I continue to be very grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts and opinions about wine on these pages for over a decade. As we countdown to Christmas here are a few of my favourite wines.

While I am an equal-opportunity wine drinker, meaning I enjoy a great red, white, rosé, dry or sweet, sparkling or still, it depends mainly on the occasion. For simplicity I will divide the occasions loosely into general categories: Fun, casual, general party vibe versus the more serious wine scene such as a wine tasting, wine dinner, a wine-education event, this includes sipping at home with ‘wine’ friends. While price is not a key factor, duties on wine in Jamaica translate into the better wines being a bit high for most people on a budget. The focus here is on wines for serious wine enjoyment.

I like wines that cause me to pause and think. The wine should make you feel something – and we are not talking becoming drunk. Beginning on the nose, then the moment the wine hits your taste buds should make you realiswe that it is something special. I enjoy wines that show “typicity” – in other words, the wine must have a distintive taste profile: a Russian Pinot Noir must taste like a Russian River Pinot Noir, a Saint Emilion or Pomorol must exhibit all the foundational characteristics of the wines from the Bordeaux right bank regions, same goes for Albariño from Rias Baixas, Spain. I enjoy wines with layers of complexity; each time one takes another sip, it shows another layer of greatness. The wine must linger in your mouth long after you have swallowed — this is called the finish of the wine.

In summary, I enjoy wines that are rich, complex, with good structure, ever-evolving, balanced and showing typicity of the grape that made it or its terroir (unique environmental conditions, especially soil and climate in which grapes are grown). Sadly our market is getting filled with wines with a certain fruit-forward sameness that flies off the shelves, maybe for that very reason.

All I want for Christmas is one or two. Okay, maybe all of these.

Christopher Reckord – Wine Enthusiast and CEO of Managed IT services provider tTech Limited. Send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram @chrisreckord and on Twitter: @Reckord