By The Glass
CHUCK FURUYA
Wednesday, January 9, 2002
Home winemakers turn out
praiseworthy productsThe Hawaiian Wine Circle is a group of home winemakers who get together to share wines and techniques on making them. Each year the group holds a competition, with members bringing their best bottlings for tasting.
My first wine judging for the group was in the mid- to late-'80s. I learned first hand that homemade wines were very different in profile to those produced commercially, but I was intrigued by the fact that these home winemakers were producing wines from all kinds of sources, from dandelion to jaboti caba to brown rice. The quality of the wines has greatly improved over the years, as has the winemaking.
I also loved the lack of pretense of the group. Each winemaker had a passion for wine and winemaking and they all loved sharing their wines.
The quality of the entries, I must say, has greatly improved over the years. The 2001 judging, held last month, proved quite a test, as there were so many well-made entries and because differences in quality among the top wines were so minute.
We recognized three levels of quality -- gold medal, silver medal and one grand prize for best wine overall.
The results follow, along with my notes. These wines are not available for sale, so the only way to taste them is to make friends with a member of the group. My reason for sharing these notes is to show this group's creativity and craftsmanship, and what can ingeniously be made at home.
Grand prize
Helen Plumley of Kaaawa won the top prize for her superb Surinam Cherry, a wine with great concentration, great structure and a great finish. As the event ended, several people were sipping this absolutely sensational wine!Plumley deserves her own sub-category this year, having garnered not just the grand prize but also four gold medals:
>> Banana: Terrific banana character with good structure and a great flow on the palate. Seamless and delicious.
>> Banana/Surinam Cherry: One of the best wines of the whole tasting! A delicate nose, but with power, depth, richness and a great long finish. Fellow judge Alan Mosher and I were really wowed by this wine.
>> Mango: Really has the exotic essence of mango, and is brisk, clean, with a good flow on the palate. A delicious wine.
Plumley's wines were truly amazing.
Other gold medals
>> Lilikoi by Bill Hassler: An excellent, bright, "true" nose. Power-packed and deep, with lilikoi character from beginning to end. Another great showing from Hassler, who, by the way, is one true wine lover. His passion for wines is contagious and I love the look on his face when he discovers something new.>> Starfruit, by Bob Kramer: Pure, riveting starfruit character from beginning to end. Terrific wine from one of the true star winemakers of the group, year in and year out.
>> Sour sop, also by Kramer: Lovely, purely scented, with fabulous sour sop characteristics completely through the wine.
>> Lilikoi by Randy and Casey Powers: One of the very best of the overall tasting. It was a very delicate, wonderfully refined style. So elegant and nuanced, with profound completeness.
>> Banana by Frank Pawlowski: Deep, rich and powerfully banana, (something it seems to be quite a challenge to do, at least well). VERY impressive wine from another of the group's top winemakers.
Silver medals
Many of the same winemakers also won silver medals: Kramer for Red Guava, Kramer for Lilikoi, Pawlowski for Sour Sop and Ray Mitrulevich for Black Cherry.The Hawaiian Wine Circle meets on the first Saturday of each month at a members' home. For information call president Larry Garrish, 783-7433.
Chuck Furuya is president of Fine Wine
Imports and Hawaii's only master sommelier.
This column is a weekly lesson in wine
pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals.
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