Join Lulie Halstead and Felicity Carter as they unpack the complex world of wine scores, medals, and critics, asking where they come from and why the results can be so different between competitions and critics. Then they move into the history of wine criticism and the impact of figures like American wine critic Robert Parker, who changed the market.

They also unpack the psychological and sociological factors that affect consumer perceptions of wine, to find out what consumers think about it all. And they discover a surprising truth about what drives people to choose one wine over another.

And they answer the question — do those little gold dots on bottles of wine count for anything?

In this episode:

[00:05:19] How the emergence of Robert Parker and his 100-point scoring system significantly changed wine criticism.

[00:10:22] An insider’s look at how wine competitions across the world use different judging systems and get very different results, from Australia to Europe.

[00:24:27] How taste in wine is influenced by social class — and how awards and medals tap into “social capital”.

[00:26:52] How awards and medals act as a heuristic, helping consumers make quicker decisions.

[00:30:33] Where awards and medals sit in the hierarchy of choice.

Meet Your Hosts:

Lulie Halstead founded and led international consumer research and strategy consultancy Wine Intelligence, and led it to a successful PE exit. Today she is a renowned global beverage alcohol and wine sector specialist, focused on consumer behaviour, strategy, retail and hospitality. An accomplished keynote speaker, she has spoken at more than 70 international events over the past 20 years.

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly.