Notes to follow. Our first time back in Hawaii in a couple of years. Just the two of us, so I’m not sure we’ll end up opening everything I brought, but here they are, plus a night view from the balcony of our rental.
Cheers
Warren
Based on all your commentary we ended up bringing a half case of champagne when we went to Maui and big island in December. They all showed as expected (well) so glad I listened to you!
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Traveling with great wines from your cellar is the thing to do. I hate that people get dissuaded by the travel shock mythology.
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Warren, where are you staying?
We go in Aug.
We rented a condo in Kapaa
Wine TN’s should start tonight with dinner. For now, it’s farmers market fruit porn and beach photos
Soursop
Mamey sapote
Lychee
Mangosteen
Mountain apple
Finger lime
Papaya
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I thought that looked like coco coast—we were at Kauai Beach Villas last year. Have a Manju at Pono Market for me but save some for us in Aug!
I look forward to the notes and pics.
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Tonight, we ate at a new restaurant. Naisla Kitchen and Cocktails in Kapa’a is one of the better meals we’ve ever had in the Islands. An unlikely amalgam of Italian, Island and Asian, they made it work. The Ahi carpaccio with arugula and lightly truffled ponzu was outstanding, even thought I was reticent to order Ahi with truffle. Marybeth’s braised short ribs with risotto and ginger soy reduction was amazing, as was my miso carbonara with Japanese Hokkaido scallops. The wine list was fairly ordinary; they put more emphasis on their cocktails and sake.
Fortunately, I BYO’d a bottle that approached perfection. The 2002 Cristal was superb, my best bottle of this to date. It started out surprisingly like a young Cristal, all lemony. It quickly evolved, showing a kaleidoscope of scents and flavors. Lemon, tangerine cream dream, chamomile, honey, ginger. The finish was endless. We lingered at the restaurant to nurse the last sips and prolong the pleasure as long as possible. This was one of my favorite wine experiences of recent memory.
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If you are still there on Wednesday, check out Aldrine Guerrero at the Oasis restaurant in Kapaa only during Happy Hour from 3 to 5 pm. Reservations recommended. He is an extraordinarily talented Ukulele player. Wednesdays only and he tours so it is best to call ahead to make sure that he will be there.
I saw him rip out Europa, While my Guitar Gently Weeps and Purple Rain in an impressive stretch a couple of weeks ago. Sorry, I don’t know anything about their corkage policy.
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No issues with these. Hesitation was caused by previous experience with a bunch of wines that weren’t champagne… pretty much always being fails, especially Pinot noir in my case. Champagne suits us just fine though, so happy to go that way when we travel!
Sid
Thanks for the recommendation. I just made the reservation for Wednesday Happy Hour at 3:15. I asked on Open Table if he’ll be there. Hopefully they’ll respond. Even better if they let me bring champagne. I’ve never byo’d to a happy hour. My wife may cringe, but YKYAWBW…
Cheers,
Warren
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Huh…never thought of BYO to Happy Hour as anything but BYO…years ago we brought 2005 Rubicon and Scarecrow for a side by side since they are from the same property, and sat at bar for $9 HH burgers and fries at Met Grill. Whole somm staff and bunch of servers made it over to try the wines, so it felt like it was just fine.
Didn’t charge corkage, so $20 for 2 burgers was $100 on bill with $80 tip.
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Tonight we dined at Keokis Paradise. Beautiful setting. The Ahi sashimi was exceptional, everything else okay. It turns out it’s part of the Dukes restaurant group. Solid, not great.
The wine we brought, OTOH… I’m no one trick champagne pony. Tonight was a white burg I’ve had since release. 2013 PYCM St. Aubin En Remilly. Love, love, loved this. It has finally evolved to the point where the reductive notes have become a beautiful spice rather than the dominant feature. Intensely mineral, with the flinty notes contributing to that character. More mineraled than fruited. Peaking through the stones were lemon and underripe stone fruit. A spectacular bottle.
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Warren in Hawaii! Always a worthy thread to keep track of 
So glad the Cristal showed its colours for you. I’ve never thought of Chamomile with the producer, but I can absolutely think of it when you mention that.
Just MHO, but PYCM killed it with his 13 whites. Any that I’ve had have been uniformly excellent.
Mahalo
Mike
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Thanks Warren.
Had the 2002 Cristal from Magnum a few years ago. Wonderful!
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She would be correct. Drink some cocktails - it’s happy hour!
No wine tonight, because tomorrow we’re going to attempt the steep, slippery Hanakai’ai Falls hike from Ha’ena State Park. It’s about 7.7 miles round trip. It’s been raining, so the trails and river crossings may be dicey.
Instead of wine photos, here are some of the fruit I ate today.
Mamey Sapote. Kinda like caramel custard. The sweetest fruit I’ve ever eaten. My blood sugar is spiking again just from typing the description.
My first taste of soursop, and not my last. Messy, but I loved it. It’s delicate in flavor and texture. Slightly sweet and mildly sour. Fibrous but in a delicate way. It’s hard to describe the subtle flavor. i guess “tastes like soursop” is the best I can do.
Mangosteens may be the king of fruit. Previously, I’d only had them in Hanoi on a food tour. Love these.
My daily matcha latte on our balcony, this time with papaya and finger lime (aka caviar lime).
For years, papaya with lime has been my customary breakfast when visiting Hawaii. Finger limes are a new twist. If you haven’t had them, you should track some down. They look like little Vienna sausages. Cut or break them in half, then squeeze between a spoon and a cutting board, and tiny spherical beads that look like caviar are expressed. Fantastic, slightly bitter citrus with a crunch, perfect on papaya.
Tomorrow, back to our normally scheduled vinous programming.
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As a teen in Madagascar, that was also my regular breakfast but with a twist: freshly cracked black pepper. Delicious!
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I made that hike once with my wife. It was fantastic. I would say it took longer than expected and we needed more water than expected.
The first half is about what you expect. A short fairly steep uphill from the parking lot up to the high ridge, then you walk along that and eventually come down the rugged beach and river outlet.
It’s about the same distance from there to the falls, but much slower going. Especially for my wife, who is just naturally timid and very slow walking across rivers on river stones, and you crisscross that damn river so many times before tot arrive.
Anyway, it’s awesome and I would love to do it again, but make conservative estimates about the time, water, and effort to get there.
One thing we will never ever forget — after being on very low water rations the way out, there were kids cutting coconuts in the parking lot, and it was the most nourishing thing I ever drank not named Haut Brion. Then the first shave ice place we passed was not far behind it in sheer greatness.
Have a blast.
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I came in contact with soursop for the first time 1991 in Costa Rica, there they make a type of smoothie from various fruits and one could choose based on with/without milk; my favourite was soursop with a milk base, which was in principle a soursop milkshake. Delicious! I haven’t had it since and I still can’t forget it.
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