Winesday with The Wine Shop – Alta Vista
Dan and Ellen O’Connell at The Wine Shop in Koloa. Photo courtesy of The Wine Shop.
Tasting Kauai is happy to partner with the O’Connells for Winesday with The Wine Shop. Owners Dan and Ellen O’Connell are a delightful couple whose passion for wine is infectious, their knowledge is vast, and their service is friendly. Their beautiful store carries everything from wine and spirits to gourmet foods and sweet treats. Check in with Tasting Kauai every Wednesday to learn about their favorites. ¡Salud!
With the New Year here, some of us are making New Year’s resolutions. Mine is to celebrate life every day by making our dinner special, and pairing wine with good, healthy meals. Ellen and I have been blessed with two new additions to our family: Grandkids. We want to make the evening time that we spend together quality time with family where we can share the day’s experiences.To start our journey of food and wine for dinner, I’m turning to the South American wine scene, which I love. At our last wine tasting, we paired a beautiful Manchego cheese with guava jam with a Torrontes from Alta Vista Vineyards in Argentina. Torrontes has a light fruit flavor on the front palate, a nice big citrus mid palate, and finishes with a mineral cleanse. The second wine we sampled was a Malbec from Amalaya Vineyards. The soft supple flavors of this high elevation fruit paired beautifully with the cured meats and green and black olives that we served. The third wine was a blend of Malbec and Bonarda. Bonarda and Malbec are the two most-planted grapes in Argentina. I compare Bonarda with Merlot in the early days of Napa Valley when Merlot was used as a blending grape for Cabernet Sauvignon. Now Bonarda vines are mature and vineyard managers know how to cultivate the varietal to stand on its own. We paired this wine with smoked ham and pepper chicken. The boldness redefines the flavors on your palate. Our fourth wine was a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from a high elevation vineyard called Cousino Macul. The Cabernet Sauvignon is concentrated and evenly balanced between fruit and tannins. We paired this wonderful Cabernet with Carne Asada. Wow was that great!! Stop by this week and find an amazing bottle of wine that you can serve at your family dinner. See you at The Wine Shop!
Aloha,
Dano and Ellen O’Connell
The Wine Shop is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. On the first Saturday of each month from 4 to 7 p.m., they host monthly wine tastings. For more information call 808-742-7305 or visit www.thewineshopkauai.com. The shop is located just across the street from the Koloa Post Office.