Wine Score: How Books Are Rated
The Wine Score was invented by Robert Parker of Wine Spectator. Although theoretically the wine expert applies a score of from 1 to 100 to the wines he or she assesses, in fact, one rarely sees bottles in the store with a score below, say, 85 or above 95. The implication is that any wine that might rate a lower number is beneath contempt and any wine worth a higher score is available only to billionaires. Weird, but it’s the system and everyone seems to understand its idiosyncrasies. Accordingly, the reviewer on this blog applies scores exclusively from the same narrow band.
What the numbers mean:
85-86 Plonk – economy-class airline fare
87-88 To be loaned to friends who enjoy an easy read
89-90 Sunday by the fire or impress the new girlfriend
91-92 To be savoured
93-95 A keeper, one for the ages
Pennies per Page is a relatively simple calculation of value: the cost of the book divided by the number of pages. Admittedly, the figure is not altogether reliable because the number of words on a page can vary widely. I suppose the number really represents the amount of paper you get rather than the amount of reading, but there you go. Statistics are rarely as meaningful as they seem to be.
