James Cameron Suckling (born September 29, 1958) is an American

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

and

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

and former Senior Editor and European Bureau Chief of ''

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine, wine culture and wine ratings. It is the flagship publication of M. Shanken Communications, which also publishes ''Cigar Aficionado'', ''Whisky Advocate'', ''Market Watch' ...

'' as well as European Editor of '' Cigar Aficionado''. Suckling is internationally regarded as one of the world's most influential wine critics, and one of the most experienced critics of vintage cigars.

Biography

Born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Suckling studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

. After graduating from Utah State University, Suckling studied journalism at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, Madison where he was hired in 1978 by a local paper as a crime news

gofer A gofer, go-fer or gopher is an employee who specializes in the delivery of specific items to their superior(s). Examples of these items include a cup of coffee, a tool, a tailored suit, or a car. Outside of the business world, the term is use ...

. Having completed his course in journalism at the University of Wisconsin he moved to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, and through the influence of his father began to be interested in the world of wine. At this time Suckling responded to an advertisement for a new contributor to ''Wine Spectator'', then a local publication with only eight hundred subscribers. Suckling joined ''Wine Spectator'' in 1981, and after a large increase of subscribers, relocated with the magazine to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 1982. In 1983, Suckling began blind tasting

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

with

Alexis Lichine Alexis Lichine (December 3, 1913 – June 1, 1989) was a Russian wine writer and entrepreneur. He played a key role in promoting varietal labelling of wine, was a masterful salesman of wine, had interests in two Bordeaux wineries, owning Chât ...

, and for the first time visited Europe in 1984, visiting various leading wineries in Italy. In 1985 he was assigned by ''Wine Spectator'' to establish their European bureau, living in Paris while reviewing all European wines, especially Bordeaux wine,

Italian wine Italian wine () is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine in the world, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, as well as the List of wine-producing regions#Countries, world's ...

and

Port wine Port wine (, ; ), or simply port, is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often served with dessert wine, ...

for the publication. Suckling moved to London in 1987 where he lived for eleven years before moving to Italy. In 1990, Suckling published his book titled ''Vintage Port''. In press releases by ''Wine Spectator'' and ''Cigar Aficionado'' published in July 2010 it was unexpectedly announced that Suckling had retired from the publisher M. Shanken Communications magazines. Following some public criticism to the apparent dispassionate manner of the Shanken announcement, Suckling himself described the departure from the company as "totally amicable" and stated he would go on to "pursue other projects", He later published on his own

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account that reports of his retirement had been "greatly exaggerated" and he was "planning an exciting future". In September 2010, Suckling announced his

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

wine project ahead of the Papal visit to the United Kingdom, named ''One Wine One World''. The project, funded by art collector and philanthropist Nasser David Khalili, aimed at bringing Jewish, Muslim, and Christian faiths closer together, with proceeds going to the Maimonides Foundation, an interfaith charity. The wines, one red and one white, were created by blending grapes from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...

and

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

, and were to be the only wines served at the Birmingham farewell dinner for

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. The wine's label is based on a multi-faith celebratory painting commissioned by Khalili from the British artist Ben Johnson with the forthcoming Olympic Games in mind. Suckling also announced that he had been signed by

IMG Artists IMG Artists is a performing arts management company. The company manages the careers of classical and contemporary artists, dance companies, film with orchestra presentations and shows and attractions as well as produce and manage tours and events ...

. The website JamesSuckling.com was launched in October 2010 and Suckling stated it would mainly focus on video content featuring "key wine figures around the world". The content had been produced over several months in collaboration with film creator James Orr prior to the launch. In addition to Suckling's reviews, the site also features blogs by

Mike D Michael Louis Diamond (born November 20, 1965), better known as Mike D, is an American rapper, musician, and music producer. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. Early life Diamond was born in New York City to Har ...

of the

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

, and Jessica Harnois, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers. In June 2011, Suckling and IMG Artists founded Divino Tuscany, a food and wine tasting event designed to "bring together the top winemakers from Tuscany" and to "promote, share and demystify their top rated wines." In June 2021, Suckling was knighted by France and received the Ordre National du Merite by the French Consulate in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. The award recognizes his lifetime work with French wines and vineyards.

