Tuesday, April 27, 2010
The Tyranny of Numbers
If you go to a store and there are two wines at a similar price point in front of you that you've never seen before, never heard of, and one has a shelf-talker that says 91 Points and the other says 89 Points, you've really got to be a schmuck to go for the second one. What a bold stance to say, "I know these scores are all just politics, so I'm going with the lesser of the two."
I got an email today that offered "90 Points and Under $8." The wine is a Spanish white, 2007 Vila Viniteca El Perro Verde Rueda. Whatever. It was $18 and is now marked down to $7.99. According to Josh Raynolds (who writes for Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar), it offers "subtle orchard fruits on the nose, with a suave tangerine note emerging with aeration. Nervier lime and orange zest on the palate...an impressive blend of power and verve." I don't know what any of that means, but "90 Points and Under $8" is a helluva sales pitch.
I listed a Le Pin that rated 93 Points at $31.43 per point. This is less than $0.09 per point. Seriously, how bad could it be?
The Wine House: http://www.winehouse.com/product.php?sku=8437000094203&d=ALL
