When one thinks of the Hawaiian Islands, thoughts of warm sandy beaches, palm trees, blue-green water, and endless sunshine typically come to mind, not wine making. Most of the world’s wine regions are situated in moderate climates between the 30th and 50th parallels. However, surprisingly, this tropical paradise near the equator is home to two vineyards, located on the islands of Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii.
Entrance to MauiWine Winery.
History of Maui Winemaking
On the island of Maui, high on the slopes of the dormant Haleakala Volcano at an altitude of 1700-1850 feet, is the MauiWine winery, formerly known as Tedeschi Vineyards. The land and town, where the winery is located, have a long and historic past dating back to the 19th century. In the 1850s and 1860s, the land was owned and operated as a sugar plantation known as Rose Ranch. In its heyday, the plantation produced 800 tons of sugar annually, and the owner, a former whaling ship captain named James Makee, was renowned for hosting lavish parties and even entertaining Hawaiian royalty. In the late 1800s, cattle ranching replaced sugar production, and in 1922, the plantation was renamed Ulupalakua Ranch, after the town where it is located.
In 1963, C. Pardee Erdman purchased the 58,000-acre Ulupalakua Ranch along with 6,000 heads of cattle. He also wanted to find new uses for the ranch and decided to pursue viticulture. In 1974, Erdman partnered with Emil Tedeschi, an experienced California wine maker, to establish a commercial winery, which they called Tedeschi Vineyards. In 1975 after experimenting with over 140 grape varieties, Tedeschi planted Carnelian, a hybrid red grape developed at the University of California Davis. It was known for its hardiness in hot climates on 23 acres of the ranch land.
While waiting for the vines to mature and produce grapes, the winery decided to experiment with making wine from pineapples, a plentiful commodity on Maui. The subsequent Maui Blanc white wine was introduced in 1977 and was a huge success and still is to this day. The winery now makes three 100% pineapple-based wines, including the only sparkling fruit wine made using the traditional champagne method. The 1980s brought the first harvest of the Carnelian grapes, and due to its ability to produce white, rosé, and red wines, the winery was able to expand its product offerings. The most famous of which became Maui Brut Blanc de Noir, a traditionally made sparkling wine that was served at President Reagan’s inauguration in 1985.
MauiWine tasting room was in the cottage!
After years of wine production with Carnelian grapes, the decision was made in 1997 to replace it with Syrah vines, and it proved to do well in Maui due to its long growth cycle. Other grape varietals soon followed, and today, MauiWine produces wine from Malbec, Grenache, Viognier, Gewürztraminer, and Chenin Blanc grapes, which are sold under the Ulupalakua Estate wine label. Their Rose Ranch label wines use grapes from California combined with estate grapes, and include a white, red blend, dessert wine, and a sparkling rosé.
I have had the opportunity to visit MauiWine on three occasions, in 2005, 2010, and 2021, and was incredibly impressed each time with the quality of the wine they produce. On my most recent visit, I found the estate’s Malbec and Syrah to be so exceptional that I had a half-dozen bottles shipped home. To learn more about the MauiWine winery and to order wine, go to MauiWine.com.
MauiWine Syrah and a Hawaiian Avocado in my kitchen.
History of Big Island Winemaking
On the Big Island of Hawaii, at an elevation of 4,000 feet in the town of Volcano, is the Volcano Winery, established in 1986 by retired veterinarian Lynn “Doc” McKinney. Doc chose the area for its cool, high-altitude climate and started the vineyard by planting Symphony grape vines. The Symphony is a cross between Muscat of Alexandria and Grenache Gris, yielding wines that are fruit-forward and range from off-dry to sweet. Doc opened Volcano Winery to the public in 1993, offering two white wines made with the Symphony grape, a honey wine crafted from Macadamia tree nuts, and red and blush wines, all blended with local Jaboticaba fruit.
After achieving moderate success and conducting extensive experimentation, Doc sold the winery in 1999 to Del Bothof, a wine enthusiast based on the US mainland. Del continued to produce many of the wines Doc had developed, but in 2000, a fire in the vineyard destroyed many of the original Symphony vines. In place of the lost vines, Del planted French American Hybrid grapes, including Marchael Foch, Chambourcin, and Cayuga White, along with Pinot Noir. In 2006 Del decided to add tea plants to the winery’s crops and developed a Tea wine called Infusion using black tea and their Macadamia Nut Honey wine.
After running the winery remotely for several years with the help of his son and two of Doc McKinney’s daughters, Del and Marie Bothof moved to Volcano in 2011 to run the day-to-day operations of the winery and since the death of Del in 2019, Marie with a dedicated winemaker and team continues to do so to this day. The winery has seen many changes and expansions over the years. Now, in addition to the signature wines upon which Doc developed the winery, they also produce two estate wines from grapes grown right on the premises in Volcano: the Estate Pinot Noir and the Estate Cayuga White. To learn more about the Volcano Winery and the wines they produce from grapes and fruit, their honey mead, and their tea, visit VolcanoWinery.com.
Entrance to Volcano Winery on the Big Island. Image by Radly J Phoenix from Flickr.
This article was originally written for Recette Magazine, and was published online on April 23, 2021. See the original article here: https://blog.suvie.com/a-beginners-guide-to-hawaiian-wines. See all of the Fifty States of Wine articles here: https://alwayssharingwine.com/category/asw-blog/fifty-states-of-wine. See all of Susan’s previously published articles here: https://alwayssharingwine.com/tag/previously-published.
