouth after the wine has been tasted – max 20 pts.

Each independent element represents one vector in the overall wine profile and is explained as follows:

• color explains opacity, intensity and the wine’s color vector;
• aroma explains the intensity of a wine’s nose;
• flavor explains the wine flavor profile (is it fruity, oaky, spicy, earthy, savory or herbaceous);
• sweetness explains how sweet or dry a wine feels in the mouth (not the actual quantity of residual sugar in the wine);
• alcohol explains how strong a wine tastes and how warm it feels on the palate (not the overall level of ABV);
• acidity explains how tart a wine feels on the mouthfeel (not the general PH level);
• tannin explains the overall tannic grip on the palate and how pleasant it tastes;
• balance explains the overall harmony between the 4 main elements of a wine (sweetness, alcohol, acidity, tannin);
• finish explains the lengths of the aftertaste that persists on the mouthfeel;
• aftertaste explains how pleasant that sensation is.

The end result of our wine reviews will be displayed as a very simple and easy to read bar chart:

To simplify the wine rating system described above, we’ve introduced a radial wine diagram, where every branch represents one of the wine profile elements, described above. The perfect wine (a 100 pts wine) will have a full grown, round diagram.

The beauty of WineStatistics rating system is that you can replace our rating with your own, based on your observations and taste. Simply replace our marks with your rating and then make a sum of the obtained results and you will get your own wine rating. The thing that should be kept in mind is that there are no rights or wrongs, nor perfect evaluations – everyone has his own sensory profile and taste preferences – keep practicing and you will discover yours.

Please note that we’ve decided to omit the price factor from our wine reviews for two reasons – one would be that prices will vary from retailer to retailer, one can even buy wines directly from the winery, which may cut cost considerably. The second reason would be that we intend to test head-to-head wines from Moldova and Romania with wines from all over the world, wines whose prices will inevitably include import , transportation and retail fees, if bought on the local market.

The cherry-on-the-top of WineStatistics rating system is the wine recommendation table. A very simplistic way to explain to you, our loyal reader, what the overall rating really means. Should you try this wine or just pass it by? Is it good or simply epic? How good is the wine you’ve just tasted? Does it have any ageing potential? How does it compare to other wines you’ve tasted?

Check the WineStatistics score and recommendation at the end of each review, it will answer most of those questions:

• 95 – 99 | exceptional | (simply epic) -> a wine that can reach into the realm of perfection
• 93 – 94 | great | (a must try wine) -> a wine that has all the traits to become legendary
• 91 – 92 | fine | (highly recommended) -> a wine of premium quality with good potential
• 89 – 90 | nice | (enjoyable & good) -> a well made wine that lacks elegance and finesse
• 75 – 88 | fair | (acceptable & simple) -> a decent wine that lacks character and structure

While the maturity level is hinting at when to uncork the said wine:

• developing | still young – requires more bottle ageing
• in its prime | drink it now or age it for another year
• past its prime | requires no more ageing – drink now
• fully mature | too late – will not develop any further

WineStatistics classification is based on the wine ratings explained above, and reflects the overall quality of a tasted/reviewed wine. The purpose of  our rating system is to guide you to find the one wine you were searching for so long, or simply help you choose the right wine from the multitude found in the wine stores, saving a lot of your time (and, why not, some money) in the process.
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WineStatistics ratings and reviews are a freeware product, you can use and share it without further notifications, as long as you mention the source. Furthermore, feel free to change/edit our ratings according to your taste and don’t forget to enjoy the wine itself in the meantime.

We hope that our wine reviews will be of good use to you, and that you will enjoy wine as much as we do.

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As a footnote, we will leave you with some food for thoughts:

. . . drinking good wine with good food in good company is one of life’s most civilized pleasures . . .
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(c) The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. There are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.