By the Glass: An influential group came together in Honolulu in the 1970s

It was a standing joke back in the 1970s that if you wanted to become a master sommelier, you should move to Hawaii.

Sound crazy? Consider this: To become a master is to make it through a rigorous exam to win certification by the Court of Master Sommeliers. And five of the first 11 Americans to become masters lived, worked and tasted wine together in Hawaii four decades ago.

I was the last of those five to pass, in 1989, following in the footsteps of four trailblazers. Remembering them now offers insight into how the wine scene developed in this corner of the world — pretty isolated in those days.

I’ll start in the mid-’70s, when a couple of spry young lads created a wine course called the Grape Escape. The principal was Eddie Osterland, who’d been working at the Trattoria Restaurant, a well-known spot on the corner of Lewers Street and Kalia Road, where Roy’s Waikiki now stands.

Eddie had studied at the University of Bordeaux, including taking classes with the “it” oenologist of the time, Emile Peynaud. In 1973 he became the first American to pass the master sommelier exam, which at that time was given only in England. He was and is a gifted speaker with a real knack for teaching.

His partner and fellow educator was Ronn Wiegand, who had worked as a sommelier at the prestigious Clift Hotel in San Francisco and traveled extensively throughout wine country in Europe. He would become a master sommelier in 1986, and later a master of wine as well, becoming the first to garner both titles in America.

Their courses created quite a wave of wine appreciation among locals. In 1976, I was young restaurant manager with a developing love of wine and I just had to take the course.

A handsome young Chicago-born lad also made his way to Hawaii in the mid-’70s. After a stint serving in the Vietnam War, Richard Dean ended up at the posh Hawaiian Regent Hotel and its world-renowned fine-dining venue, the Third Floor.

Richard became a master in 1975 — only the second American, after Eddie, to do so — and was an iconic sommelier in Honolulu for many years.

For me, the biggest development came in 1977, when Alioto’s opened on the corner of Makaloa and Kaheka streets, across the street from what was then Holiday Mart, and roughly kitty-corner to the Pan Am Building.

I lived a block away and was intrigued by the huge sign on the corner that said “Coming Soon … Alioto’s from San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf.” At that time, Fisherman’s Wharf to me meant the super-busy restaurant on the boat bays down by the end of Ward Avenue.

Alioto’s was a new venture associated with its long-time, iconic, family-owned San Francisco namesake. I just had to go check it out.

The structure was still very much under construction, but I walked in to see what was going on and came across the maitre’d, who filled me in on their plans. What grabbed my attention was that they intended to open with an all-California wine list. California wines were hardly known and rarely appreciated in Hawaii at the time — except for cheap jug wines found on the lower shelves of retail stores.

That’s when I was introduced to the proprietor, Nunzio Alioto. That meeting changed my life. Not only did he give me a job as a waiter at his new restaurant, Nunzio opened a whole new world for me — mostly regarding wine, but also food, as he was a schooled chef and had staged at some of the very best restaurants in San Francisco and France.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Nunzio took many trips to California’s wine country as it really began developing in the 1960s and ’70s, to understand what the region had to offer. He also traveled extensively through Europe — especially France, Italy and Germany — and had an incredible knowledge of those countries’ wines as well.

He had quite a wine collection, and shared his stash with all of us who were interested, including Eddie, Ronn, Richard and me. Where else would any of us have had the chance to sample the 1968, ’70, ’71 and ’73 Beaulieu Cabernet Sauvignon “Georges de Latour” or similar vertical offerings from Chappellet, Mayacamas, Ridge or Chateau Montelena, just to name a few? This later continued with wines from Italy, Germany and, of course, France.

Nunzio passed the master sommelier exam in 1987.

Those wine tastings all those years ago evolved into some extraordinary multicourse food and wine dinners that I still remember, which opened yet another new horizon of learning.

Sadly, Richard Dean died in June, his passing rekindling and crystalizing these kinds of memories. (Eddie, Ronn and Nunzio remain active in the industry). For me, a young upstart, it was a truly magical time that inspired dreams of what could be.

Thank you, guys.

Next month I’ll continue with stories of Hawaii’s current trailblazers.

Chuck Furuya is a master sommelier and a partner in the DK Restaurants group. Follow his blog at chuckfuruya.com.