Diares of the Juice Queen

Pau Maui Vodka

I recently had the opportunity to meet Mark Nigbur who is the Master Distiller for PAU Maui Vodka and was blown away at how pure and clean this vodka tasted. It was very refreshing over ice and didn’t give me any bite on the tongue. One would think it would be flavored like pineapples and have some tartness but there was no trace of pineapples in this vodka.

PAU Maui is a limited release, ultra-premium vodka produced in Maui from handpicked Maui Gold Pineapples using their pure distillation process. Mark joined forces with us at HASR Wine Co. to promote and taste 60 guests at the Plaza Club Affair of the Vines Holiday Wine Show. Showing up against over 70 different wines, this vodka was a huge hit among the members and their guests. It comes packaged in a very nice box and would is the perfect gift for visitors to take home or for anyone to give as a gift for the Holidays.

Mark will be at HASR Wine Co. on First Friday’s Art Walk tasting you on this small production vodka locally produced in Maui from distillation to bottling. The vodka is available for purchase at select stores around the island but you don’t need to search far…it is available at HASR Wine Co. Stop by on First Friday and get an autographed bottle.

Carneros della Notte

Carneros della Notte is a Small Production Winery that produces Ultra Premium Pinot Noirs. Although they have expanded to making some Cabernet and Riesling, their main focus is on Pinots. There are three guys who make up the team. Founding partners are Dave Harmon, who was formerly the founder of Wine.com and Chauffeur to the late Robert Mondavi in his past life. His partners are Darin Applebury who is a pilot for United Airlines and Winemaker Sal Godinaz who has been making wines for over 20 years in Napa for Sainstbury before starting this venture.

Their Carneros Pinot Noir was voted #1 by women at the 2006 Pinot Shoot out in San Francisco over 240 other Pinot entries. Their current vintage is a special vintage because they put all their reserve grapes into it. There are flavors of raspberry, strawberries, some spice and is tasting just fabulous. They have the only glow in the dark label as a symbol for how they harvest.

They harvest their grapes exclusively at night because that’s when the temperature is cool and even and then crush them immediately in the morning and first in line at the winery while the grapes are still cool.

www.hasrwineco.com

Judd’s Hill & Hawaii Youth Symphony

Extra! Extra! Read all about it…All the Finkelstein’s will be here in the flesh to celebrate Baby Talulah’s 1st Birthday and help raise funds to benefit the Hawaii Youth Symphony program. Judd Finkelstein called me one morning to ask if I would be interested in planning a Birthday luau for his baby. Judd and I met a couple years ago at the Premiere Napa Valley Auction in Napa, where he and his wife Holly was pouring their one-of-a-kind auction lot. He caught my attention because he was wearing a aloha shirt and playing his ukulele. It is shaped like a pineapple and he quickly explained to me that it was a gift from Alvin Okami from Koaloha ukulele and it was called a Pineapple Sunday. We hit it off right away and have been good friends since. Judd also formed a Hawaiian band called the Maikai Gents and has a CD and plays all over the United States with his wife Holly as Mrs. Maunaloa, who dances hula when the group is performing. The Finkelstein’s have a strong Hawaii connection as they have been vacationing here for 25 years. Judd is also good friends with Eddie and Myrna Kamae.

Last year, we hosted a Judd’s Hill BBQ at HASR Wine Co. and we had a blast. We had all the Judd’s Hill wines we could drink and BBQ ribs, baked beans, corn on the cob, cole slaws….mmmm! We had a special treat when Eddie Kamae showed up with the Sons of Hawaii and played a short set. The highlight of the evening was when Eddie announced that he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was truly a memorable night and I was so happy to be a part of that special moment.

