James Suckling

James Suckling is one of the most influential voices in the world of wine. Originally from Los Angeles, he first worked as a reporter for a newspaper in Wisconsin before landing a job as a reporter at the wildly influential publication Wine Spectator when it had just 800 subscribers. His interest and early wine education was inspired by his father, and it is through his almost 30-year tenure at Wine Spectator that he built his career and reputation. He moved to Paris to establish the publication’s bureau there in 1985 as a correspondent, gradually making the transition to critic over the next few years.

He was based in London from 1987, then Italy from 1998 to 2010, and moved to Hong Kong and set up his own business, JamesSuckling.com. Today, he divides his time between Hong Kong, Napa Valley, USA and Tuscany, Italy. As well as the website of the same name, JamesSuckling.com operates a long running series of events under the Great Wines banner. In 2018 he moved into the hospitality business with James Suckling Wine Central, a wine bar with more than 500 wines by the bottle and more than 300 by the glass. His other great love is cigars, of which he is also a leading critic, having helped set up the magazine Cigar Aficionado.