I was eager upon learning about the plan to set up a number of wine bars throughout the Jazz Festival venue, not only to see how it would work, but to observe how the crowd would react. To some it was just another bar, walking up to the counter and asking for all sorts of drinks. For wine lovers it was an oasis that they approached slowly looking up and down the structure, carefully looking at the wines and reading the very large wine list that was about five feet or so high; smiles all around and then they would make their order. Wines were sold by the bottle and by the glass, and when the dust finally settled at the end of this the largest jazz and blues event approximately 2,000 bottles of wines were sold overall; up from about 300 last year. Indeed, beverage arrangements were tighter this year: one official wine supplier, one official juice supplier, etc. But to those who are still asking if wine is taking off in Jamaica, my emphatic response is Yes!

Fresh from delivering a technology presentation at the Cisco Networking Academy held at the beautiful Cardiff Hotel and Spa , I grabbed my trusty Nikon and headed to The Greenfield Stadium to snap a few shots of the wine scene at the 2012 staging of Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival. Here are the highlights.

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” _ Confucius

Chris Reckord – Entrepreneur & Wine Enthusiast. Send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com. Follow us on https://twitter.com/DeVineWines