Interview with James Suckling: China’s Ole asks the questions

Ole is one of the biggest food and wine importers in Shenzhen and has 79 wine stores across China. Owned by CR Vanguard, a government-owned top 500 company, they have over 100,000 followers on the huge Chinese social media platforms Weibo and Wechat, targeting high-end consumers. This article about James recently appeared on their lifestyle channel, for people who are curious about wine.

The original article appeared on Ole’s WeChat channel. 

It is translated and reprinted here with kind permission. 

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At the top of the pyramid, it’s still only the start

August 2019

James Suckling, born and raised in Los Angeles, California, started his passion for wine from a small garage in San Diego. Back in the 1980s, Wine Spectator (WS) was recruiting journalists and 23-year-old Suckling applied and became an entry-level reporter for WS, earning $100 a week. 

Back then, he didn’t expect that he would stay in the wine industry for the rest of his life, nor did he imagine that he would become one of the world’s most influential wine critics, along with other great wine critics such as Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson.

Life is like a bottle of wine

Life is not only like a box of chocolates. For James Suckling, life is more like a bottle of wine. Every bottle of great wine has its own story. In 1981, James was studying journalism at the University of Wisconsin. After graduating, his goal was to become a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily. However, they were not hiring at the time, so he ended up at Wine Spectator.

That’s when Robert Parker founded his magazine Wine Advocate, and it was still relatively unknown. After a year, Robert became famous after the 1982 Bordeaux tasting, and later he became “the world’s most influential wine critic” according to The New York Times.

In the early 90s, the wine industry in the West reached its peak, and it was also the golden era for wine critics, where they created wine rating systems with different styles, and their tasting results could dramatically affect the reputations of wines. 

That’s when James felt that his career was headed in the right direction, considering also his great passion for wine. In 1985, because of his interest in Bordeaux, he worked his way through WS, and become stationed in France to be the Bordeaux specialist. Three years later, he met the first love of life, and they moved to Italy together. That became another turning point for James’s career. If Robert Parker is known for rating Bordeaux wines, then James Suckling has established his reputation and character by rating Italian wines.

As we all know, it is not easy to become a wine critic. This requires not only a vast amount of wine knowledge, but also rich wine tasting experiences. There are only a few hundred people standing on top of the pyramid in the world wine industry as of right now.

Among the world’s leading wine critics, James Suckling is internationally recognized. He travels to the world’s major wine regions year around. If he is not tasting wines, he is probably on his way to a tasting. Over the past 30 years, he has traveled to more than 2,800 wineries and tasted more than 220,000 wines. This number stands alone within the wine industry today. 

 

According to James “wine is like a human being. It has its own talents and personality. It needs to be explored by heart to reach understanding. Although learning WSET is necessary, studying in the field, talking to winemakers, and actually tasting wine is how to actually learn.”

During his years working with WS, James was tasting about 4,000 wines every year, half of which were Italian wines. In order to carefully grasp the style and characteristics of each wine, James moved to a small town in Italy so he could head to the vineyards and wineries at any time, and learn the stories behind each wine on a deeper level. James’ attitude towards his passion and profession was also recognized by the Italian government. In 2017, he was awarded the “Italian Star Knight Medal.” 

Aline, who works in the wine industry in China, told us a story: while she was attending an Italian wine summit, she talked with many Italian producers, and they mentioned that they only looked at James Suckling’s rating for Italian wines, because he really is rooted in Italy, and he knows about the Italian grapes. He is also willing to spend time visiting wineries, seeing vineyards, and chatting with winemakers. They cannot compare James with other critics or magazines who just call to ask for samples.

Where are the Chinese wine critics?

In 1988, James Suckling first came to China. When he returned 20 years later, he witnessed the significant changes in China firsthand. He saw how the wine industry in China was booming, and also recognized how much the younger generation had started to care and understand about wine. 

In 2010, James left the Wine Spectator after 30 years, to create his own brand JamesSuckling.com. Due to his love for Asia, especially China, he moved his office to Hong Kong and now lives there much of the year. Many well-known e-commerce platforms and media companies recognized his brand and wanted to create a business relationship with him. He was also known as “one of the most successful wine influencers that transformed from traditional media to social media” – he has more than 150,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 300,000 in total across his array of social media channels.

For James Suckling, a lot of things are just getting started.

A wine critics’ lifestyle does have a huge influence on the market. Now in China, lots of young people are curious about how to become a wine critic. There are many answers to this question, and some people have even expressed doubt over whether such an occupation should even exist. Indeed, wine is still a relatively niche market in China compared to the hard spirit baijiu, with thousands of years of culture, or beer at a lower price point. 

However, the situation is changing. China’s wine market is growing significantly. There are many KOLs in the wine industry on the domestic social media platforms, many of whom are either invited or at their own expense go to the world’s major wineries to taste wine and share their tasting experiences with followers. Many movie stars and celebrities have also started to invest in the wine market. Zhao Wei and Yao Ming even bought their own wineries. Drinking wine is becoming more and more popular, and it has become a lifestyle adopted by many young people.

