No posts last week because I was on vacation on the island of Kauai in Hawaii with my wife and the area is, quite frankly, not really known for wine – yes there are wineries in Hawaii, but not on the island I was staying on. But just because there wasn’t any wineries or vineyards on the island doesn’t mean this wine writer didn’t enjoy plenty of vino on vacation.
I was impressed with the wine lists of several restaurants that my wife and I dined at (Bar Acuda had a really nice French Rose’ that we enjoyed out on the deck with some tapas), but the place that really jumped out at me was The Tavern at the resort just down the street from where we were staying.
Lots of restaurants have house wines, but they tend to be the least expensive wine they happen to have open. The Tavern at Princeville by Roy Yamaguchi, on the other hand, had a red and white that were specially made for them. What’s more, instead of having it in bottles, they had it on tap. TAP!
At first I was taken aback, but it works perfectly as they were able to regulate the temperature of each wine perfectly without the need for extensive wine fridges for a wine that, quite frankly, gets consumed a lot (I know it’s pretty much what I was drinking there).
The house wines weren’t mind blowing, but the red was a nice blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir that went with a wide range of dishes (or by itself), and the white was a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Both are made especially for them in California (not sure of the winery or the exact blends).
I’d be interested to see more restaurants and bars do this with their house wine. I know it’s not always an option, but it was one that certainly intrigued me and one I think I would have appreciated when I was working behind a bar and poured numerous glasses of house wine during happy hour.
