JamesSuckling.com reflects my four decades of experience as a journalist and a wine critic. From tasting notes and videos to blogs and events, we focus on the great wines of the world including Italy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Australia, New Zealand, California, Chile and Argentina. We have 25 employees around the world, with our main office in Hong Kong, and nine are editors/tasters. In 2023, we rated slightly more than 41,000 wines.
I believe that today’s wine drinker deserves more than just written reviews and criticism. They need to see with their own eyes the place, the people and the rating process. Truly, there’s so much more to learn about wine than just simple numbers and prose.
We taste thousands of wines each month as well. Those on location are generally not blind, but we bring out the paper bags for the larger, more organized ones. We taste young wines for both the pleasure they give as well as their potential to improve with age. I was told early in my career that an outstanding quality wine must improve with age, and I have always believed this since. When rating mature wines, we put more emphasis on their current drinking pleasure. My team of editors follow the same wine reviewing criteria. Finally, I rate using the 100-point scale. I’ve used this point system for close to 40 years, and I still believe it’s the simplest way to rate a wine, with its origins from grade school in the United States.
A wine that we rate 90 points or more is outstanding (A). It’s a wine we want to drink a glass of and is an outstanding purchase. If we rate a wine 95 points or more (A+), it is a must buy and a bottle that we want to drink in its entirety! If we rate a wine less than 88 points, it might still be worth buying but proceed with caution. I certainly wouldn’t recommend spending your money on anything rated lower. Wines rated from barrel, or unfinished wines, are rated with two-point ranges such as 90-91 or 92-93.
Press Articles: Badges, China Daily, El Mercurio, Firenze, JoongAng Ilbo, La Nazione, La Tercera, Los Angeles Times, Robb Report, Saborearte, Simple, Wikipedia, Wine+, Wine.Luxe, Vanilla Luxury
James Suckling | Chairman/Editor
James Suckling, 65, is one of today’s leading wine critics whose reviews are read and respected by wine lovers, serious wine collectors, and the wine trade worldwide. He is chairman and editor of JamesSuckling.com, the wine media platform and events company with offices in Hong Kong.
Since starting his career, James estimates he has tasted and rated more than 200,000 wines. In 2023 he and his team of tasters rated more than 40,000 wines. His website provides more than 200,000 wine ratings at the moment. They currently rate an average of more than 3,000 wines a month.
JamesSuckling.com currently has more than 600,000 unique visitors to its website per year. About 50 percent is North American. It has approximately 5 million followers, with coverage from its website, social media, newsletters (Chinese, Korean, Thai and English), Prestige magazine in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, Noblesse magazine in Korea and China, WeChat and Weibo. James is one of the largest wine influencers on Instagram with 350,000-plus followers.
JamesSuckling.com also organizes about 20 wine events each year around the world for more than 1,000 participants at each venue. Tastings are held in the following cities: New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul and Bangkok. Events include Great Wines of the World, Great Wines of Andes, Great Wines of Italy, and Bordeaux Confidential.
It all began in 1981 when James responded to an ad in the Los Angeles Times where the fledgling American magazine Wine Spectator was looking for an assistant editor. He was hired, and four years later, he moved to Paris to establish Wine Spectator’s European bureau, which put him in the center of European wine production and cemented his relationships with a variety of vintners, as well as contributed to his expanding knowledge of wines throughout the continent.
In total, James spent nearly 30 years as Senior Editor and European Bureau Chief of The Wine Spectator, and as European Editor of Cigar Aficionado. On his departure from the magazines, Forbes called the Los Angeles-born writer “one of the world’s most powerful wine critics.”
Shortly after in late 2010, James launched JamesSuckling.com, a site that evolved from him seeing a need for wine to be communicated in a more modern way.
The crux of the site are his tasting notes, and James and his team of critics rate everything with the 100-point scale. The site also offers subscribers high-definition video content from wineries around the world, with a focus on Austria, Germany, Italy, Bordeaux, Spain, Chile, Argentina, Napa Valley, Australia and New Zealand. The site attracts viewers from over 110 countries, with the largest audiences in North America, China, Argentina, Brazil, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, and France.
Though most of his time is spent working for his own media company, James also promotes and creates pieces for Lalique, the famous French crystal manufacturer. His Lalique 100 points Collection by James Suckling features eight different glasses as well as three decanters and emphasizes “functionality and beauty.” His most popular glass in the line is the 100-points universal glass, which can be used for all wines: red, white or rosé.
