Italian wine pours into China
James Suckling has tasted more than 200,000 wines from all over the world since 1981. And, of the 3,500 Italian wines he rated this year, Suckling chose the top 100 to bring to Beijing.
Suckling is one of the most influential wine critics from the United States. His reviews are read and respected by wine lovers, serious collectors and traders worldwide.
The 59-year-old rates wines using the 100-point scale, and he hosts events around the globe serving wines that he scores more than 90.
The 2017 Great Wines of Italy Asia tour kicked off in Beijing on Dec 5. It’s the first time this event has been held in the Chinese capital.
“The whole idea is let China know premium Italian wines, because everyone is so interested in wine here,” says Suckling.
More than 80 Italian wineries brought their wares to 1,000 guests in Beijing at the ballroom of Rosewood Beijing Hotel.
“Italian wines are the signature of Italy. When you drink a glass of Italian wine, you are drinking Italy, and you are thinking about arts, history, fashion, football and Ferrari,” says Suckling, who has lived in Italy for 20 years.
Simone Maggioni, owner of La Pace Winery, brought two of his wines — White label and Black label — to the event on his first visit to China.
Only 4,000 bottles of White label have been produced. It’s 50 percent chardonnay and 50 percent viognie with a fruity aroma and notes of peach, pineapple and orange. The chardonnay gives it elegance and the viognie gives it the aroma.
“We are a new winery — it’s a combination of long history and the new, a bit like China, with a long history but at the same time you are new in many aspects, and you have a lot of new ideas,” says Maggioni.
“Because we are small, we can make the wine manually. I want my wine to be high quality, elegant and affordable.”
His winery is located in central Italy between Rome and Florence. He says his wines have been sold in Europe and the United States, and he aims to tap the Chinese market.
“We want to position our wine for people who can not only spend money, but also understand the uniqueness of our products,” says Maggioni.
In Maggioni’s mind, France has done a fantastic marketing job in wine, but he feels the potential for Italian wine in China is huge.
Also, Suckling says Chinese wine lovers are interested in trying new things and exploring.
“What’s good is people rely on my scores and my recommendations. So they have a reference point — my scores — and then they understand what good quality is.”
All the wines at the event scored 90 points or more.
“They all have to be high quality, and they also have to take you on a voyage to where those wines are from,” says Suckling.
“Great wine has to have personality, and that tells you where it’s from.”
Next year, Suckling plans to bring to China not only Italian wines but also excellent wines from Chile, Argentina and other countries.
“I’m not only for promoting Italian wine. I’m for building the wine market in China — making people excited about drinking wine,” says Suckling.
About 80 percent of all 17,000 wines Suckling tasted this year were rated more than 90 points. But it was 30 percent when he started two decades ago.
“With the change in knowledge and wine-making techniques, outstanding wines are everywhere, and that’s great for the consumer,” says Suckling. “There’s never been a better time to drink wine.”