The short answer
A good rating sheet asks in a fixed order what you see, smell and taste, and ends with an overall verdict. Five fields are enough: appearance, nose, palate, finish and your impression in stars or points. What matters is that you ask the same questions for every drink, otherwise your ratings cannot be compared later.
What a rating sheet is good for
If you taste without a plan, you write a lot at the first glass and nothing at the fifth. A rating sheet sets the order and makes sure every sample gets the same questions. That way you can compare two wines from the same evening, but also two beers a year apart.
In a group the sheet has another advantage: everyone notes their own impression before anyone talks. Otherwise the table quickly adopts the opinion of whoever is loudest.
The five fields of every rating sheet
Whether wine, beer or whisky, the basic order is always the same. You go from eye to nose to mouth and finish with a verdict. The table shows what belongs in each field.
| Field | What you note | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance | color, clarity, for beer the head | pale yellow, clear |
| Nose | the first two or three aromas | lemon, apple, a little yeast |
| Palate | sweetness, acidity or bitterness, body | dry, fresh, lean |
| Finish | how long and how it lingers | medium, slightly bitter |
| Overall | stars or points and one sentence | 4 stars, ideal with fish |
Rating sheet for wine
With wine, four things count on the palate: sweetness, acidity, tannin and body. You feel tannin as a dry, rough sensation on the gums, especially with red wine. Body is the weight in the mouth, from light like water to full like cream.
For the nose, note the family first, such as red fruit, citrus or wood, and only then the exact aroma. For the finish, a rough indication is enough: short, medium or long.
| Feature | Scale to tick |
|---|---|
| Sweetness | dry · off-dry · medium sweet · sweet |
| Acidity | soft · fresh · lively |
| Tannin | smooth · noticeable · firm |
| Body | light · medium · full |
| Finish | short · medium · long |
Rating sheet for beer
With beer, the head belongs to the appearance: how firm it is and how long it lasts. On the nose, separate malt, which recalls bread, caramel or roast, from hops with herbs, citrus or resin and from yeast with fruit or spice.
On the palate, note bitterness, carbonation and body. A beer can be very bitter and still lean, another hardly bitter and full. If you write these down separately, you understand later why you liked a beer.
| Feature | Scale to tick |
|---|---|
| Head | fleeting · medium · firm |
| Bitterness | barely · medium · strong |
| Malt | restrained · bready · caramel · roasted |
| Carbonation | low · medium · high |
| Body | lean · medium · full |
Rating sheet for whisky
Color tells you less about whisky than you might think, because many bottlings may be colored with caramel. Note it anyway, but do not draw conclusions about age from it.
Nose it neat first and then with a few drops of water; new aromas often open up. On the palate, look for sweetness, spice, smoke and cask, and for how strongly the alcohol burns. With whisky, the finish is often what sets it apart from others.
| Feature | Scale to tick |
|---|---|
| Smoke | none · light · strong |
| Sweetness | dry · medium · sweet |
| Cask | barely · vanilla and wood · sherry and dried fruit |
| Alcohol | gentle · warm · hot |
| Finish | short · medium · long |
Stars, points or school grades?
Five stars are quick and enough for most people. A scale up to 100 points allows finer steps but demands discipline: if you rate generously one evening and strictly the next, you only create noise.
Whatever the scale, always use it the same way. And write one sentence on why next to every number. The number helps with sorting, the sentence with remembering.
Rating wine and beer in a group
At a tasting with friends, everyone gets the same sheet and the same samples in the same order. Everyone writes quietly first, then you compare. The interesting part is not the average but where you disagree.
If you like, cover the bottles and number the glasses. Then only what is in the glass counts, not the label. The bottles are revealed at the end.
Template to copy
This template works for wine, beer and whisky. Print the page or copy the lines into your notebook, one column per sample.
Rating sheet as a text template
Replace the scales under Palate with those from the tables above, depending on the drink.
Sample no.: ____ Drink: ______________________
Date: ________ Occasion/food: ______________
Appearance: ____________________________________
Nose: ____________________________________
Palate: ____________________________________
Finish: short / medium / long
Liked: ____________________________________
Disliked: ____________________________________
Verdict: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ or ____ / 100 points
Buy again? yes / noFrom paper to the app
Paper is often faster at the table. Later it pays to transfer your ratings to an app, because there they can be searched and the app can derive your taste from them.
Gustofolio asks for exactly the fields of this sheet with every rating: one to five stars or points up to 100, up to six aromas you liked and up to six you did not, plus a note, food, occasion, serving temperature and whether you would buy again. This works for all ten drink types, from wine and beer to sake.
