NEWS
JAMES SUCKLING IS PLANNING TO OPEN WINE BAR IN SEOUL
By Siulan Law Mathews DipWSET
17-12-2021
Source: JamesSuckling.com
Renowned wine critic and wine bar owner James Suckling is working on opening a wine bar in Seoul, South Korean local media reported.
“We are in discussion to open James Suckling Wine Central in Seoul,” Suckling told the Korea JoongAng Daily in an online interview to discuss the Korean wine market.
Suckling is currently based in Hong Kong and runs Wine Central in Hong Kong’s Central District.
Despite that the plan has been pushed back because of the pandemic, Suckling’s wine bar in Seoul will very likely be in a prime location in the South Korean capital.
Suckling’s wife Marie Kim-Suckling was born and raised in Seoul, she strives for growing Suckling’s business particularly in Asia.
About 500 wines will be served by the glass in the Seoul wine bar, a service rarely seen in wine bars in Korea. Having a big selection of bottles available to try out has proven popular among Suckling’s clients in Hong Kong.
“The wine offered by the glass changes all the time and it’s really curated by me,” Suckling told JoongAng Daily.
“(The new wine bar) will add to the dynamics of your market, it will be friendly competition because my brand and who I am are very different.”
Since his big tasting event “Great Wines of the World” in 2019 at the Four Seasons Seoul Hotel in central Seoul’s Gwanghwamun, Suckling has been keeping an eye on the wine-drinking culture in Korea.
“What contributes to (the wine-drinking culture) is general communication about wine,” Suckling said, adding that it’s essential to have wine talks and post on social media about wines.
The younger generation who have been overseas and exposed to wine drinking culture often lead the way on spreading the word, he said.
“A lot of (wineries) increased prices a lot in the last year because of the limited supply, demand and logistics issues,” he said. “But you still can find amazing wines for the money as there are so many great wines out there to drink at reasonable prices. We just need distributors and importers in Korea to make them available to consumers,” he added.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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