Master sommeliers join 7-Eleven to bring wine to a wider audience

Think “master sommelier.” What do you see? An older dude in a tuxedo daring you to identify the red liquid he’s just poured into a glass?

Or a youthful Patrick Okubo in an aloha shirt at 7-Eleven, cheerfully pointing out the qualities of wines on a rack?

Pick No. 2 and you’ll get what Okubo and fellow master Roberto Viernes aim to accomplish as they lend their names and expertise to 7-Eleven Hawaii: that good wine should be approachable, understandable and affordable.

“I’ve always said wine is a grocery, rather than a luxury,” as Viernes put it.

They’ve come up with a selection of 20 wines sold under a prominent banner in 62 7-Eleven stores statewide. (7-Eleven actually has 64 stores in Hawaii, but two don’t sell liquor.) All are priced between $9.99 (Bex riesling from Germany) and $30.99 (Roederer Estate sparkling wine from California).

Okubo, 34, is wine educator for Young’s Market Co.; Viernes, 43, is general manager at Southern Wine & Spirits. Both companies are 7-Eleven vendors. As master sommeliers, the men have been certified at the highest level in the wine industry internationally. Only three in Hawaii hold the title (the third is Chuck Furuya of DK Restaurants).

That might make Okubo and Viernes seem extremely overqualified, but they both say they never considered themselves above the task. “For me, it’s about the wine people can drink every day,” Viernes said.

Edna Ching, marketing manager for 7-Eleven Hawaii, said the new displays went up at the end of February and have resulted in an increase in wine sales. “We’re hoping customers will be more educated and not afraid of purchasing wine,” Ching said.

On the rack with each bottle is a tag describing the wine and recommending foods to serve with it.

Okubo said they aimed for an international selection not found in supermarkets, with labels that clearly name the grape varietal. For example: the Kato sauvignon blanc from New Zealand ($13.99) is upfront about what’s in the bottle, whereas French wines are named for regions, so a sauvignon blanc might be called Sancerre or Pouilly-Fuisse.

That difference can make customers more comfortable with trying something new, he said.

Okubo also featured smaller family-owned wineries, as opposed to corporations that produce on a larger scale.

“Hopefully this is a steppingstone to trying different types of wines, international wines,” Okubo said.

For Viernes, the association with 7-Eleven has led to a new goal: “I think if I could just find the best, perfect match for Spam musubi I could really be on to something.”

He finds himself in the store every week now, often with his 12-year-old son, and they pick up a lot of musubi. “I’m still undergoing research.”