The reach of JamesSuckling.com social media hit new heights in 2023, with our Instagram page climbing to 345,000 followers and our Twitter and Linkedin accounts showing solid growth. But it was our Facebook page that showed the most momentum, jumping to 145,000 followers, an increase of 53 percent, since the end of 2022.
Among our thousand-plus Facebook posts, videos and reels, there were a few standouts that showcased the viral potential of the JamesSuckling.com brand. Of our Top 10 Facebook hits, a few of James himself stood atop the rest, starting with James’ choice for his New Year’s wine picks.
In a post that received a whopping 546,113 views (left; just click to view the original post and comments), James shows off two of the bottles he uncorked to bring in 2024: the Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2008, “an incredible chardonnay-based Champagne from all grand cru vineyards in the Cote de Blancs” and a wine we rated 100 points; as well as the Bell Hill Pinot Noir North Canterbury 2018, which James called “one of the best pinots in New Zealand,” classifying it as “divine.” What a way to kick off the new year!
The second-most-viewed post (below left), with 430,040 views, was from the final day of 2023, and it featured the 1961 Chateau Latour, which James said in the post was his “most memorable aged wine of 2023,” and “one of the greatest wines ever made.” After first trying the wine in 1983 in Bordeaux, he opened it once again with a dear friend in Hong Kong in October. It still made a distinct impression on James, as it did with our Facebook followers!
At No. 3 on our Facebook hit list was a post from early December (below center) that received 172,885 views. It was a photo of James and his wife, Marie Kim-Suckling, enjoying an evening in Hong Kong at James Suckling Wine Central with their friends Steven and Lett Prussky, who were visiting from Thailand. Of course, a great bottle of wine was shared for the occasion – in this case a sterling 1997 Brunello.
With 166,738 views was our No. 4 Facebook post (below right), a photo of James in the vineyards of Aperture Cellars in Sonoma, California, where he went on a tasting trip in November and encountered this very old zinfandel vine, which was planted way back in 1905. Their zinfandel goes into their bright and flavorful Aperture Sonoma County Russian River Valley 1912 Estate Blend 2021, which we rated during the trip.
James also hosted the renowned Napa consulting winemaker Andy Erickson at his house in St. Helena during the same California trip, where they tasted Erickson’s latest offerings for his own Favia winery as well as for Arietta, among others. It made for our No. 5 Facebook post in 2023 (below left), with 165,794 views. Erickson’s wines “always have depth and texture, particularly in an excellent year like 2021,” James said.
In another post from December – placing No. 6, with 123,828 views (below, center) – James was smack in the middle of his vineyard in Martinborough, New Zealand, as he celebrated Christmas with Marie. James aptly set the scene: “The flowering went well. The weather is cool and not too wet. Clean air. Beautiful country. And friendly people. Summer holiday spirit here. Hope you are up for a great Christmas too!”
Coming in at No. 7, with 121,695 views (below right), was another photo of James at James Suckling Wine Central, this time with a tableful of bottles from 00 Wines in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. 00 Wines makes some terrific chardonnays, like the 00 Wines Chardonnay Willamette Valley Eola-Amity Hills Seven Springs 2021, but according to James, “the partially amphorae-made pinots are equally exciting.”
And James went full fieldwork in our No. 8 post, which received 101,878 views (below left). It’s him back in Napa Valley, prepping for a tasting session (and, presumably, some vineyard traipsing) with a local producer by donning his Blundstone work boots.
Our No. 9 Facebook post for 2023, with 77,598 views (below, center), was a photo of James’s friend Moon Sun Chung showcasing two classic 1975 Napa cabernet sauvignons they shared one mid-November evening in St. Helena. The cabs, one from Robert Mondavi Winery and one from Beaulieu Vineyard,”were showing well,” James said.
Finally, our No. 10 post, with 56,680 views (above right), came while we were tasting Bordeaux’s challenging 2021 vintage for a Weekly Tasting Report in December. It was of the Château La Violette Pomerol 2021, which “displayed a more notable level of intensity and structure” than most of the Bordeaux 2021s we rated. “While elegance, linearity and length take center stage in this vintage, this offering showcases a bit more richness and depth,” we said.
It was just one of thousands of great wines we tasted during the year, but it reflected the high interest of our followers and readers in anything Bordeaux-related. On that front, we’ll have our usual Bordeaux En Primeur report coming this spring, with a full Bordeaux annual report later in the year, but keep checking both our Facebook page and Instagram page for all the latest adventures of the entire JamesSuckling.com tasting team in France, Germany, Italy, the United States, Australia, Hong Kong and beyond. Here’s to enjoying great wines in 2024!
– Vince Morkri, Managing Editor