Personal life

Suckling lives between Hong Kong,

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...

and

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Suckling is married to Marie Kim Suckling and is the father of two children, Jack and Isabel Suckling. Isabel was signed by the record label

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

in 2010 as a choirgirl at age 12, the youngest classical recording artist at the time.Lechmere, Adam, ''Decanter.com'' (November 26, 2010)
Isabel Suckling: international wine trade 'follows' historic record deal
/ref> He is an avid tennis player, passionate about environmental charities and actively supports EcoDrive Hong Kong and the Sea Sheppard Conservation Society.

Tasting style

During his time with ''Wine Spectator'', Suckling tasted an average of 4000 wines annually, half of which were Italian wines. He tasted some of them on site at the relevant

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

and others he

tasted blind Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

in his Italy office."Toscana regina di armonia", ''Corriere della Sera'' Responding to ''Corriere della Sera'' on how he "understood, judged, and recognised a fine wine", Suckling replied, "Usually you start from the nose, from the scents of the wine. But for me, this aspect is less important. I put more emphasis on what I taste in the mouth; I find the concentration of fruit, of the

tannins Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widely applied to any large po ...

, the

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

and the

acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...

. The most revealing element is the persistence of the taste in the mouth, the aftertaste. And another thing to bear in mind is that a wine is like a person, there isn't one which is the same as the next. It should be an emotion, not something scientific. Fine wine is harmony, the balance of all the characteristics which I look for." In reply to the Italian magazine ''Gentleman'' on "what really makes a fine wine", he replied, "wine is like music" and therefore in the same way that most musical enjoyment comes not from knowledge of music but music's appeal to the emotions, wine too should be thought of emotionally by wine drinkers, not scientifically. He added that each and every good wine should be able "to move you" in some kind of way "like with music, literature and love". Although Suckling is a noted supporter of

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...

, as illustrated by his blog response to a Bordeaux-critical article by

Eric Asimov Eric Asimov (born July 17, 1957) is an American wine and food critic for ''The New York Times''. Early life and education Asimov was born in Bethpage, New York, the son of Stanley Asimov, former vice-president for editorial administration at ...

, he also has affinity for

s, having stated that he feels Italian

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimportant to agriculture, see ''V ...

such as

Sangiovese Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin , "blood of Jove, Jupiter". Sangiovese Grosso, used for traditionally powerful and slow maturing red wines, is primarily grown in the central regions of Italy ...

Aglianico Aglianico ( , ) is a black grape grown in the southern regions of Italy, mostly Basilicata and Campania. It is considered with Sangiovese and Nebbiolo to be one of the three greatest Italian varieties. Aglianico is sometimes called "The Barolo o ...

, and

Nebbiolo Nebbiolo (, ; ) is an Italian red wine grape variety predominantly associated with its native Piedmont region, where it makes the ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) wines of Barolo, Barbaresco, Gattinara, Ghemme, a ...

are thoroughly unique. Conversely he has on occasion spoken dismissively of

New World wine New World wines are those wines produced outside the traditional winegrowing areas of Europe and the Middle East, in particular from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Japan (primarily Tokachi), Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and the ...

s, applying the term "jam juice".

Film

In 2011, Suckling, in collaboration with James Orr, produced, presented and appeared in a 53-minute documentary, ''Cigars: The Heart and Soul of Cuba'', in which he travels across Cuba, interviewing various well-known personalities in the region. Suckling comes to the conclusion that the high quality and success of Cuban tobacco can be attributed largely to the industriousness of the Cuban people and to their culture. The film premiered at the

Havana Film Festival The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English as International Festiv ...

in December 2011. Suckling, a friend of

Maynard James Keenan Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan; April 17, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, philanthropist, record producer, and winemaker. He is best known as the singer and primary lyricist of the rock bands Tool (band), Tool, A Perfe ...

Tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...

, appeared in his 2010 film '' Blood Into Wine'', a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

focusing on Keenan's efforts to make wine in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. Upon tasting Keenan's wine, Suckling's reaction is enthusiastic "though not sycophantic". Suckling also featured in

Jonathan Nossiter Jonathan Nossiter (born 1961) is an American filmmaker. Early life and education Nossiter was born to a Jewish family Mondovino ''Mondovino'' () is a 2004 documentary film on the impact of globalization on the world's different wine regions written and directed by American film maker Jonathan Nossiter. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, ...

'', by some accounts in an unflattering light, as he was shown near a

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

sign and seeming to state he has awarded a wine 90 points because it was produced by his landlord, the winemaker Salvatore Ferragamo.

References

External links