Jamaica's musical, athletic, business and cultural icons travel the globe performing to the best of their abilities and often with great success. When it's time to relax and unwind, they all have their drink of choice. Wine is usually the beverage of choice when fine dining is the evening's activity; however, my experience is that most people don't know what kind of wine they like. We recently had the opportunity to chat with one of the fastest men on the planet, Asafa Powell, to find out what his choice of wine was.

What's Your Style?

Some in the wine industry have made attempts to simplify the selection process by grouping wines in style categories to make the purchasing decisions easier. Generally, these categories are: (1) Sweet or slightly sweet wines - can be white, red or rosé ; (2) Dry, light-body white wines with little or no oak (3) Dry, medium to full-body white wines with oak; (4) Light-body, low-tannin red wines; (5) Medium to full-body red wines.

Asafa's wine style

Asafa prefers off-dry or slightly sweet wines, as do many new wine drinkers globally. One of his recent fun wine-tasting experiences was a bottle of Bartenura Moscato. While not yet officially imported in Jamaica, this wine has received rave reviews from newbies and seasoned wine drinkers alike. What's interesting is that it's a kosher wine, which means that this wine was produced according to Jewish dietary laws. Sabbath-observant Jews must supervise the entire wine-making process and any ingredients used must be kosher. Bartenura Moscato is globally recognised in its distinctive blue bottle. Here are a few suggestions for similar styled wines available locally.

Our suggestions for 'Safa

Voga Moscato Provincia di Pavia, Italy: Pale, straw-yellow with elegant golden highlights and a delicate floral bouquet, this wine is excellent on its own at any time of the day, but its true characteristics are particularly enhanced when served with fresh fruit or with dry or creamy desserts. It carries a soft, sweet flavour, revealing hints of citrus and jasmine, and tantalises with a refreshing frizzante, slightly sparkling taste sensation. Voga, the Italian winery known for its stylish wines, has recently expanded and now includes a Pinot Grigio, Merlot and Sparkling Pinot Grigio.

Riunite Lambrusco, Italy: Lambrusco has actually been around since the time of the Romans, though it didn't really show up in this part of the world until the late-1970s. Riunite Lambrusco has a fairly simple taste, much sweeter than most red wines with weak tannins and flavours of cherry, berry, and perhaps a little plum. Red wines are typically served warmer, but Riunite Lambrusco is best served very cold.

Movendo Moscato, Italy: Light, straw-yellow with greenish hues, this wine is delicate with a perfumed bouquet and subtle floral notes. The palate is soft and well-balanced with hints of mineral and golden apple flavours. The frizzante style provides a lively and lingering finish.

Mirassou Riesling, California: Mirassou California Riesling is distinctly soft and approachable yet crisp and fruit-forward. The wine offers aromas of peach, apricot, and spice with intense fruit flavours of red apple and peach. As a result of the naturally firm acid levels, this wine is crisp and delicately structured and pairs beautifully with richly sauced poultry or seafood.

Christopher Reckord — Businessman, Entrepreneur & Wine Enthusiast. Send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com. Follow us on twitter: @DeVineWines @Reckord