With so many new places to enjoy great wines, and several new food events with great wines sprinkled in here and there, I would have to say that 2016 was a good, not fantastic, year for wine in Jamaica. I reviewed the columns that we published all year and took note that in January I had three wishes for the industry: Wish 1 – Please stop serving red wines so hot; Wish 2 – Improved wait staff training; Wish 3 – Improved choices. I have noticed that some organisations are making some efforts to keep red wines in a cool place; however, there is little evidence that staff training or the access to a wider range of wines has improved. In reviewing the predictions made, we did see more folks using social media and wine apps to make decisions about what to drink. I have also noticed that younger people have increasingly been choosing wine as their drink of choice.

Increased number of wine events in 2016

In 2016, wine lovers had the opportunity to participate in a few exciting wine-centric events, including Goût de France, a weekend of Food, Wine & Festivities at The Cliff, Negril, and the Jamaica Food & Drink Festival. Members of private organisations such as the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and its wine affiliate Société Mondiale du Vin also hosted wine and food-pairing events throughout the year at Opa, Terra-Nova All-Suite Hotel, The Sugar Mill at Half Moon, Jamaica Inn and Moon Palace.

New wine bars opened

Two new wine bars were opened in Kingston this year — Oak Wine Bar & Cocktail Lounge, 8 Hillcrest Ave, and in Manor Park we saw the opening of Cellar 8 Wine Bar Bistro. The Kingston 6 favourite, Uncorked, has had some expansion with the addition of outside covered seating. Jamaica Liquor Warehouse is another place to buy wine which was also recently opened.

Usain Bolt has been appointed the new ‘CEO’ of Maison Mumm

It is the New Year’s weekend and its all about celebration and “out with the old, in with the new”. in a recent video on sprint legend Usain Bolt’s social media pages, it was announced that he was happy to be appointed as Mumm’s new ‘CEO’ — that’s chief entertainment officer. I am looking forward to having a sip of Mumm Champagne in the new year with chief entertainment officer Bolt to get inspired to “Dare. Win. Celebrate.”

Thank you all for the continued support in 2016. wishing you all a Happy New Year when it comes and let’s make 2017 our best year yet!!!

Christopher Reckord – Information Technology Entrepreneur & Wine Enthusiast. Send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram @chrisreckord and on Twitter: @Reckord