For those of you who do are not familiar with Judd’s Hill Winery, it is a small boutique winery located on Silverado Trail in the town of Napa Valley. It is owned and operated by two generations of the Finkelstein family. Founders Art and Bunnie, joined by Judd and Holly, their son and daughter-in-law, are dedicated to producing ultra-premium, handcrafted wines. They produce signature wines that are fruit-driven, concentrated and very drinkable and have under 3,000 case production

Art Finkelstein was a successful architect and a trip to Napa Valley changed his whole life. He bought a small vineyard and founded Whitehall Lane Winery. Production of wines grew and Art found himself too busy to make wines and so he and his brother decided to sell Whitehall Lane and bought and built his second winery Judd’s Hill and today works side by side with his son, Judd.

I am proud to be a part of the event that we will be hosting to benefit the Hawaii Youth Symphony. We are showcasing an extravaganza of Hawaiian music, a great dinner and wines galore from Judd’s Hill.

It is a rare occasion to catch the whole family on vacation and it is history in the making. Guests will have the opportunity not only to buy wines and have them signed by the family, but taste current releases and wines not normally available in Hawaii.

The Hawaii Youth Symphony, one of the largest, oldest and finest youth symphonies in the country, is Hawaii’s only statewide youth orchestra program. Proceeds from the event will go towards HYS’s financial assistance program that helps families with children have the opportunity to pursue their musical endeavors.

The event will take place next week Saturday, July 26th from 5pm to 9pm and cost is $75 per person and must be purchase in advance by calling the Hawaii Youth Symphony at (808) 941-9706 or HASR Wine Co. at (808) 535-9463.

We will also have a special treat with youngsters from the HYS performing for us that evening. I can’t wait…hope to see you there…Great Entertainment, Good food, lot’s and lot’s of fine wines and a chance to meet the “stars” what more can you ask for?

Fine Estates from Spain

Hot! Hot! Hot! Is what I can say about these great wines from Spain? We were fortunate to have Sara Floyd, Master Sommelier from Jorge Ordonez Fine Estates here to conduct a great educational wine tasting at HASR Wine Co. We featured about 9 different wines that are the talk of the industry.

It brought back memories as she poured some of the best tasting wines for under $20. It was in April 2005 that we were invited by the infamous Jorge Ordonez with 30 other trade people across the U.S. to Spain for 10 days. It was called the “Death March” by the industry people because it is a grinding 10 days with 40 wineries and more wine than you can imagine.

Eating at the best restaurants in each town, staying at the finest hotels and meeting the owners and winemakers from some of the most famous wineries in that region were an experience of a lifetime.

We would start our day in the morning with a light breakfast and head out to a winery and start wine tastings soon after. Trying the whole line of wines from past and current vintages and barrel samples, the tasting would consist of at least 18 different samplings at each winery.

Then we would be taken to restaurants that served us with the most incredible delicacies paired off with the same wines that we just tasted. We were on the bus for an average of 6 hours a day and traveled through most of Northern Spain. We visited Jumilla, La Mancha, Priorato, Zaragoza, Navarra, Rioja, Toro, Rueda, Zamora and Vigo to name a few.

I got to spend my birthday in Vigo and we ate a scrumptious seafood dinner and I sat with Jorge, and his partners Victor Rodriguez who was the former director of Vino y Gastronomic, one of the most respected wine and food magazines in Spain and Javier Alen, well-respected Galician producer of Vina Mein, the best Ribeiero wine. After dinner, the lights went out and the restaurant staff came out with a chocolate cake complete with candles while everyone sang to me. Wow!

I loved staying at Casa Luzon which is a small bed & breakfast owned and operated by Luzon Vineyards and being in the middle of nowhere was certainly an experience. I was intrigued by Lorenzo Gil, who sat with us for lunch and is one of the family members who are actively involved in the Winery affairs at Luzon.

Another place I’ll never forget is Rueda. Jorge had a cab driver deliver Mediterranean shrimp and lobsters fresh off the boat. The driver drove 8 hours to bring it over so we could have the chef cook it right off the grill. It was soooo GOOD! We had it with some Naia Des and Las Brisas.

