James has spent the last 20 years in France, moving steadily up the ladder in the world of wine, awarded the coveted Master of Wine diploma in 1993 and currently contributing editor for England's leading wine magazine, Decanter.

James was on the staff of Steven Spurrier's original venture, a Paris wine shop called Caves de la Madeleine, lectured at its wine school, l'Academie du Vin, and waited on tables at the adjacent Blue Fox Wine Bar. He hung out with editors from the International Herald Tribune and entrepreneurs like Drew Harré, founder of the popular Così chain of sandwich shops and wine buyer for l'Ecluse wine bars. He worked in wine cellars in Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Languedoc and Australia. And he studied for the rigorous Master of Wine examination, completed successfully by one or two candidates a year. (There are barely 200 Masters of Wine in all.)

A prolific writer, he lives in a farmhouse in the Entre-Deux-Mers, east of Bordeaux, making regular forays to vineyards, tastings, and lecture halls around the world.

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