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ALL ABOUT WINE And wine not? Maui is bubbling over with all manner of vino happenings.
For instance, the next Uncorked Wine Tasting will transpire this weekend at Cane & Canoe restaurant in the Montage Kapalua Bay resort.
Led by Montage Sommelier Vannesa Lampson, the weekly series starts at 5 p.m. every Sunday and themes vary. This week it’s wines to pair with seafood. Enjoy being guided through wines and small bites from Cane & Canoe’s menu. The cost is $35 and advance reservations are requested. Call the hotel at 662-6681.
Tickets are available for the 34th annual Kapalua Wine & Food Festival coming up June 11 to 14 at the Montage as well as The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. Look for more details in Sunday’s new Pau Hana features and lifestyle section.
A series of four wine tasting classes will start on Tuesday at Da Vine Art in Paia. You’ll learn about food pairings, how to read wine labels and how to get the best value for the dollar.
Taught by Maui native Rodney “Bubba” Rodrigues, classes run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. the first four Tuesdays in March in the store on Hana Highway.
“And best of all, you will have fun, taste many wines, receive a discount on wines tasted at The Wine Corner and also have the opportunity to join a wine club,” says Da Vine Art owner Susun White, who, with husband Gregory Brown, runs both of the adjoining establishments.
Cost of $120 per person includes all four classes, wines and food. For more details, call 579-8904.
Everyone knows that Amy Hanaiali’i is a superstar – in fact, she’s the top-selling Hawaiian female vocalist of all time. Now, her wine is a “chart topper.”
Yes, Amy’s Hanaiali’i Merlot won both Best in Class and Double Gold in the recent West Coast Wine Competition. Established in 1982, the WCWC regional celebrates the West in all it has to offer in the way of great wines and winemaking.
The newly opened Frida’s Beach House in Lahaina and the hugely popular Duke’s Beach House in Kaanapali are lessening their carbon footprints with ultra-premium wines on tap from metal kegs.
“The technology has finally caught up, and we’re seeing premium wines from some of the country’s top wineries being offered in keg form,” says wine expert Alan Jahns of Paradise Beverages.
“Logistically, it still poses a few obstacles for us in Hawaii. But done right, it delivers an incredibly fresh product, while giving the individual restaurant’s wine programs more profitability,” Jahns continues.
TS Restaurants, the parent company of Duke’s, hopes to eventually feature keg wines by the glass in all eight of its Hawaii establishments, says Jahns, who goes on to say that “many are predicting 2015 to be ‘the year of the Somm’ (master sommelier) based on the 2014 movie of the same name. “Like with the rise of celebrity chefs over the past decade, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the relatively small clique of master sommeliers appearing more and more on TV in everything from reality TV shows to who knows what.”
Plantation House’s wine series continues this month with discounted bottle pricing on Duckhorn selections that pair with Executive Chef Jojo Vasquez’s farm-to-table tasting menu. In March, it segues to Au Bon Climat and in April, it’s Caymus wines, says new General Manager Chad Hubbard, who has replaced longtime GM Chris Kaiwi at both Plantation House and its sister restaurant, the Pineapple Grill.
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BITS AND PIECES Playing the MACC?Tuesday will be jazz great George Benson, and catering the food from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. before the show will be Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar with its Asian-braised short ribs, herb-grilled fresh catch, and its famous shrimp and snow crab ramen in truffle broth. It’s a match made in jazz heaven. Call 242-7469.
The legendary Bob Jones, who hired me at the paper decades ago, just called to say how enamored he is with Vineyard Food Co. in Wailuku. Do check out their lunch specials from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays with asparagus-and-lemon soup, tomato-basil-and-mozzarella stuffed meat loaf and more.