Ah, I see. A very different and more manageable task.
I would be interested to see if/when some kind of hospitality designation might get appended to their winery ratings – might be a useful way to tie the winery “ratings” or reviews to their more traditional travel-related content…
Esther Mobley has a good (in my view) and long article about this in the SF Chronicle. Links: The Michelin Guide is coming for wine. Here’s what it means and https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/michelin-grapes-guide-ratings-21218932.php
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I’d agree with that, though I believe that sustainable choices in farming are extremely necessary.
My biggest question with regards to this is, who is doing the evaluation? The critics are overworked already and viticulture is not their area of expertise. I mean that most of them are excellent writers, extremely experienced tasters, but I don’t know any critic who has really significant experience in horticulture or farming. I may be wrong here but it hasn’t shown up in any of my conversations with reviewers.
I’d speculate:
A lot of the vineyard health information will be coming from the producers. I really can’t see this any other way. The vineyards are private property, and just walking around in them on a surprise visit isn’t terribly likely. I understand Europe may be different, but even if a horticulturist takes a walk it’s not like they can tell superior genetic material just by looking at it. Most people would look for which vines are the healthiest looking, but green growth doesn’t actually make the best wines (IMO).
At some point this also risks there being a “best practices” list for farming. Given the diversity nature of sites, viticultural decisions need to vary between vineyards and vintages. The same is true of clonal choices and vine genetics.
The other issue with a checklist is that as that checklist becomes known, farming will adjust to check the boxes. The same way that wineries moved their style to Robert Parker’s preferences once he became hugely influential (and many absolutely did change to try and appeal to his preferences). This could lead to further homogenation and narrowing the band-width of wines-not across the board but certainly among a sizable range of producers.
It also seems to me that “best” viticultural techniques seem to change generationally. The frequency with which some new producer or new generation is doing some ground breaking new type of farming happens more regularly than one would expect for a 7000 year old industry. And I definitely think some of those changes are for the better. But what happens when we suddenly discover the best new thing in viticulture and farming? It’s important to remember that critical reviews are a form of journalism, and journalism needs to be able to renew it’s vibrancy. We already broadcast checklists of farming more than we do experience with the vineyard.
One of the issues I have with the wine industry at the moment is how “story” driven things are. The idea that wineries need to “tell the story” comes up constantly. But ultimately, I think most consumers really want interesting and exceptional wines, and if the winery has a good story then that’s a bonus. From my, admittedly curmudgeonly, point of view the viticultural part of the review will be hard, and expensive, to do in a really meaningful way. Which most likely means it will be based on whichever winery tells the best farming stories, true or not.
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Ditto. I have really serious “story fatigue.” At work I do a lot of research on wineries and bottlings. Hit enough websites and they all seem to plagiarize each other. Boilerplate. Maybe there’s no alternative but it wipes me out.
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This 1000%
The challenge is that producers will tell whatever story they want, regardless of whether fact checks are done. Lots to say that wineries aren’t honest, but . . . Many wineries simply aren’t honest.
Cheers
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The wishy-washy categories seem like a missed opportunity, or an opportunity to let grift and prestige tip the scales when “necessary”. Michelin’s guide is at heart, a travel guide, telling you where is worth going to. Why not apply this same logic to wineries and rate based on the tasting experience (including the actual taste of the wines, of course). This seems like something someone could actually find useful when visiting an unfamiliar wine region! No need to get into the agronomy, which is impossible for them to judge. They’d never judge a restaurant by the soil the chef grew her carrots in. Rather, the quality of the food, uniqueness, consistency, and service compose the rating system.
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Interesting news :
So in the year 2026, Michelin WA… will release their rating - by 3 Grapes, 2 Grapes, 1 Grape and Zero.
They will start by release their list specifically around producers ( or the Domaines ) in CdOr…
It will be interesting on what criteria, they will be using ? If I have to make a guess - I am very sure that their anonymous reviewers…should include William Kelley. It is why our dear friend is shying away from this thread.
The Bordeaux 1855 Classification was created in the year 1855 and I believe it was considered based on one of the main criteria was the released prices around that time.
By the above example and if the Michelin WA’s criteria for The Burgundy 2026 Classification would be similar to the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, I am with many posters here : Leroy, DRC, Rousseau and Roumier ( for the red )…will all be 3 Grapes.
If the Secondary Price would be included, then I am sure the following will be on the 3 Grapes : Bozot and Arnoux Lachoux .
Seriously does anyone here care? Just what we need, Michelin star/grape ratings to send the hoi polloi scurrying after the “best” wines. Luckily, most are so overpriced at this point that it won’t affect my buying, but just another nail in the coffin for affordability of the great wines of the world.
Maybe if they were to start with some lesser known regions, and bring attention to a bunch of unknown, under appreciated wines, that would be of interest. Nah, let’s start with Burgundy 
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I am an admirer of William Kelley…and love ( or hope ) to see if he will there or not.
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I think enthusiasts will benefit if the Michelin wine guide gets a wider public interested in wine. A lot of ink has been spilled about the things the Michelin Guide doesn’t get quite right, but what it has done is allow non-industry people who would not have been able to follow fine dining trends (especially outside of where they live) to see a curated list of interesting restaurants with some degree of accepted authority. It helped to create an awareness in the consumer of fine dining that benefits not just those at the top but any restaurant focused on quality.
My hope is that the Michelin grapes would be a similar starting point for people curious about what the “best wines” are. Can a new awareness of quality wine be built that benefits producers making the best stuff they can?
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That’s actually my fear. It’s taken me years, much trial and error, research, hanging around other wine enthusiasts, this and other wine communities, to acquire the knowledge and experience I have. If 
becomes the new benchmark, you’ll have every Tom, Dick, and Prince Harry trying to find those wines (which, for the most part, are already often unobtainable/unaffordable). Right now I can buy, and kind of afford, say, Chave Hermitage as a bottle or two purchase. If that wine becomes even more sought after, driving up the price, goodbye Chave. Same with any number of other great wines that are likely to be awarded grapes.
Just as there are thousands of very good restaurants that don’t have Michelin stars, I always remind myself that there are thousands of very good to outstanding wines that the average consumer doesn’t know about, and are likely to stay that way. I’ll always be able to find good wine to drink. But it’s still frustrating that anyone can just look at some stars and gobble up bottles it took most of us years to discover and understand.
If WS rarely reports on wine rated below 85 as policy, what will it take to get a 1 grape score?
What happens if Michelin actually strips a lot of the current foolishness of grade inflation out?
There’s a zero grape rating too
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