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By The Glass
Kevin Toyama
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Halekulani and Hasselbach will dazzle diners
BY THE GLASS
Kevin Toyama
RIESLING is one of the wine world's greatest grapes. With its wide range of flavors, great flavor intensityS and wonderfully rich and complex bouquet, riesling will age longer than many other white wines and longer than most reds.
In the United States, winemakers are crafting fine rieslings in Monterey (California), Columbia Valley (Washington), Willamette Valley (Oregon), Finger Lakes (New York) and Leenlanau (Michigan). Internationally, excellent rieslings can be found in Niagara Peninsula and Okanagan Valley (Canada), Alsace (France), Wachau and Kamptal (Austria) and Eden and Clare Valley (Australia).
WINEMAKER DINNER
"An Evening with Fritz Hasselbach"
» Dinner: March 14
» Place: Orchids, Halekulani
» Cost: $95
» Call: 923-2311, ext. 5350
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This noble grape grows and prospers in many regions, but Germany by far produces the world's most outstanding examples.
One of my favorite German estates is Gunderloch and its Nackenheim Rothenberg vineyard. Established in 1890 by Carl Gunderloch, the estate is now managed by his great-great-granddaughter Agnes Hasselbach and her husband, winemaker Fritz Hasselbach. Gunderloch is one of three Grand Cru A vineyards in the Rheinhessen region.
In the world of wine, a "Grand Cru," or Great Vineyard, represents the best of the best. The French define it as the ideal location where the correct grape (chardonnay, pinot noir or other) is allowed to perfectly ripen in the sun, nurtured yet not pampered by the earth and further tempered by the elements. This "Grand Cru" allows the earth to speak through the grape with a singular expression of nobility.
FRITZ Hasselbach is commonly known as the "300-Point Man." In 2002, Wine Spectator magazine celebrated him as the only winemaker ever to have received a perfect 100-point score for not one, but three wines -- the 1992, 1996 and 2001 Riesling TBA (Trockenbeerenauslese), Nackenheimer Rothenberg.
A Trockenbeerenauslese is the top rung of the German dessert wine category. When conditions are favorable, dried grapes are individually selected and harvested by hand to make this nectar worthy of the gods. Acquiring a bottle of a highly rated TBA can be a challenge, as they are released in such limited quantities.
The Halekulani is doing one better: presenting the über winemaker himself.
Executive chef Darryl Fujita, Orchids sous chef Craig Sako and executive pastry sous chef Michael Moorehouse have created a five-course dinner to complement wines from the Gunderloch estate. The March 14 menu includes a main course of Kurobuta "Berkshire" Pork Loin with a Cranberry Red Wine Glaze, accompanied by the acclaimed 1997 and 2003 Three-Star Auslese Dry.
Other wine selections include Gunderloch's stellar 1999 and 2001 Gold-Kapsule Auslese and the unctuous 2000 Beerenauslese. This will be a rare opportunity to experience the magnificent dry and older sweet wines that have made Germany's rieslings famous.
Kevin Toyama is at sommelier at the Halekulani and an advanced certificate holder from the Court of Master Sommeliers.
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