The Great Wines of the World 2020 Masterclasses take place in James Suckling Wine Central.
More than 1,000 people, mostly wine trade but also consumers, are expected to attend the JamesSuckling.com Great Wines of the World 2020 Masterclasses, in a year when discovering the world’s top bottles has been more challenging than usual.
The tastings are taking place in Hong Kong from November 16 to December 13, and are designed to celebrate the world’s greatest wines. Around 100 producers will showcase nearly 200 wines at the tasting masterclass sessions being held at James Suckling Wine Central in Soho, Hong Kong. Some of the world’s great and iconic wine names will be present, including Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Siro Pacenti (winner of Wine of the Year 2019), Marchesi Antinori, Mazzei, Continuum and many more.
The usual walk-around format has been replaced with sit-down tasting sessions, in order to comply with all the best-practice social distancing requirements. And winemakers and winery owners have sent in special ‘tasting note videos’ describing each wine being poured, allowing attendees to get that personal touch from producers, even when they cannot attend the sessions themselves. Attendees can view these video notes on their smartphones via a QR code. To see the winemakers and owners describe each wine in a ‘video tasting note’, click here.
The Great Wines of the World 2020 Masterclasses build on the great success of Great Wines of Italy, held in September 2020 and which attracted 500 people in just a week. Read that report here.
“We have had to get creative and work extra hard to ensure wine producers get the exposure they sorely need at the moment, and to make the tastings even more enjoyable and engaging for attendees,” said James Suckling, CEO and editor at JamesSuckling.com.
The event consists of a month of ‘tasting weeks’ in which attendees can taste any of the 200 wines available, and also of 22 dedicated masterclass sessions, with themes such as “Bordeaux 2009 vs 2010”, “Great Rioja”, “Masters of Brunello” and more. James Suckling will host each of these masterclasses to highlight his thoughts and observations on each theme after nearly 40 years as a wine critic.
The tasting includes only bottles that have been rated 90 points or up on JamesSuckling.com, a rating conferred to wines of ‘outstanding’ quality. Numerous wines have been rated 95 points or above, and 12 have a perfect 100-point rating.
“This is probably the most exciting wine event in Asia in what is definitely the most exciting wine city in the region, Hong Kong,” added James Suckling. “I certainly get excited to see so many people coming to enjoy these amazing wines. Thats what it’s all about.”
To learn more about the sold-out tastings, click here.
