Comments on: Wine Critics and their Discontents http://wineeconomist.com/2008/09/07/wine-critics-and-their-discontents/ Tue, 21 May 2013 21:21:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Thomas Matthews http://wineeconomist.com/2008/09/07/wine-critics-and-their-discontents/#comment-132 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:29:58 +0000 http://wineeconomist.wordpress.com/?p=226#comment-132 This is a sharp and helpful analysis. I would add that one other important way to insulate critics against charges of “potential economic conflicts of interest” is to insist on blind tastings, as we do at Wine Spectator.

There have been many studies proving the influence of the label (reputation, price, etc) on critical judgment. By ensuring that the critic knows neither the producer nor the price, the most important potential conflicts are eliminated. That way, the consumers’ interest in objective analysis is given priority not only over advertisers’ desire for critical validation, but also over the critic’s own inherent (and possibly unrecognized) biases or preconceptions.

Thomas Matthews
Executive editor
Wine Spectator

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