Using user review are not very helpful as well. Each taster use different vocabulary and there are even different way to analyse wine: some people describe the flavours (this wine is strawberries, apple, lime) some, including me, are more of a structural tester (comparing "length" of a wine, width and character of the taste and after taste).
Second problem is (and there is even statistical proof) that after wine pass some threshold of kinda good wine, the resulting score is random. This is caused by few things: your mood, what you drink before it, anticipation, the meal and even music.
Scoring (and recommending) wine and selecting what you like is very complicated subject and probably best way is still ask some good wine buyer, describe what you like and he might recommend wines he likes that loosely fits your description.
Agree user reviews do prevent their own issues. One of those linked articles is about the confusion over the meaning of 'dry' in the contexts of sweetness and tannins.
> ...probably best way is still ask some good wine buyer, describe what you like and he might recommend wines he likes that loosely fits your description.
Best advice I've gotten/give is find an importer/distributor (eg Kermit Lynch) and rely on their selections.
Moreover, the "kinda good" level is not at a very high price point. I've never had an undrinkable bottle that cost over $15 (unless it was "corked"). A majority of wines I've tried over $10/bottle are very drinkable. I think it has to do with the amount of money it takes to literally put the wine in the bottle.
I'm very curious. When you say "undrinkable", what do you mean? I've heard a lot of wine fans say this and I've never really gotten a straight answer. Do you instantly pour out your glass and throw out the bottle? Do you finish your glass but throw away the bottle? Or maybe finish your glass but save the rest of the bottle for cooking?
I'm also curious about what wines you're getting over $10/bottle that are not drinkable. Here in the Netherlands we have fairly cheap wine, but not outrageously cheap by any measure, and the majority of what I drink is 6-10 euros/bottle. I don't think I've ever gotten an "undrinkable" bottle over 6 euros. The only "undrinkable" bottle I can remember buying in recent memory was part of a sale - some "fancier" wine at 5 euros a bottle if I remember - and though I don't think it was corked the taste was off enough that I decided to toss the bottle.
For me undrinkable = faulty wine, but those are very rare these days. I just throw those wines away.
Bigger problem with wines in region of 5 - 15 euros is that they are boring. They taste like generic wines and nothing more. I put aside those wines and use them for cooking.
Second problem is (and there is even statistical proof) that after wine pass some threshold of kinda good wine, the resulting score is random. This is caused by few things: your mood, what you drink before it, anticipation, the meal and even music.
Scoring (and recommending) wine and selecting what you like is very complicated subject and probably best way is still ask some good wine buyer, describe what you like and he might recommend wines he likes that loosely fits your description.