Winesday with The Wine Shop – One Fine Evening
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!
While closing The Wine Shop on Friday night, I noticed the beautiful back-flash of the sunset and thought to myself that our days are getting a bit longer now. What does that mean? Barbecues,more outdoor adventures and of course, new wine releases. Between now and the end of April, most of the new wine releases will be arriving here at The Wine Shop. Depending on the varietal and the winemaker, we will see the majority of 2011, 2012, and 2013 wines being released this spring. After dismal wine growing years in 2010 and 2011 (dismal meaning a very low yield of grapes), 2012 and 2013 are shaping up to be banner production years.
In the wine business, two different schools of thought go into the process of wine making. The first is primarily used in Europe where weather plays a major role in the outcome of each year’s harvest. Winemakers harvest the year’s grapes and do their magic with the fermentation process in either barrels or stainless steel. Then they age the wine appropriately for each varietal and voilà you have that particular year’s wine. Now the other school of thought is basically the same starting process as the first. You can’t control weather, but here is the main difference; to achieve the desired flavor profile, winemakers will blend a variety of other grapes together.
Now here’s the hard part. Every year, a new vintage rolls out with different characteristics and I have the difficult task of tasting all these new wines to add to The Wine Shop’s inventory! Now you ask, “How does one have the opportunity to taste so many wines?” Well, that is where wine tastings are so helpful.
Great events like the Poipu Beach Rotary Club wine tasting at Kilohana Plantation this Saturday gives people the chance to taste 60 to 70 different wines in one place. So take advantage of situations when they arise, have fun and take notes. Perhaps you will even find a new favorite for yourself! We hope to see you at the Rotary event this Saturday. Reminder! There will not be a wine tasting at the shop this weekend. See you at Kilohana!
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.
Sponsored by the Poipu Rotary Club, One Fine Evening will be held at Kilohana Plantation on Saturday, March 6 at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased online.
Featured Restaurants include Sushi Bushido, Tortilla Republic, Brennecke’s Beach House, Gaylord’s, Keoki’s Paradise, Hukilau Lanai, La Spezia, Red Salt and Kauai Community College Culinary Arts.
Featured Musicians include Jonathan Rivera and Pali play Hawaiian contemporary; Estep – Stasia and Jonathan Estep are singer/songwriters who reside here on Kauai; Awol – A wonderful violinist who uses a sampling loop to create a scope of sound by himself.
