By The Glass
TIM LEARMONT
Sunshine, good food, exceptionally good wine and three friends in silly-looking hats -- what more could you ask for in summer entertainment? Food, wine and silly hats
make a fun weekendThat's what you'll get at Taste of Honolulu, June 28-30 on the Honolulu Civic Center grounds next to Honolulu Hale.
The event introduces the "Three Amigos," myself, Kevin Toyama and Marvin Chang, hosts of the "Three Amigos Vino Favoritos" special fine-wine area within the R. Field Wine Tasting Center.
Rather than present the traditional wine tasting organized around specific varietals, we amigos, working with local wholesalers, have proudly pooled our infamous palates to present a large selection of favorites. Each bottling is outstanding for one or more of the following traits: quality, value or uniqueness.
Quality wines shine because of great wine-making and distinct varietal character. Unfortunately, quality can get pricey. Our value selections are affordable for daily drinking without short-changing flavor. Uniqueness is found off the beaten path, whether it's a familiar grape grown in an unfamiliar way, or a winemaker new to the average drinker.
We're also offering wine tastings, individual reviews and free wine classes. We've taken on such topics as "Wine Depreciation 101: Getting Down on the Funk," "Robert Mondavi and His Plan for World Domination" and "The XYZs of Wine," taught by an honorary amigo, Hawaii's only master sommelier, Chuck Furuya.
The Three Amigos, (self-christened in 1986 after the movie of the same name) are no wine tenderfoots. Each of us has earned an associate certificate for master sommelier and among us we have almost a half-century of wine-tasting experience.
Kevin and I, graduates of that wine and culinary mecca, Farrington High School, had to work especially hard, while Marvin had it so much easier, being from upscale Pearl City.
The wonderful thing about the R. Field Wine Tasting Center is that 100 percent of the proceeds go to Easter Seals. All the wine is donated and all the help is volunteered.
So come on down and check out the amigos. We might even be wearing our big, gaudy sombreros, but, then again, the silly things are cumbersome and tend to hit passers-by who walk too close -- although sometimes, that's half the fun.
Admission to Taste of Honolulu is $3, with scrip sold for food and wine. Call 536-1015.
Tim Learmont of R. Field Wine Co., is filling in for his boss, Richard Field. This column is a weekly lesson on wine written by a rotating panel of wine professionals.
This column is a weekly lesson in wine
pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals.
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