It is always a learning opportunity to attend a well-thought-out, well-run wine event.
It’s one thing to read about a winery and winemaker and how and why they make wine. That represents one point of view. A star-studded wine event, however, creates interaction that can be quite interesting, sometimes even controversial. When done well, these events are so much more informative for the participant.
Wine lovers have two amazing events to choose from this month, both on Maui. The Kapalua Wine & Food Festival at the Ritz Carlton starts Thursday and runs through Sunday, while "Four Pinots at Four Seasons" in Wailea runs from Thursday to Saturday.
Kapalua’s 31st event is one of the longest-running wine events in the country, and this year’s lineup of events and personalities looks impressive.
A highlight, "Pinot Superstars," is a panel featuring such pinot noir meisters as Bob Cabral of Williams Selyem, TJ Evans (Domaine Carneros), grower Gary Pisoni (Pisoni Vineyards) and two of my favorites: Fred Scherrer (Scherrer Vineyards) and James Ontiveros (Native9). The range of wines spans four appellations of California: Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Santa Maria Valley and the Santa Lucia Highlands.
Other Kapalua events include a "King of Cabernet" panel featuring Anthony Biagi (Plumpjack), John Williams (Frog’s Leap) and David Ramey (Ramey Wine Cellars); a tasting with Napa cabernet superstar Heidi Peterson Barrett; and a tasting of premium Spanish wines.
Foodies can attend a cooking demonstration by chef Ron Siegel of the Ritz Carlton San Francisco. Siegel was Thomas Keller’s executive sous-chef at the French Laundry, and executive chef of Charles on Knob Hill and at Masa’s.
Scherrer and master sommelier Michael Jordan will be jammin’ on the guitar at 10 p.m. Saturday at Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar in Kapalua. It was a hoot when they played on Oahu, and the evening will reveal another side of these two talents.
On the south side of Maui, the Four Seasons hosts a three-day event that includes tastings and an all-out gala dinner finale. An impressive quartet of pinot noir specialists includes Donald Patz (Patz & Hall), Steve Clifton (Brewer Clifton), Gary Burk (Costa de Oro) and Webster Marquez (Anthill Farms).
I have spent much time with each of these brilliant wine minds, picking their brains in my own journey to better understand the continually evolving world of pinot grape growing and winemaking. One would be hard pressed to find experts more knowledgeable, down to earth and articulate.
An amazing selection of wines will be poured at this event — a breadth of rare and "library" wines from each winery. And the Four Seasons’ culinary team has worked hard to create imaginative menus to pair with the wines.
We are lucky to have such talent visiting Hawaii. I hope next year the events won’t be held on the same weekend. That way, I can attend both.
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Chuck Furuya is a master sommelier and a partner in the DK Restaurants chain.
