Gourmetómetro methodology
The Gourmetómetro is Gourmet Ranking's scoring system. It gives every product a score from 0 to 100 and a level, based on public, verifiable criteria applied equally to all products in the same category. It is not an official certification: it is a methodological opinion anyone can reproduce from the data in the record.
Two axes
The score adds two axes: Quality (up to 60 points) and Exclusivity (up to 40 points).
Quality (60)
| Factor | Max | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Origin seal | 15 | PDO 15 · PGI 11 · TSG 8 · guarantee mark 6 · none 0. Only the official seal shown on the label or in the EU register (eAmbrosia) counts. |
| Regulatory class | 15 | The product's legal class: Iberian ham tag (RD 4/2014), olive oil commercial grade (EU Regulation 2022/2104), raw or pasteurised milk, wine ageing mention, production method for preserves and vermouth. |
| Quality extras | 5 | Objective attributes declared on the label: early harvest, single variety, curing over 36 months, old vines, line-caught fish, etc. |
| Awards | 15 | Only competitions from a closed list per category, with a year and no older than 5 years. Grand gold 12 · gold 9 · silver 6 · bronze 4 · mention 2. |
| Producer scale | 10 | Artisan 10 · SME 6 · large company 0. |
Exclusivity (40)
| Factor | Max | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Limited production | 15 | Numbered 8 · vintage or single batch 4 · unit brackets per batch, defined per category (2,000 hams are not the same as 2,000 bottles of oil). |
| Relative price | 10 | Percentile of the price per litre, kilo or bottle within its category: p90 10 · p75 7 · p50 4 · p25 2. Thresholds are recalibrated with the database. |
| Availability | 10 | Producer only 10 · specialist shops 7 · online only 4 · mass retail 0. |
| Singularity | 5 | 2 points per attribute from a closed list (rare variety or breed, micro-zone, single plot, historic recipe…), up to 5. |
Levels
| Level | Points | Colour |
|---|---|---|
| Elite | 85–100 | Gold |
| Gourmet | 65–84 | Green |
| Select | 40–64 | Amber |
| Conventional | 0–39 | Grey |
There is no red level: the Gourmetómetro classifies, it does not punish. A conventional product can be perfectly good; it simply is not a gourmet product under these criteria.
What is not in the score
- User ratings are shown separately and only enter the score once a product has at least 25, so that a handful of opinions cannot move the ranking.
- Taste itself is not scored: we do not run a tasting panel for every product. We score what can be verified.
- No producer or shop can pay to improve a score. Affiliate purchase links have no influence on the score.
Sources and validation
Every record cites its sources: the photographed label, the EU register of designations (eAmbrosia), the regulatory council, the producer's website, the competition's results. AI drafts the record from the photo; a person reviews and signs it before publication. If a source changes (for example a product loses its PDO), the record goes back to review and leaves the ranking until updated.
Version
Methodology v0.2 (30 September 2026). Changes to the criteria are published on this page with their date; earlier scores are recalculated with the current version.