Wine Ratings

[TheEngineer]

I also would not place much trust on the food critics. If you only use the wine scores to guide you to what to start with, then you are closing off a whole world of wines that are outside of these scores. Wine is not a math exercise, and high scoring wines (as noted) are not necessarily the ones you like, but again, if you don't look outside this range, you will miss the world of wines.

To learn something does take a bit of effort. How much effort is up to you but much better to do as Foodie suggests, then to arbitrarily limit your wine selection. Case in point, my favorite Riesling comes from a small producer that no wine critic has even come close to writing about, yet, his wine are a favorite amongst a few wine boards and can be found in stores in the area.

Another suggestion, find a wine store you like and trust. They can take you and show you the world of wines....just don't do this at peak hours. Be sensitive to their needs as well.