Pictured above, Oliver Dixon, Head of Fine Wine at MMI Dubai

Oliver Dixon has played a monumental part in establishing Dubai’s ever-growing fine wine market. Having spent 22 years at Maritime & Mercantile International (MMI) Dubai, one of the city’s two licensed wine and alcoholic beverage importers, Oliver also heads its retail arm, Le Clos, and consults on the Emirates Airline wine programme. While opening these new business divisions, Oliver has also grown MMI’s presence in multiple new markets, including the Maldives and Zanzibar.

You can find another honourable mention of England's up-and-coming wine production and explore Oliver's guide to Dubai's best wine lists below.

Wine Lister: Tell us about your current "house wine".

Oliver Dixon: House wine just doesn’t work for a wine buyer. You have to keep tasting no matter what role you play in wine. I have a fair amount of samples coming my way that keep me in touch with the market, which satisfies me. I am also a big believer that wines have to match environment, mood, occasion, and sometimes even food. How can you achieve all that with pleasant Mâcon-Lugny or a Bordeaux Supérieur?

WL: What do you drink when you're not drinking wine?

OD: I like pretty much all alcoholic drinks. Each should have its opportunity to shine. I do drink water, but try my best not to drink bottled water. Shipping water around the world when you can attach a filter to your tap is such a waste of resources. I’d like one of those kitchen taps that gives instant boiling and sparkling water at the touch of a button. What a great invention.

WL: What does "fine wine" mean to you?

OD: For me, a fine wine fine achieves that status if it is individual and expressive of the terroir – microclimate and soil, etc. Passionate people who set out to achieve greatness usually make wines with vitality and personality. A wine that stops your thought process and focuses you in on what’s in the glass. It should also be made in a way that it does not just hold, but evolves and develops with age. The commercial part is secondary, but price evolution and secondary market presence are good indicators.

WL: The best restaurant wine list in Dubai?

OD: In terms of range and leaving price aside for now, probably Al Muntaha in the Burj Al Arab and The Lana - Dorchester Collection. On a more affordable note, Clap has a good selection, and so does Amazónico. The usual issue I have with restaurant wine lists is that they don’t use the full range available to their advantage.

WL: What emerging region are you most excited about?

OD: I really enjoy periphery Burgundy, like the Hautes-Côtes and villages such as Auxey-Duresses and Pernand-Vergelesses, especially in recent, warmer vintages. There are new plantings around Dijon that are exciting in the same way. But I also think Victoria in Australia has so much more to offer from exciting regions most of us never knew existed such as Sunbury, Macedon Ranges, and Beechworth.

WL: What is your standing on natural wine?

OD: I have tasted a few well-managed wines with no sulphur added, but I still prefer the taste of wines with a low dose. Maybe it’s an acquired taste that I have just not given enough time to appreciating.

WL: Your go-to wine shop in Dubai?

OD: Le Clos, obviously. I know the guy who does the ranging. What a genius. We opened our second duty paid Le Clos store a few weeks ago. If you can drive out of town for an hour, Al Hamra Cellar - soon to be named MMI Ras Al Khaimah - has a bigger Le Clos range.

WL: If you could share a glass of wine with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you drink?

OD: It would have to be someone funny and a raconteur. Maybe Jeremy Clarkson. He is very opinionated about pretty much everything, but he has earned his right to an opinion, I think. And let's be honest, you can probably count on him not to bail on a proper session.

WL: If you weren't working in wine, what would you be doing?

OD: That’s a really tough question. I’d like to give comedy writing a go, but I have no experience in it. Hopefully for everyone else, I stay doing what I currently do.

WL: To finish, can you share with our readers one producer to watch?

OD: I was very impressed with Danbury Ridge wines. I had not realised that still English wines - and particularly red wines - could be that good. And for an unassuming French producer, I really rate Bastien Gautheron of Maison Gautheron d’Anost, a new micro-négociant in Burgundy.