A word from James Suckling: Our new look and the future of JamesSuckling.com
James Suckling
You might have noticed that things look a bit different at JamesSuckling.com. I first launched my website six years ago in December 2010. What a journey it’s been, and I’m thrilled to share with you the next evolution and look of JamesSuckling.com. This new platform takes us even further into the forefront of global 21st century wine criticism.
Today JamesSuckling.com has more than 3 million followers. Our sector leadership is particularly strong in Asia, through views on our website and multi-lingual newsletters (Chinese and Thai), as well as five pages of wine content per month in Asia Tatler, one of the region’s most respected luxury magazine groups (with editions in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia). Recent collaborations with Alibaba’s Tmall and China’s biggest importer/distributor COFCO substantially strengthen our reputation and reach in Asia.
North America remains strong for James Suckling.com, with 39% of our web traffic coming from the United States and 9% from Canada. Wine merchants throughout the continent use our wine ratings because consumers trust our reviews and rely on them for good wine purchases. Europe is also a core part of our base. London alone often leads the way in site-visits, with thousands of viewers per week.
We also reach tens of thousands of the most committed wine lovers and trade members each year through wine events in some of the world’s top wine cities, such as Great Wines of the World Hong Kong and Bordeaux Confidential in New York City. In the last six years, we have organized major wine events in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok, New York City, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Miami and Florence, Italy. (Get your tickets for our next one—Great Wines of the Andes—coming to Miami, New York City, and Beverly Hills at the end of this month). We’re proud of these events and believe that they combine the best in wine, video, music, and atmosphere in a way that other wine events rarely do. Most importantly, they’re an opportunity for consumers and the trade to engage directly and drink with some of the most accomplished winemakers and estate owners in the world.
Of course, wine ratings are key to James Suckling.com. I remain the lead taster and over the years have recruited veteran, like-minded palates like Nick Stock and Stuart Pigott to help review 10,000 wines annually. I also have some young tasters working closely with me to develop their palates for the future of JamesSuckling.com.
We invest huge resources annually traveling the world, tasting wines, and talking to producers—whether in a bodega in Argentina or a château in Bordeaux or winery in Napa Valley or Margaret River. Content is critical to understanding a wine and a region, and it’s why we also invest so many resources producing video content. See for yourself—we’ve got almost 1,000 videos on our website.
Truly, it’s been a long road since I began my journey at JamesSuckling.com, and there’s so much farther to go! I appreciate the enthusiastic and sustained support so many of you have offered, and the constant input that is helping us keep our edge. Enjoy the new site. Let me know how you like it.
James Suckling, CEO/Editor