First, let me begin by wishing you a Happy New Year and all the very best for 2011. If you are one to make resolutions and want to make them stick, self-help guru Deepak Chopra suggests that you go beyond motivation and find true inspiration, then the resolutions will stick. I did last year and completed my first Reggae Half Marathon in December.

For the past few years I have been assisting in the Premium Wine Bar at the annual Frenchmen New Year’s Day party. Just before the event got going, a friend asked me if I don’t get tired of doing this ‘wine thing’. I thought about the question for a moment and then I explained that once you are passionate about a subject and there are persons who would like to learn more about it, then it is always a joy to answer questions and clear up misunderstandings. More importantly, I learn a great deal about the market through events like these.

PARTY WINE DRINKERS

At these big events, I learn that party wine drinkers fall into two main categories: those who actually care what they are drinking and those who don’t care as long as it’s the colour they prefer. You can spot them very quickly at these events: “Can I have a glass of red, please? … any red,” they say quickly as they seem to be itching to go back to the dance floor or back to hang with their friends. For these patrons, I pour what we have in large supply and save my fancy introduction for the other set who slowly approach the wine bar and either begin to look at each individual bottle or ask, “So what are your guys pouring today?” I stand upright and begin by saying something to the effect that we have about a dozen red and a dozen white wines from all the major wine-producing countries. “Where would you like to start?” is how I end. These patrons are usually able to say what style of wine they prefer; some explain in more detail than others, often quoting flavour descriptions and light or full-body preferences. Members of this group don’t mind being taken on a wine journey, so I usually select different wines each time they return to the bar. I believe these persons get a lot more out of the wine bar; some will end up tasting all the different wines and they end up learning about wines that they have never tried before. Last Saturday saw a good number of these types of wine lovers in attendance.

PARTY WINE

Another important lesson that I’ve learnt is that the wines that you choose to pour at big parties like these do not need to be overly complex in nature. While you need to show versatility and variety by covering all the primary wine categories from a range of countries, approachable, recognisable wines that display the typical varietal characteristic should dominate the headline selection. However, you still need one or two more interesting selections for the occasional wine snob who might pop up.

Thanks for reading and keep trying new wines.

Chris Reckord – Entrepreneur & Wine Enthusiast. He and his wife Kerri-Anne are part-owners of Jamaica’s only wine bar – Bin 26 wine bar in Devon House, Kingston. Send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com .