How reviews work
The reviews on Cities and Wines of Mexico are written by enthusiasts who visited each winery. Here we explain who can write them, how we check them, how we calculate the stars and what we cannot verify.
Who writes reviews
Anyone aged 18 or older with a Cities and Wines Passport (Pasaporte Ciudades y Vinos), about a visit of their own in the last 24 months. A person writes one review per winery; if they return, they edit it.
People who work or worked at a winery in the last 24 months, and their partners, relatives or suppliers, cannot review it. Neither can people who work at another winery in the same region. The Cities and Wines team does not publish reviews.
How we check them
Every review is first checked by an artificial intelligence system using these same public rules, without knowing whether the winery pays for a plan. If you disagree with a decision, ask for a second review: a person makes the final decision on an appeal.
Usually in minutes; if it needs a person's review, up to 3 business days. When the system has doubts, does not answer or the review has signals that need judgment, a member of the team reviews it. The system cannot, on its own, leave a critical review (2.4 or less) unpublished for lack of a visit of the author's own, a conflict of interest, an accusation or an incentive: a person always decides that.
We check that it follows the Community rules: that it tells the author's own experience, with no conflict of interest, no personal data, no insults or threats. The system reads only the text, the ratings, the month and the type of visit, and what the winery offers according to its profile; it does not receive your email, your name, your level or anything about the winery's plan.
We do not check whether we agree with the rating, and we do not correct texts: we publish the review as it is or tell its author what to change, quoting the passage. We publish the good and the bad by the same standard.
To detect conflicts of interest and fake accounts we use technical signals: the email, encrypted fingerprints of the connection and the browser, the age of the account and the similarity between texts. These signals are not sent to the artificial intelligence system: when they appear, a person reviews the review. The Privacy notice explains what data we use and for how long.
What the labels mean
- Arrived through the winery's link. The winery shared its link with this person. We ask wineries to invite all their visitors, not only those who left happy.
- Courtesy visit. The winery invited the visit without asking for anything in return. It is published, but does not count toward the average.
- Received a welcome glass. In the previous 12 months the person redeemed the welcome glass that this winery gives, once a year, to any enthusiast with an account, asking nothing in return. It is published with that label and counts toward the average.
- Works in wine. The person works in the sector, with no relationship to this winery or its region.
- Works at another winery. The person works at a winery in another region. It is published, but does not count toward the average.
We do not verify visits: each author declares their own. Next to each average you will see how many reviews arrived through the winery's link.
How we calculate the stars
Each review rates five aspects from 1 to 5: wines, service, experience, setting and value. The rating of the review is the average of its aspects. If the person did not taste wines or it was a courtesy visit, four are averaged.
A winery's average is the simple average of its reviews that count: all weigh the same, whatever the level of the author. The ones published about visits in the last 3 years count. Courtesy visits and visits by people who work at another winery do not count.
We show the average from 5 reviews. With fewer, you can read each review but not an average, so that a few visits do not define a winery. We round to one decimal. A reply from the winery does not change the rating.
Wineries and reviews
No winery can delete, edit, hide, sort or choose which reviews are shown, whether or not it has a paid plan. All of them can reply in public at no cost; the reply appears under the review, follows the same rules and is also checked by the system before it is published. They can also ask for reviews with their link and report the ones that break the rules.
A report does not take a review down: we check what is published. Disagreeing is not a reason to take it down. Wineries cannot see your email or write to you from the site.
Paying does not change the stars
Paid plans give tools and spaces marked «Featured» or «Premium». They do not change ratings, the order of «Top-rated» or the Enthusiasts' Choice. Whoever moderates does not see any winery's plan. Every moderation decision is recorded with its reason.
Levels and passport
The levels recognize what you contribute, not your palate. They do not give more weight to your reviews, do not change how they are checked and no winery gives benefits by level. The five levels keep their Spanish names, which come from the life of the vine.
A published review per winery counts if it has at least one photo approved by the team. Reviews without a photo are published all the same, but do not add to your level. A limitation or a suspension in force leaves your level at Vendimia, and the level does not depend on purchases, benefits or raffles.
An active friend is someone who created their passport with your link and already has a published review with an approved photo; each counts as one review with a photo, up to a third of what each level asks. Regions and days remain yours alone.
| Level | What it evokes | How it is earned |
|---|---|---|
| Brote (Sprout) | The vine wakes up in spring. | When you create your passport |
| Envero (Veraison) | The grape changes color and begins to ripen. | 5 reviews with a photo, for 5 different wineries |
| Vendimia (Harvest) | The harvest, the celebration of Mexican wine. | 15 reviews with a photo, in 2 or more regions |
| Crianza (Aging) | The wine rests and gains complexity. | 30 reviews with a photo, in 3 or more regions, and 90 days with your account |
| Reserva (Reserve) | Wines kept for their quality. | 50 reviews with a photo, in 4 or more regions, and 180 days with your account |
The passport shows, by region, how many wineries have your review. Your «Want to go» and «Already been» lists are private.
Enthusiasts' Choice
Every year we recognize, by region, the wineries best rated by visits of the previous year. The first edition will be awarded in February 2028, with visits from 2027. To be eligible, a winery needs to have been in the guide since before July 1 of the year evaluated; at least 8 reviews that count, from 8 different people, and 3 of them that did not arrive through its link; an average of 4.3 or more, and no sanctions for manipulating reviews.
It cannot be bought and does not require a plan, and it does not disappear if a winery stops paying. It is withdrawn only if manipulation is confirmed in its period, and we say so publicly.
Reports and second reviews
If a review or a reply breaks the rules, use «Report»; you need an account. The system reviews what is published, not what the report claims: if it confirms personal data or a threat, it hides the review while a person looks at it; otherwise it stays published and the report goes to the team's queue.
If you disagree with a decision about your review, ask for a second review within the following 14 days from your account. First the system looks at it again with your explanation; if it does not publish it, a person decides, within 10 business days at most.
For removals on legal grounds use the legal notice form. Only a person handles those notices.
What we cannot verify
We do not witness the visits or know the real identity of who writes each review. We cannot verify their age, their expertise or whether they used a tool to write it. Nor do we decide whether an experience was true: we check that the review follows the rules. That is why the labels say exactly what we know.
Your data
Next to your reviews we show your public name and your level. We never show your email or share it with wineries. You can download your data or delete your account whenever you want from My account (in Spanish). Privacy notice →
Methodology in force since October 1, 2026. If we change it, we will say so here with the date and what changed.