James Suckling: American wine critic on the impact of weather on wine, his investment in the NZ wine industry

James Suckling is one of the biggest names in the wine game.  The American critic has been tasting thousands of wines every year for decades, and his tick of approval is worth its weight in gold in the industry.  And a few years ago, he put that weight behind New Zealand's wine production, buying his own vineyard in Martinborough – Mirae.   Suckling told Mike Hosking that the purchase was serendipitous, as he'd never planned on owning a vineyard.   "I was in Martinborough ... this was 2022 after Covid, so I hadn't been in ten years, and so I wanted to come back," he explained.  "I went with a mate of mine who's a Kiwi ... and I'm like mate, let's go and check out the best vineyards in New Zealand."  "I didn't remember it as such a magnificent place, but in the back of my mind I kept on thinking, wow, you know, this could be the last place on Earth to make great fresh wines."  And so when he saw a for sale sign on a vineyard called Kiwa, it was love at first sight.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.