Impressed with selection in small store in Hawaii

I was on vacation last week in Oahu. Close to our hotel I found this small store/market (City Island Market, I believe) which had a deli, sold souvenirs and some wine. I was pretty impressed with the offer they had… not common in Florida. Check it out a pic from their “premium section” (they also had many other options, including some half bottles). I was not impressed with the “standing” bottles at room temperature :slight_smile:
wine hi.jpg

1 Like

Always hurts to see the bottles standing at room temperature. Really great selection for a small store. That’s impressive

Just got back from a few days in Oahu after a full week in Kona. The ABC stores had a pretty good selection of wine as well. Ended up buying several bottles at Costco. Hall 17, Chalk Hill 16 and a Sinegal 17.

Island Gourmet Markets (at least the one in Wailea) also had a great (but expensive) selection of wines.

the name of this one is Island Country Markets… and it is part of ABC stores. (the bigger version with deli)

While in Lahaina on Maui, I found a similarly extensive wine selection @ Tamuras Fine Wine. I was amazed. Excellent selection across all regions and varietals. We drank very well that week!

Surprising. I was in Honolulu for a wedding a few years ago and the selection everywhere we went was terrible/overpriced. To be expected perhaps.

Great poke too! I even bought a t-shirt.

1 Like

+1 on Tamura’s, a must visit every time I touch down in Kahului. One of the few places I found on the island that stocks legit orgeat.

As a resident of Oahu I’m pretty dialed in to the various wine shops. Looks like Island Country Markets is at Ko Olina/ Disney’s Aulani Resort area. Not to be snobbish but…most of us “locals”, and I use the term lightly as I’m a haole from the mainland, don’t find ourselves out there too often unless we’re doing 18 holes at the Ko Olina Golf Course. Love Monkey Pod Kitchen however and sometimes find myself having lunch there.

On Oahu, the best wine shops are Fujioka Wine Times at Market City, R. Field in the Foodland at Ala Moana (10% discount on 6 bottles) and Tamura’s on 10th Avenue in Waialai. All three have great selections at surprisingly good pricing. Keep in mind Kermit Lynch has a house on Oahu and his wines seem to be liberally represented. Also, William Gladstone, a Berserker who posts here on occasion imports many wonderful French wines that you can find on the shelves.

1 Like

Mark
I happened just to be browsing -serendipitously and ran into this 808 thread and then your nice compliment, thank you.
That’s thoughtful of you.
If you are interested to taste some of the 2020 Bordeaux, I am planning a tasting , should be 25 - 30 or more wines.
I’ve been told the wines will arrive end of April.
Essentially there is no cost, perhaps glass charge and service tip to the staff.
3660 has offered us one of the ballrooms, and Waialae country club has offered us a room, so we’ll see.

The majority of Bordeaux & Burgundy we have been selling to Asia & Europe since the tariff… Awful… Just Freak’n awful.

I see things like this often in the ski resort towns of Colorado. Venturing into wine shops, whose names will be kept under wraps, in summer with wines standing upright in unair-conditioned spaces. I see lots of great wines at equally “great” prices only to be snatched up by next winter’s big spender not having a clue what summers can be like in Colorado.

Agree about both the wine selection and the poke at Tamura’s. :+1:

It’s always fun to poke into wine shops. Sometimes utterly disappointing (like seeing a huge display of bottles in a south facing window) but once in a while you find a gem. I wandered into Domaney’s in Great Barrington, MA, and asked a few questions. The merchant said “oh you know your wine, let me show you our cold room” and led me to his quite large temperature controlled storage. Picked up some 20 year old Bordeaux (Gruaud Larose, don’t recall the vintage) at reasonable prices to have for dinner that week. Great stuff.

I was not impressed with the “standing” bottles at room temperature > :slight_smile:

Big question is how were the prices. We have shops in Minneapolis with old Bordeaux standing vertical. The nice thing about one shop is that if is flawed just return for a refund.

The merchant said “oh you know your wine, let me show you our cold room” and led me to his quite large temperature controlled storage. Picked up some 20 year old Bordeaux (Gruaud Larose, don’t recall the vintage) at reasonable prices to have for dinner that week. Great stuff.

Always identify yourself as a wine geek as you did! They are tired of the consumer saying I had a great red on vacation but don’t remember the name.

will be in Kona soon if I can get the damn Coronavirus test. Anything good there? Stores?

If you are staying on the Kohala coast, Island Gourmet Market has a pretty good selection. And a great deli if you want hot food to takeout.

1 Like

Wailea Wine has a very nice selection and the owner is top-notch as well. It’s in the same resort shopping area as Monkeypod and Matteo’s Osteria.

30+ years ago we were staying on the north shore of Oahu. Tthere was a grocery in Haleiwa with a terrific wine selection (don’t remember the name). But I definitely remember that I picked up a magnum of 1976 Salon ‘Le Mesnil’ for $99.

Dan Kravitz

1 Like