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MICHAEL FRIDJHON: Inconsistent ratings topple the ability to discern good tipples
At pretty much every price point, from R50 to R200, there’s great wine to be found without huge effort. Consumers in SA are also well served by guides, shows and industry publications. Where errors occur, they are mainly the result of unresolved aesthetic criteria. If these sources share a fault (including my Wine Wizard website) it is that they are too generous about ordinary wine. There are so few really bad wines that dull and boring ones are positioned several tiers higher than the pleasure they are capable of delivering. This is reflected in the ratings. It’s almost impossible to find a one-star wine in the Platter Guide, or a scoring less than 12 points on the 20-point system or less than 85 on the so-called 100-point system. When I judged for the Platter Guide I once scored a wine at zero (it was, I have to say, unspeakably bad and the winery was closed down by the authorities a few months later). My editor asked if I had forgotten to rate the wine. When I explained that I th...
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