Next week Thursday the Jamaica Observer will host the 12th staging of its fabulous annual Food Awards. Over the past two years we (the Food Awards committee) have recognised the hard work of a few restaurateurs who understand the importance of having a great wine list and wine experience in their establishments.

How the nominees are selected

In order to select a winner, first there is a shortlist of nominees. This year there will be three wine-related awards (1) Best Wine Experience — Hotel Category (2) Best Wine Experience — Restaurant Category, and the third category is an interesting new people’s choice category: Best Roots (Tonic) wine — more on this anon. In order to select the nominees, first the panel of Jamaica Observer Food Awards judges will have their input and then we will reach out to foodies who dine out regularly to get their suggestions. I also asked all the primary wine importers for a list of names that they believe should be included for consideration. The next step is to get a copy of their wine lists for review. There are a few minimum requirements that any establishment serious about wine should meet, and after reviewing the list and eliminating some locations my next task is to try to visit as many locations as is possible.

Criteria

As a reminder, here are the main components required to make the grade; (1) A good wine list, (2) proper stemware, (3) adequate wine storage to support the correct serving temperatures and (4) staff that has some knowledge about wine. Let’s review each of these.

A good wine list should have a wide selection of wines that complement the menu at a range of prices along with appropriate information that will allow the restaurant’s guests to easily make a choice. Format and presentation are important; this speaks to looks, layout and how easy it is to find something on the list. More specifically the list should have (a)Tasting notes, (b) Clearly defined categories, (c) Correct spelling/User-friendly layout, (d) Vintages and (e) Appellation — that is, where the wine was made. Approximately 60 selections are recommended by international wine experts as the minimum number of wines that can adequately represent all the major regions and primary varietals that the world has to offer. A good list should also include a ‘wines by the glass’ programme, the list should represent a minimum of five major wine regions, and a minimum of six major wine varietals should be offered. Most important is that one should have most, if not all of the wines on the list in their inventory.

Stemware

While most of us can drink wine from anything, major enjoyment comes from using stemware which helps, no, is required for the process of sight, smell, sipping and savouring fine wines. It is acceptable to use a lesser glass, not the stubby, for the house wines; however when serving one of the world’s top wines, say Concho y Toro’s Don Melchor, Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia or Joseph Phelps Insignia, your clients should have the best stemware. Restaurants without decent stemware were instantly eliminated.

Serving Temperature

Red wines are usually served too hot and white wines are served too cold. This is an international issue in wine service also experienced in Jamaica. All the locations that survived the eliminations fully understand the ideal serving temperatures for wine and equally important, the storage temperatures and conditions. I do understand that not everyone can afford to install a fancy cellar; however, there are many innovative ways a dining destination can employ to keep its wines in proper serving condition. Restaurants not up to par were instantly eliminated.

The Wine Steward

Finally and perhaps the most challenging is the issue of staffing. Restaurants might meet most of the above requirements; however, do they have anyone working on the floor that truly has any wine knowledge? I have had some discussion on this point and I have had to clarify that I am not talking about a senior manager on the property that assisted in ordering the wines with the potential heavy-handed influence of one of the importers. I am taking about a person or persons in the dining area who will assist the guest in making a selection from the wine list. This could be the make or break component for this Jamaica Observer Food Award.

This was a very tough elimination process as so many establishments have improved their wine programmes since we added the wine awards two years ago.

And the nominees in the Best Wine Experience — Hotel Category are:

Best Wine Experience — Hotel Best Wine Experience — Restaurant

Royal Plantation, Ocho Rios Jewel of India, Kingston

Sugar Mill Restaurant; Half Moon, Montego Bay Red Bones Blues Café, Kingston

The White Witch — The Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort, The HouseBoat Grill, Montego Bay

Luna di Mare, Rose Hall Resort Marguerites, Montego Bay

Bin26 Wine Bar, Kingston

Cheers! Now go forth and try a few different wines.

Chris Reckord is an independent wine consultant, a member of the Society of Wine Educators and a director of Bin26 Wine Bar. Please send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com. Follow us on twitter.com/DeVineWines