[Watch] Great Wines of the Andes USA ends on a high

The final James Suckling events of 2019 in the USA concluded on October 4 in Miami, and what a way to end a great year. These Great Wines of the Andes events get bigger, more popular and more gratifying every year, and these events were no exception with more than 3,100 people attending. More than 120 top producers from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay flew in to San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Miami to showcase more than 140 of their best bottles. No wine scored lower than 90 points on JamesSuckling.com, many scored 95 points and up and we even had a couple of perfect 100-point scoring wines for our attendees to enjoy.

The energy in the rooms at all four events was fantastic with consumers and trade alike extremely interested in tasting the wines and making new discoveries. The fact that most of the wines represent fantastic value added to their excitement. Many of the wines are available to buy in a special section of Wine.com,  the biggest online retailer in the United States.

“We spend a lot of time in South America and there are so many exciting wines there,” says CEO and editor James Suckling. “Although you can read and see our ratings online, these events give guests the opportunity to taste the wines we rated and make their own opinions about the wines. That's why these events are so popular."

James Suckling and the team tasted around 3,000 South American wines this year, and it is clear that wine quality continues to grow. The top producers such as Vina Cobos, Catena Zapata, Cheval des Andes, Terrazas de los Andes and Abremundos ( from Argentina) and Clos Apalta, Almaviva, Sena, Vinedo Chadwick, Neyen and Errazuriz ( from Chile) show what can be done when you focus on quality. Uruguay’s Bodega Garzon is not strictly an Andean producer but also highlights how great wines are now not uncommon throughout the region. Check out our articles analyzing the best wines from Argentina and Chile here and here.

This is why we are so excited to continue these events each year, and why people are so keen to explore the new releases.

Many thanks to the producers who came to deliver such a high-quality event and to the attendees who showed such enthusiasm and excitement about these great Andean wines as well as sponsors such as Coravin, Holland America (James curates their wine program) and Wine.com.

Look out for our next USA events, coming soon:

- Great Wines of the World (Miami; January 24, 2020)

- Great Wines of Italy (Dallas/Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Miami (Feb 26-Mar 6, 2020)