James is also a highly regarded public speaker, including being the featured wine expert for Wine Day in China with Tmall (Alibaba) in September 2016 and 2017, which attracted more than 100 million participants. He spoke in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in January 2018 as the keynote speaker on his experience with Chinese wine in front of 800 wine distributors and for the 40th anniversary of Great Wall winery. In addition, James is a highly respected instructor for Masterclass.com. His program on “Wine Appreciation” has attracted more than 20,000 subscribers while his trailer has more than 6 million views on YouTube.
In 2017, James received a knighthood from the Italian government – Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia – for his decades long coverage of Italian Wines. He also received in January 2018 an honorary citizenship from the town of Montalcino for his almost four decades of writing about and rating Brunello di Montalcino. James also received the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite from the French government in December 2020 for his four decades coverage of the French wine world.
A permanent resident of Hong Kong, James is the father of two children, Jack and Isabel Suckling. As a British choirgirl, Isabel signed a record contract with Decca in 2010 at age 12, making her one of the youngest classical recording artists to date. In 2012, she released a single on Robin Gibb’s classical album “Titanic Requiem,” and she has also performed at her father’s wine events. The 25-year-old is now a journalist. Jack, 28, is a financial trader and lives in Bangkok and London.
James is married to Marie Kim-Suckling, a former Hong Kong-based wine merchant originally from Seoul who also works as vice president of JamesSuckling.com and owns and manages James Suckling Wine Central. The high-end wine bar/restaurant features more than 500 wines by the glass and 800 wines overall, and the food is French-Korean bistro.
James Orr
| Co-founder/Director
James Orr is a director/writer/producer with credits on such films as “Three Men and A Baby,” “Father of the Bride,” “Sister Act 2” and “Mr. Destiny.” He has also produced hundreds of videos for JamesSuckling.com, and documentaries on cigars and wine, both subjects he has a deep passion for, including “Cigars: The Heart and Soul of Cuba,” “The Fuente Family: An American Dream” and “The Miracle of Alto Adige.” In 2010, he and James Suckling teamed up to create JamesSuckling.com with the intention of bringing the joys of wine to the world in a new and innovative way.
Marie Kim-Suckling | Director
Born and raised in Seoul, Korea, Marie has lived in many different countries, but her professional experience has always been with wine. In her role at JamesSuckling.com, she strives for efficiency and growing the business, particularly in Asia. She loves traveling around the world, cooking and sports, and her favorite wine is Romanee-Conti 1978. Marie has a long history in the wine trade, working in the past for top London wine merchants such as Justerini & Brooks and Corney & Barrow. She speaks Korean, Japanese, English, and French and resides in Hong Kong as well as Italy.
William McIlhenny | Director
William McIlhenny is an international affairs adviser to several U.S.-based foundations and companies, a passionate wine lover and a devoted world traveler. During a career as a U.S. diplomat spanning three decades, he was an indefatigable promoter of American wines in Europe and Latin America – although he introduced James to the magnificent wines of Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe. He speaks the usual wine languages – Portuguese, Italian, French, Spanish, German and English. A huge fan of Saperavi, he says he is willing to learn Georgian too. When he’s home, he lives in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, whose wines he loves.
Gavin Jones | CEO
British-born but a long-term Hong Kong resident, Gavin has worked in the wine industry for more than three decades. As the managing director of Hong Kong’s leading wine merchant Jebsen, at the helm for almost 25 years, he is credited with turning what was a modest wine importer and distributor into a wine emporium spanning Greater China and beyond. Gavin later launched his own independent beverage consultancy, before arriving at JamesSuckling.com in April 2021 to lead the company into the next stages of growth and success.
Stuart Pigott | Senior Editor
Stuart’s moment of wine revelation came when he was working as a barman in the Tate Gallery Restaurant in 1981, when a bottle of Château Cheval Blanc 1971 was opened. Despite an MA in cultural history, Stuart realized the only way he could earn a living was to write about wine. After meeting James Suckling at a wine auction in Germany he has been based in the Mosel, Berlin and New York City, traveling extensively through Planet Wine. He now lives in the little town of Eppstein in the Taunus Hills of Germany. Although his name is most closely associated with riesling and German wine, he has undertaken in-depth research in wine regions as contrasting as Bordeaux, Thailand and Arizona. In 2008-9, Stuart was a guest student at the famous wine university of Geisenheim in Germany. In 2020 he became the first winner of the Professor Müller-Thurgau Award.
