0 - 100: WINE RATINGS. Winemaker Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe Vineyards
Episode 19 : The Wine Down
Episode Synopsis
Our friend Wes Hagen returns for another great episode! Sonja, Tim and Wes get together over a few bottles of Clos Pepe and discuss the benefits and pitfalls of the 100 point wine rating system. In a country with a still developing wine culture, has the emphasis on numbers been a help or hindrance to the way we drink?
The conversation is revealing, engaging and dynamic in a way that would surprise anyone who may think that wine has become a dry ‘numbers game.’
Guest Bio
Wes Hagen has essentially been running the show at Clos Pepe since 1998, producing and celebrating world-class Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Besides making sensational wine Wes researched and wrote the petition that established the Santa Rita Hills American Viticultural Area with help from other local wine personalities, and has written for several publications including WineMaker Magazine, ‘Burgundy-Report’ and WestCoastWine.Net. Wes is a tireless advocate for his brand and the region, and we are lucky to have him share some of the stories and philosophies behind his success.
Episode Breakdown
00:00 Introduction
01:30 Wine Ratings: What goes into them?
02:55 Did wine ratings revolutionize the wine industry?
04:25 Fundamental issues of wine criticism.
07:14 Wine judging for Big Mac and Milkshake palates.
09:50 Feeling vs. intellectualizing; wine without food.
11:00 Categorizing wine for rating.
12:08 Kingmaker critics and the need for adventure.
14:38 How do you get to be a wine judge?
16:36 Judging wine in a global context.
17:08 Tailoring wine for critical success.
20:00 Flavor profiles that respect food-turning the engine on in a wine.
23:20 Judges Criteria.
25:11 The pressures to perform critically and mixing high-scorers with low.
28:22 Good lessons from bad wine.
31:02 85-89 points: The magic number.
32:16 Patriotic wine drinkers; drinking what we love and where we live.
34:30 America’s best “undiscovered” wine; the Slow wine movement.
38:07 Tasting licenses and growing American wine culture.
39:55 The three things you need to know about wine.
41:25 Who is responsible for educating your palate?
43:35 Disagree with the critics? It’s going to be alright.
44:45 How are the wines selected for criticism?
46:34 Bad mouthing wines: One magazine, two critics, two opposing opinions.
49:42 Medals and scores to bring people to the table.
50:38 The order of tasting and competition.
52:24 An established baseline on judging.
53:35 Different wine sites and a critical explorer.
54:56 More money than sense vs. the “Pisoni” factor.
57:10 The Wild West-learning with our friends.
59:25 Social creatures and social lubricant: The wine speaking through us.
01:02:20 Wine with fake boobs vs. delicacy, elegance and complexity.
01:03:53 Santa Barbara humility and the promised land of California.
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Hosted By
Sonja Magdevski
My voracious appetite for knowledge has led me to incredible journeys as well as halted me in my tracks. Through all I have done the one thing that connects me to the earth, to my work and to others is information.
Brandon Bartlett
Brandon Bartlett is a Senior Sales / Channel Manager at Beam. Beam owns Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Sauza Hornitos, Effen vodka, Knob Creek, Cruzan rum, and many others. Brandon has been in the hotel, restaurant, bar, nightclub, cigar, wine, and liquor business for 25 years.
