Great Wines World USA: Miami and San Francisco Draw 9,000

James Suckling's Great Wines World Miami was held on Feb. 27 and 28 at the Miami Beach Convention Center while Great Wines World San Francisco was on March 2 at Fort Mason Gateway Pavilion. About 6,000 wine trade and wine lovers attended the two-day Miami event and nearly 3,000 were at the San Francisco gathering. They were some of the best-attended premium wine events in America. It was especially pleasing for James returning to San Francisco since the last event in 2019.

“San Francisco is one of the most sophisticated wine citiies in the world,” said James, who lived in the city in 1983 to 1985 as an editor with The Wine Spectator. “And the turnout highlights the incredible interest in top-quality global wines as well as West Coast offerings from Napa Valley to Washington.”

James was equally pleased with the audience in Miami. “Miami is the gateway to fine wine in Latin America and we had so many people travelling from all over South and Central America, not to mention everyone from Florida and the rest of North America,” he said. “Great Wines World has become the high-end wine event of the winter in the United States.”

He noted how he meet many attendees from such far away wine markets as Brazil, Columba, Peru and Ecuador and how there was also a large contingent from Puerto Rico. “Latinos love wine and love sharing their love for wine with everyone," he said.

In Miami, guests sampled 800 wines from 360 producers, while 248 wines were available in San Francisco, from 135 producers. The energy during the events was captivating considering such great wines, cool music and wonderful camaraderie.

Eight of the wines wines featured in Miami earned 100-point scores from JamesSuckling.com editors, among them the Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2015 (the JamesSuckling.com 2024  World Wine of the Year and Italian Wine of the Year). In San Francisco, there were nine 100-point selections available for tasting, such as the Seña Valle de Aconcagua 2021.

James made a point to say at both events and during each session that the fact so many young people attended the event (a special 28-or-younger ticket is always available) highlights that the younger generation loves great wines despite all the negative press at the moment about drinking wine.

“We need to have our own narrative about wine and how it's something  cultural and brings people together like today,” he said during the events. “It is not just about alcohol but about the joy for a product that you can consume and that encapsulates such aspects as history, science and sense of place.”

Dates for the 2026 Miami and San Francisco events will be announced later this year. The next stage of this year's tour is New York City, with tastings scheduled for June 11 and 12 at The Glasshouse in Manhattan. Tickets for this event are available here. We hope to see you all there!