Influential Wine Critic James Suckling Joins MasterClass to Teach Wine Appreciation

MasterClass expands culinary curriculum with its first wine course

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Dec 11, 2018, 09:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MasterClass, the online education company that enables anyone to learn from the best in the world, announced today that renowned wine critic James Suckling will debut his first-ever online wine appreciation class exclusively through its platform. In his class, Suckling offers tours through legendary Tuscan vineyards, sharing his passion for wine and teaching students how to appreciate the origin and people behind each bottle. Suckling's class is now available at www.masterclass.com/js. Enrollment for the class is $90 for lifetime access or $180 per year for the All-Access Pass, which grants unlimited access to all new and existing classes.

Influential Wine Critic James Suckling Joins MasterClass to Teach Wine Appreciation

"James has an encyclopedic knowledge of wines, their regions, histories, and ratings," says David Rogier, co-founder and CEO of MasterClass. "As one of the world's most influential wine critics, we're thrilled to have him teach students how to have a new outlook on tasting, pairing, and choosing wines and give us the opportunity to experience Tuscan vineyards like never before."

James Suckling is an internationally regarded wine expert with more than three decades of experience as a wine and cigar journalist and critic. He is a former senior editor and European bureau chief of Wine Spectator, former European editor of Cigar Aficionado, and is currently CEO and editor-in-chief at his namesake wine media platform, JamesSuckling.com. Suckling's tasting notes and reviews have led Forbes magazine to name him "one of the world's most powerful wine critics." Along with fellow critic Robert Parker, Suckling helped to standardize the 100-point wine review scale and has tasted more than 200,000 wines. An expert in Bordeaux and Italian wines, he started JamesSuckling.com to provide comprehensive tasting notes, reviews, and video content from his travels and tastings around the globe.

"Wine is such a unique product because, when you think about it, what other consumable product in the world can pinpoint a particular place on the planet at certain time?" says Suckling. "I want to teach you how to appreciate wine and what's great about drinking it. Wine is about hanging with your friends, enjoying the moment, and learning about something new."

In his MasterClass, Suckling will share his wine tasting techniques through a lens of passion, history, and craft, connecting the past with the present and urging students to appreciate wine beyond the technical aspects of tasting. Suckling will explain how to identify different flavor profiles while demonstrating a blind tasting; discuss unconventional food and wine pairings; and serve as a tour guide through remote parts of Tuscan wine country, meeting iconic winemakers and walking with them through the vineyards where their work begins. After completing this class, students will better understand what is in their glass so they can refine their palate, read wine lists, and curate a home collection with confidence.

MasterClass continues to expand its catalogue into new categories, bringing leading instructors to its engaged base of subscribers. MasterClass provides educational, inspiring, and engaging classes taught by the world's greatest minds. With more than 45 classes that dive into processes, techniques and philosophies, MasterClass helps students progress more rapidly towards their own mastery, explore a new passion, or learn a new skill. It offers a unique learning experience, including video lessons, interactive exercises, course materials, peer interaction, and more. All classes are available as part of an annual subscription for $180, or for individual purchase at $90 for lifetime access to the class, and can be accessed online at www.masterclass.com or on the MasterClass mobile app for iOS and Android.

View & embed the trailer for James Suckling's MasterClass here:
https://youtu.be/YPEYHX5XlZ4

Download stills here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/csn8h8rvs5ahmfk/AADMcaA8CZa0vs3XC18xViUka?dl=0
Courtesy of MasterClass

ABOUT MASTERCLASS
Founded in 2015, MasterClass started with the idea that everyone should have "access to genius." The online education platform provides affordable, engaging, and inspirational online classes taught by world-renowned instructors, making it possible for anyone to learn from the best.

MasterClass' current roster of courses includes:

Culinary Arts: Gordon Ramsay (cooking), Alice Waters (home cooking), Thomas Keller (cooking techniques), Wolfgang Puck (cooking), Dominique Ansel (French pastry), James Suckling (wine appreciation)

Film and Television: Werner Herzog (filmmaking), Martin Scorsese (filmmaking), Ron Howard (directing), Helen Mirren (acting), Samuel L. Jackson (acting), Judd Apatow (comedy), Spike Lee (filmmaking), Ken Burns (documentary filmmaking), Mira Nair (independent filmmaking)

Music and Entertainment: Armin van Buuren (dance music), Christina Aguilera (singing), Usher (performance), Reba McEntire (country music), Herbie Hancock (jazz), Deadmau5 (music production), Hans Zimmer (film scoring), Steve Martin (comedy), Tom Morello (electric guitar)

Writing: James Patterson (writing), Aaron Sorkin (screenwriting), Shonda Rhimes (writing for television), David Mamet (dramatic writing), Judy Blume (writing), Malcolm Gladwell (writing), RL Stine (writing for young audiences), Margaret Atwood (creative writing), Dan Brown (writing thrillers)

Photography: Annie Leibovitz (photography), Jimmy Chin (adventure photography)

Design and Fashion: Frank Gehry (architecture), Diane von Furstenberg (how to build a fashion brand), Marc Jacobs (fashion design)

Sports and Games: Serena Williams (tennis), Stephen Curry (shooting, ball-handling, and scoring), Garry Kasparov (chess), Daniel Negreanu (poker)

Politics and Society: Jane Goodall (conservation), Bob Woodward (investigative journalism), Karl Rove and David Axelrod (political campaign strategy), Paul Krugman (economics and society)

Science: Chris Hadfield (space exploration)

For more information, please visit www.masterclass.com.

Follow MasterClass:
Twitter @masterclass
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Facebook @masterclassofficial

Follow James Suckling:
Instagram @james.suckling
Facebook @jamessuckling
Twitter @JamesSuckling

SOURCE MasterClass