Naia Des is one of two entry level wines made that are made from Verdejo grapes. The barrel-fermented 2006 Naia Des is 100% old-vine Verdejo sourced from ungrafted 80 to 100 year old vines. The nose is slightly toasty but the fruit comes through with plenty of citrus, mineral, and floral notes. The oak treatment seems to have resulted in a creamier texture. The wine is nicely balanced, medium long and can be enjoyed now.

Las Brisas is made from 50% Verdejo and a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Viura and has a nice aroma and citrus and grapefruit flavors. As you can see, it goes well with seafood. The way we had it was, the chef marinated the shrimp in a sauce that consists a bottle of Las Brisas olive oil and three bottles of Las Brisas wine. It was a match made in heaven. I’ve never had anything like it…it was so sweet and juicy.

The start of the whole “Death March” seemed so real when we were greeted by Jose Maria Vicente, winemaker and family member of Casa Castillo Winery in Jumilla. We were dropped off in the middle of the vineyards and had to walk for what seemed like an eternity to tour the vineyards. We all joked and laughed about the death march and remember being terrified of what was to come ahead in the next few days. It was cold and windy and we stumbled on rocks and gravel to see how the growing conditions of the vines were for some of the finest wines in the Jumilla region.

One of the wines they are most famous for is Las Gravas. A combination of 60% Mourvedre and equal parts of Cabernet and Syrah, the unfiltered 2003 Las Gravas was aged in 300 liter French barrels for 14 months. It offers a lovely floral, crème de cassis, smoke, charcoal, and earth characteristics in its rich, full-bodied, powerful personality. The highlight of the evening was having some hors de ours that was made by Guillermina Vicente, who is the mother of the winemaker. She made an appetizer with dried aku on a slice of tomato with olive oil drizzled over it and it was out of this world.

I’m sure some of you have heard of Clio and El Nido by now. Clio is made of 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 70% Monastrell, while El Nido, the big daddy of Clio, is the complete opposite with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Monastrell. The grapes are harvested into small baskets to prevent bruising and made by the famous Australian winemaker, Chris Ringland. I had the opportunity to ride with Angel Gil and Miguel Gil in their private cars as they took us on a tour through their vineyards where the old Monastrell vines are planted in vineyards that have a foot deep layer of chalky stones over substrata of sandy soils while the Cabernet vines are planted in vineyards of chalky stony soil over a layer of sandy soil with clay. Both varietals are carefully managed in the vineyards and there is a green harvest during verasion and canopy thinning to facilitate maturation.

 I was in heaven when we were hosted at the best paella house in town at Paco Gandia Restaurant. They cook the paella over high heat generated by a fire burning old grape vines. The paella was wonderful until I felt something soft and wierd in my mouth to find out that it was rabbit heart I was chewing on. Ugh! But the best part was all the Clio and El Nido one could drink. I was in heaven!

Well, I could go on and on about my experience in Spain but I think I’ll stop here for now and continue on the next time. Hopefully you have enjoyed this piece of adventure with the “Juice Queen.” Until next time, have a glass of wine for me.

“The Moment”

Hi…I’m Terry Kakazu, aka the “Juice Queen” and I am writing for the Hawaii Red Magazine section called Red Vino.  Vino is the Italian word for wine and of course Red wine is the Island locals favorite but don’t let that fool you.  In the issues to come, we will focus on different varietals, food pairings, educational facts, interviews with Winemakers and Owners of various Wineries.  We will feature Wine Tasting events, and adventures of the “Juice Queen.” 

I am the Owner of HASR Wine Co. in Downtown as well as a “cheers” type of local Karaoke bar called Paul & Terry’s Place.  As a proprietor of a retail and restaurant side of the industry, I will share with you experiences that I’ve never dreamed of.

There are a number of people that would like to discover wine but don’t know where to begin and that’s where we can help.  We will help you be more wine knowledgeable and don’t ever feel intimidated because there is so much to learn and experience and I will help you get there…where people are having good wine, good company and nothing else matters but the “Moment.”