By Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer 
The wine expert at work. - Norman Grindley/Staff Photographer
ASTE. TASTE. Then smell.
With a glass of rose wine in his hand, Paul Hanworth examines the brew while an eager audience attempts to follow his lead.
Don't be disappointed by the first sting of the alcohol. Wait for the fruity flavour to come through, we are told. Taste. Taste and inhale, taking time to examine the images that fill your mind.
Swirl and look at the emerging colour, Hanworth instructs. The swirl, we are told, allows the oxygen in the air to react with the wine, lifting the smell to the nostrils which is capable of identifying between 2,000 to 4,000 aromas, compared to the limited taste capacity of the mouth.
We are learning the basics of tasting from this wine enthusiast who recently set up a club for premium wines in the island.
"Look for how long the taste sensation lingers in the mouth. One good measure of a great wine is its finish. A superb wine lingers for as much as 60 seconds," Hanworth declares.
Hanworth, who resides in North St. Andrew, is as rare as his wines in this place where sorrel and jerk is haute cuisine.
Having recently decided that there just might be an interest in "the great wine experience" here, the former chief financial officer of the Mechala Group, along with partner Adrian Garworth, a wine consultant based in London, is bringing to Jamaica the best of wines for would-be connoisseurs.
Garworth, he says is one of the 242 Masters of Wine (MW) in the world, a qualification recognised globally as the highest level of wine education.
The wines they specialise in are the premium brews of the traditional wine producing regions of the world including Spain, Italy, Germany as well as new world regions of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The duties on these wines in Jamaica are frightful, but the wine connoisseurs who met when they both worked for Grand Metropolitan in South Africa (a wine and spirits company which later merged with Guinness to become the largest company of its kind) are determined to continue their venture.
"The vibe in Jamaica is right," says Hanworth. He has called his new club 1876 Wines, a name which he admits was born out of a moment of idleness. The numbers he notes are the longitude and latitude of Jamaica, as well as the numbers (1-876), which are used to dial Jamaica from around the world.
There is nothing idle, however, about his quest.
His wine club is intended to bring "truly great wines" to Jamaicans who crave an extraordinary experience.
"I am really selling an experience, not just a bottle of wine," Hanworth says.
Club members will not only have premium drink delivered to their door, but will periodically indulge in such educational activities as wine tasting for free, in "relaxed, fun settings".
Hanworth is addicted to fun as well as to wines. Along with wife Cynthia, he is an outdoors sports enthusiast who is blessing his lucky stars for the warm all-year climate of the island. He cycles four says a week while Cynthia, also a certified yoga teacher, runs. She loves marathons and is a member of the Jamdammers.
Born in a Norwich in England, a smaller community than Kingston and set in the heart of agricultural community, the 51-year-old went to work with accounting firm KPMG for 14 years right after leaving university.
He worked for four years in the United Kingdom and 10 in the United States before leaving KPMG for Grand Metropolitan. It was here that his love for wines really bloomed and there he stayed for nine years, a period again split between the United Kingdom and South Africa.
In 1998, he was recruited to work for the Mechala Group as chief financial officer. The last six years, therefore, have been spent in Jamaica. Now that he has left the ICD Group, he has turned back to what he loves.
Wine, he says is a very personal experience.
"I am a white wine drinker," he reflects, adding, "it is funny looking back because I used to love red. White wine is much more approachable as an aperitif."
One of his favourites is Vernaccia from Italy, made from the grapes of San Gimignana. The Vernaccia does well on its own or with light foods such as salads.
Another great favourite is a demi-sec, a half dry wine from Anjou in France. The Anjou is lovely for after dinner. curiously enough, it goes very well with spicy food.
Hanworth says he is also a big sweet wine fan though these he says are not very popular. Third on his list are the Sauvignon Blancs of South Africa.
For those who will be making special purchases for the holiday season, Hanworth has some advice:
Pair lighter wines with lighter meals and save the more robust ones for heavier meals. Roses, he says, should be chilled at 45 degrees before serving.
As to storage, he suggests that all wine should be stored below 70 degree Fahrenheit.
"The typical wine cellar is about 57 degrees Fahrenheit with a reasonable level of humidity. Keep your white wine refrigerated. Otherwise, keep your bottles in the coolest and darkest place you can find. Heat and light accelerates the ageing process in wine," he advises.
When he is not pursuing the business of wines, Hanworth says he spends his time trying to be a good dad to children aged four and six.
Since he parted with the ICD group earlier this year "on the most amicable of terms", he now has lots of time for that.
Along with Cynthia, he says he has developed a really good circle of friends, both local and expatriate.
Jamaicans may not yet be keen on wine, but an exchange of culture is in the making.
