'Quality': an objective standard of excellence, with an absence of technical faults.

Judgment of 'quality' is a composite response to the sensory properties (of a wine), based on our expectations which have been developed from our previous experiences (with a wide range of wines) and our personal preferences. This judgment is an individual response, since no two people integrate the individual attributes in quite the same way, and is limited by the state/ability of our senses on the occasion.

Wine assessment, a search for 'quality', is an attempt to negotiate the territory between objective standards and personal preferences. 
The following method is a development of various standard 20-point schemes, with precise points of assessment which will as far as possible enable the real quality of each wine to be judged, objectively and with consistency, minimising the influences of taster's personal preferences regarding sweetness, acidity, alcohol, oakiness or strong flavours.

Wines/temperature: white/rosé wines served at 12-14°C, red wines at 16-18°C,
                              sparkling wines at 8-10°C.

Glasses: ISO tasting glasses, one glass for each wine; to avoid carry-over flavours.

Classes:

Class 1 - Sparkling wines

Class 2 - Dry white wines (0-9 g/l residual sugar)

Class 3 - Medium-dry white wines (9-18 g/l residual sugar)

Class 4 - Medium/sweet white wines (over 18 g/l residual sugar) 

Class 5 - Rosé wines

Class 6 - Red wines

Sequence of tasting: in class order. 
Within classes 2, 3 and 4, the wines should be ordered/presented in groups/flights to avoid clash of flavours which tire the palate - Riesling group, then Neutral group, Müller-Thurgau group, Bouquet group, then Oak-aged wines. For details and a list of the vine-varieties in each group click here. For wines that are a blend of two or more varieties, winemakers should state which group they feel their wine should be in.

Medal ratings: Bronze = 14.0-15.9, Silver = 16.0-17.9, Gold = 18.0-20
                     Commendation = 13.0-13.9, unacceptable = below 11.0

Tasting scheme: wines to be assessed as follows, no half points to be awarded else it would effectively be a 40-point scheme. There are slightly different schemes for:-

White wines : Red wines : Sparkling wines