In recent years, James has come to Mainland China more and more often, hosting events, and understanding Chinese culture and the wine markets here. He predicts that China will become the world’s largest wine market in about 10 years time, and he is happy to participate in this significant project.

“A lot of Chinese young people came to me and said, ‘James, you are so cool, I want to learn wine from you.’” James mentioned this is the most fulfilling thing in his career. He really wants to help people who want to learn about wine, and help more people fall in love with wine.

Olé New Media: What was your first experience with wine?

James Suckling: The first bottle I drank was Lafite 1966. I was in college at that time, my dad asked my girlfriend and me to have dinner with him at his home in Beverly Hills and taste this bottle of wine together. I thought it was so cool. I still remember the texture of that wine – like silk, very lubricious, very delicate, with a little bit of cigar root scent, and the perfume-like aroma I will never forget.

Olé New Media: Do you think you are gifted?

James Suckling: I do have very sensitive taste buds. I’ve been able to use simple words to describe wines with great precision since I was really young. For example, the scent of Lafite is like sandalwood. But more importantly, I have a great memory. I can remember nearly all the wine notes that I want to remember. My memory and concentration are very strong, maybe that’s also because I used to be an athlete. 

Olé New Media: Does your job as a wine critic require you to drink every day?

James Suckling: Almost. I am always traveling, and I try not to drink when I am flying. Other than that, I drink almost 365 days a year. But only one or two glasses a day when I drink. I really love wine, it is fun. Many people often ask what I like to do when I am tired. My answer is always drinking wine, because I just like it.

Olé New Media: Do you have a good alcohol tolerance? 

James Suckling: Many people ask me if I have good tolerance (laughs). One time I was challenged by a lady, she asked “I can drink four bottles, and you can only drink one bottle?” In fact, I don’t have high tolerance. I am more professional when I am drinking wine. I am very concentrated, especially during tastings. My mind and body are almost separated when I taste. When I get to 70 or 80 bottles a day during tasting, I may feel physically dizzy, but my brain is still very clear and concentrated.

Olé New Media: Is it hard to learn about wine? 

James Suckling: I don’t think it’s hard. Especially now you have the Internet. If you don’t understand something, you can always study online.

Olé New Media: Was Italy the starting point of your career? Why Italy? 

James Suckling: In 1983, when I went to Italy for the second time, the local history, culture and experience made me particularly connected to that place. The Italian culture and Chinese culture have lots of similarities. I like to get together with families to drink and eat. So, when their winemakers are making wine, the first thing they wanted to do is to make this bottle drinkable. Some countries might want to make the wine expensive or luxurious, but in Italy, it is not only about that. They mostly just want to make the wine enjoyable at the dinner table.

Olé New Media: Any interesting stories from this year’s Bordeaux tasting trip?

James Suckling: This time when we visited Bordeaux, we stayed at Zhao Wei’s winery. I met her through her winemaker, who was a former winemaker at Petrus. We met in 1983. He is a life mentor I respect very much. Zhao Wei and I are very good friends now. She likes to drink Burgundy. Every time I go to Bordeaux, if Zhao Wei is there, we will always have a drink and chat together.

Olé New Media: Some people say that the interaction between winemakers and wine critics is very sensitive. For example, Robert Parker likes very big wines, so many Bordeaux wineries made wines in this direction. Now that Parker is retiring, it seems that Bordeaux has begun to return to the classic style: paying more attention to fruit and terroir characteristics. This is also consistent with your style of ratings. Do you think you have become the new guide for Bordeaux winemaking?

James Suckling: This is a good question. I think my opinion about this matter is more objective. I don’t particularly like a certain kind of wine. The wine itself should be balanced and delicate, and winemakers should also drink their own wine. I like real wine. So, if anyone is just trying to make wine to please me, and have high ratings, it is basically impossible. Just like the alcohol content of many wines is very high, in fact, this is not necessarily good. Wine should have its own personality, if I like it, I like it. I like pure wines and wines that can reach clarity. If you want to say a style, I like it to be more classic.

Olé New Media: After drinking so much wine, can you judge the style of a wine just by looking at the winery?

James Suckling: Ninety percent of the time I know what a wine should taste like before I open the bottle. Unless I go to some restaurants and I don’t know what I want to drink, and I will let the sommelier recommend something, but that only accounts for 10%. Wine is like music, you probably know what kind of song you like, what style.

Olé New Media: What is your impression of China and wine? 

James Suckling: I first came to China in 1988 and wrote a report on Chinese wine. At that time, everyone was wearing work suits (laughs), and now there is a big change. The changes in the past five years have been very significant. The biggest change is that the Chinese wine market has become way stronger. When I first came to China, everyone’s understanding of wine was limited to luxurious gifting. In recent years, wine is becoming more like a lifestyle, and more and more young people are learning about it with an open mind.