Wine Spectator permits the use of our wine reviews under certain circumstances, detailed below.
This permission is granted only under the condition that the citations are complete, accurate and give attribution to Wine Spectator. Rating scores and tasting notes must not be altered, nor associated with any wines other than the specific wine and vintage referred to in our review.
Wholesale copying, downloading or printing of Wine Spectator Wine Tasting Notes, other than for personal use or for the purposes of promoting sales transactions are expressly prohibited.
If we discover inaccurate or inappropriate use of our reviews, we reserve the right to withdraw approval, and, if such improper use is egregious, to pursue legal action to prevent it.
If you are not sure whether your case is covered by these policies, please contact us for review and possible approval at permissions@mshanken.com.
1. I am a wine retailer and am a member of Wine Spectator’s Retailer Club.
You are entitled to limited use of Wine Spectator wine reviews. Retailers receive a limited license with their Retailer Agreement Terms.
Retailer Club members may cite reviews of any wine published by Wine Spectator, including barrel tastings and selections from the Wine Spectator Insider and Advance newsletters. However, wines reviewed in non-blind tastings may not be cited. You may cite the rating score on its own; if you publish the tasting note, it must be reproduced wholly and accurately, including the taster’s initials and the issue date of publication.
Retailers with this license are not required to receive permission in advance for their use of our wine reviews, as enumerated in this agreement.
2. I am in the wine trade (as a retailer, restaurateur, distributor, importer, marketer or producer) but am not a member of Wine Spectator’s Retailer Club.
You are entitled to a limited use of Wine Spectator wine reviews. You are permitted to cite Wine Spectator ratings of wines you offer for sale. You may cite the rating score on its own; if you publish the tasting note, it must be reproduced wholly and accurately, including the taster’s initials and the issue date of publication.
All requests to publish reviews must be sent to permissions@mshanken.com for review and approval.
If you would like to become a member of Wine Spectator’s Retail Club,you can find more information about the benefits here, or email us at retailsales@mshanken.com.
3. I am a journalist.
If you are writing about a specific wine, you may cite the Wine Spectator rating score and review for that wine, so long as the review has been previously published in our wine review database at WineSpectator.com. The citation must give attribution to Wine Spectator and include the tasting note, the taster’s initials and the issue date of publication.
If you wish to cite multiple wine reviews, or cite reviews on a recurring basis, you must send your request to permissions@mshanken.com for review and approval.
4. All other parties
All other parties must contact Wine Spectator and receive explicit permission for a specific use. Please send a detailed request to permissions@mshanken.com.