Jo Cooke | Tastings Editor
English-born, but resident in Italy for 30 years, Jo’s introduction to wine was as a bottle opener for James Suckling in the Wine Spectator office in Tuscany, rising through the ranks to become Tasting Coordinator and the magazine’s taster of a number of regions in Italy. Jo left the magazine in 2009 to pursue avenues in education, but recently returned to the fold and now works full-time for JamesSuckling.com, preparing tasting notes for publication and providing ingenious Filemaker solutions. When not staring at the computer screen, Jo will probably be found walking his dog on the beach or annoying his neighbors with bad bass-guitar playing.
Berenice Maulhardt | Events & Tastings
Berenice was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she resides when she is not traveling around the world for wine. She studied in San Diego, California, and Buenos Aires, majoring in international trade. Berenice speaks English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and German and is a keen wine taster. Before starting her career with JamesSuckling.com as a freelancer, she worked with fine wine producers for more than 10 years, giving her a vast amount of knowledge on the business side of the wine world. A tennis player and outdoors lover, she combines her passions for wine, sports and family while enjoying travels throughout the world.
Anne Krueger | Events & Marketing
German-born Anne is a passionate business and brand professional who moved to Asia 10 years ago to be part of “the digital wave.” Choosing Hong Kong as her base, she joined a tech media start-up to launch their product before moving to a major international media company, where she held the position of Senior Strategic Manager for several brands and products, including the prestigious Tatler magazines in Asia. She speaks English, German and French fluently — and even a few words in Russian if you ask her. Anne found her love for wine in the small vineyards behind her parents house in the Elbtal, Germany.
Zekun Shuai | Senior Editor
Zekun Shuai is based in Hong Kong but he is from Beijing, China, where he studied international journalism while developing an interest in wine. Before joining Jamessuckling.com, he was an independent wine consultant and freelance writer in both Chinese and English. He also has extensive wine judging experience at international wine competitions such as IWC and CMB. He holds a MS in Wine Business and a WSET Diploma. Zekun also lived two years in Mexico where he taught Chinese and found his second home. When not tasting and enjoying wine, he can always be found filtering his coffee, walking his dogs, and doing Chinese calligraphy.
Kevin Davy | Tasting Manager
Kevin Davy is a French-born sommelier who has studied in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Suzhou, China, and holds an MSc in International Business. But he learned about wine in Paris, and it was during his studies there that he decided to pursue this career in the business. He has been based in Hong Kong since 2013, when he started his own company as a wine educator and private sommelier, sharing his love of wine with private and corporate customers. Kevin started working for JamesSuckling.com in 2014 as a freelancer, working events in Beijing, Bangkok and Seoul, among other places. He is now a permanent part of the team as Tasting Manager.
Aldo Fiordelli | Senior Editor
Aldo Fiordelli was born in Florence, Italy, in 1977 and has worked as a professional journalist and food and wine critic for a number of organizations. He was the Italian correspondent for Decanter, for which he was also a judge at the Decanter World Wine Awards, and also worked for almost 20 years at the Guida de L’Espresso. He writes for the Florentine edition of the Corriere della Sera and for Civiltà del bere. He is a corresponding member of the Italian Academy of Vine and Wine and a knight of the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne. In 2022, he received the Casato Prime Donne international award. He has had seven books published: the first one on Macchiaioli, the others about food and wine. In his spare time he enjoys cycling and sailing.
Claire Nesbitt | Associate Editor
Claire Nesbitt is an Oxford-educated Chemist and McKinsey & Co. alumnus who later decided to pursue her love of wine after studying at Le Cordon Bleu in London. Now based in Hong Kong, she is part of the JamesSuckling.com tasting team as well as helping James manage the wine programme at James Suckling Wine Central. She also speaks numerous languages, including conversational Cantonese, French, Italian and Spanish. A competitive trail runner, when she is not tasting and enjoying wine Claire can be spotted outdoors and is always up for a hilly challenge.
Andrii Stetsiuk | Associate Editor
A career sommelier and wine lover, Andrii ran the wine operations on various hospitality venues in Europe, and at Oceania Cruises in Miami, before joining the JS team. Certified from the Court of Master Sommeliers, Andrii now is part of the tasting team, helping to taste thousands of wines each year.
Vince Morkri | Managing Editor
Vince is an American and a longtime resident of Asia, having lived in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Vietnam. He has held a number of senior editorial positions with global media organizations including The International New York Times, Market News International, The Jakarta Globe and The International Herald Tribune.