Auctioneer

Jamie Ritchie

Jamie Ritchie is a visionary leader and one of the most respected figures in the global wine and spirits industry. With a career spanning over three decades, he has consistently defined excellence and innovation in the industry.

Jamie was at Sotheby’s for 32 years, where he rose to become the Worldwide Chairman of Wines & Spirits. Under his leadership, Sotheby’s became the leading global auction house for fine wines and spirits, achieving record-breaking sales of $150 million in 2022. Jamie’s visionary approach drove international growth, expanding Sotheby’s wine auctions to New York, Hong Kong and France, and establishing the Spirits category in 2019. He also launched Sotheby’s Wine retail businesses in New York and Hong Kong and introduced the Sotheby’s Own Label Collection. He developed the Single Owner Sale format with auctions from the world’s greatest wine collectors such as Bill Koch and Don Stott, followed by direct from winery sales from the most important Bordeaux châteaux such as Haut Brion, Lafite, Margaux, Mouton Rothschild and Cheval Blanc. He also forged groundbreaking partnerships merging commercial and charity auctions with prestigious organizations like the Hospices de Beaune, Worshipful Company of Distillers and the Napa Valley Vintners.

Most recently, he brought his unparalleled expertise and innovative spirit to BlockBar, serving as their COO, where he continued to push boundaries in the digital marketplace for fine wines and spirits.

As one of the world’s most respected wine auctioneers, Jamie presided over sales of the most important collections over the last 30 years and held records for selling the most valuable wine and spirits ever sold, with a bottle of Romanée-Conti 1945 for $558,000 and The Macallan Fine & Rare 60-Year-Old 1926 for $1.9 million.

His expertise and insights are regularly featured in prestigious publications including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Forbes, Bloomberg, and Wine Spectator.