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Is There Consensus Among Wine Quality Ratings of Prominent Critics? An Empirical Analysis of Red Bordeaux, 2004–2010*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2013

Robert H. Ashton
Robert H. Ashton*
Affiliation:
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, 100 Fuqua Drive, Durham, NC 27708; e-mail: robert.ashton@duke.edu.
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Abstract

This paper examines the level of consensus, or agreement, among the wine quality ratings of six prominent wine critics for seven consecutive vintages of red Bordeaux. Consensus, a critical component of expertise in wine evaluation, has important implications for consumers' reliance on critics' ratings in deciding which wines to purchase or consume. The principal analyses focus on a core set of wines in each year that were rated by all six critics. Additional analyses concern differences in agreement for classified growths vs. nonclassified growths and for critics of different nationalities (American, British, and French). The level of consensus among these prominent critics is contrasted with that among both wine professionals who are not prominent critics and professionals from several other fields. (JEL Classification: C93)

Keywords

Bordeaux quality ratingswine critic agreementwine critic consensuswine quality evaluation
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Wine Economics , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , November 2013 , pp. 225 - 234
Copyright
Copyright © American Association of Wine Economists 2013 

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Footnotes

*

I am indebted to David Bolomey, whose website bordoverview.com provides the critics' ratings on which this paper is based, for conversations that have clarified both the website's contents and the process of en primeur tastings; to Alison Ashton for helpful comments on an earlier version; and to Zhenhua Chen for excellent research assistance. I am also indebted to the reviewer for useful comments.

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