VinePair and Wine2Wine: How VinePair Tastes Differently

Purchase tickets to thewine2wine Business Forum and be automatically entered to win a free round-trip flight and free hotel accommodation in Verona for the duration of the forum. To enter, please click here and enter the code VP00023.

If you’ve consulted VinePair’s catalog of wine reviews or Buy This Booze roundups to find the best Merlots, Sauvignon Blancs, or even chillable reds, you might wonder how the wine ratings are decided. While you can check out a detailed outline of our tasting methodology on the site, there’s a more in-depth (and fun!) way to discover the secrets of the tastings department — and that’s by attending VinePair’s session at this year’s wine2wine Business Forum in Verona, Italy.

The 2023 wine2wine Business Forum will be held at the PalaExpo of Veronafiere on November 13 and 14. The event provides the perfect platform for participants to network with wine professionals from around the world and taste wines alongside tasting experts and judges — all in the beautiful setting of Verona. In addition to exploring wine2wine’s seminars, attendees will have the chance to stroll the city’s charming piazzas and enjoy the region’s delicious cuisine. Verona is also central to many of the area’s leading wine regions including Valpolicella, Soave, Prosecco, Franciacorta, Lugana, and many more, which make for perfect day trips.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the wine2wine Business Forum, with a special focus on celebrating the past, understanding the present, and facing the future of wine. More than 70 seminars are organized over the forum’s two days on relevant topics like wine trends, strategy and marketing, wine tourism, diversity, and sustainability. The event brings together over 1,000 wine professionals from all sectors of the industry, including producers, consultants, buyers, sommeliers, judges, and writers to learn from each other and incite engaging discussions.

A New Way to Taste

Wine2wine is debuting five entirely new tasting sessions for this year’s event, specifically designed to demystify the often-confusing world of wine scores. VinePair’s tastings panel, led by co-founder Josh Malin and tastings director Keith Beavers, alongside managing editor Tim McKirdy and assistant editor Hannah Staab, will shed light on VinePair’s approach to wine tasting and scoring.

The session will detail how VinePair conducts wine ratings, explaining how wines are sourced, tasted, and scored. The VinePair team will also reveal what categories readers are most interested in, the styles that tend to perform the best during tastings, and how VinePair has become an advocate for emerging producers and regions.

Behind the Scenes Action

When organizing a tasting for a specific category, VinePair looks to source a range of wines to sample, from large well-known producers and regions to more up-and-coming winemakers and underrecognized styles. Uncovering the best bottles from every variety and region ensures that VinePair’s buying guides connect readers with the best possible recommendations.

While conducting the tastings, VinePair strives to sample all products as our readers would if they purchased the bottle on their own, with full knowledge of the producer, region, and price. Therefore, VinePair’s tastings are typically not conducted blind, but instead, we rate the wines based on how they perform within context. Acknowledging whether or not a wine is a good value for its price or typical for its variety or region is an important part of a wine’s rating and valuable information for wine lovers looking to buy the perfect bottle. Additionally, VinePair’s buying guides go beyond the typical tasting notes, including extensive information on each wine’s background and producer.

Through this transparent approach, VinePair acts as a breath of fresh air to the exclusive realm of scoring wines, making reviews accessible to all consumers.

Get Your Ticket Today

If you’re interested in learning more about VinePair’s tasting methodology, attending seminars with experts across several fields, and connecting with a stellar group of international wine professionals, buy a ticket to this year’s wine2wine event. Major bonus, one lucky participant who purchased tickets using the unique VinePair code will be automatically entered to win a free round-trip flight and free hotel accommodation in Verona for the duration of the forum.

To participate in the draw, tickets for the wine2wine Business Forum must be purchased before October 2, 2023. The winner of the free flights and hotel will be notified on October 3, 2023.

To purchase tickets, please click here and enter the code VP00023. The purchased ticket allows access to the event on both days.

We’ll see you in Verona!

This article is sponsored by the wine2wine Business Forum.