Hawaii’s
Back yard
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
Storied Maui vineyard
ready for reinvention
with new winesLike many people, Paula Hegele likes to unwind at night with a glass of wine. As president of Tedeschi Vineyards, Maui's only commercial winery, choosing the vintage is always easy for her.
"Any of the eight wonderful options in our family of wines will do," Hegele says with a smile, "although I must admit I especially like the Maui Brut because sparkling wines are festive and fun. From popping the cork to watching the bubbles in tall stemware, it always makes you feel like you're observing a special occasion."
Tedeschi Vineyards' 30th Anniversary Harvest Celebration
Place: Tedeschi Vineyards, Ulupalakua Ranch, Upcountry Maui. From Central Maui, take Hana Highway (Route 36) to Haleakala Highway (Route 37). Heading up the mountain, stay on Route 37 to Keokea. Pass the Fong Store on the right and continue on the narrow road 5.1 miles to Ulupalakua. The winery is just past ranch headquarters and the Ulupalakua Ranch store.When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. next Sunday
Regular hours: The King's Cottage Tasting Room is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except major holidays. Free guided tours of the winery are offered daily at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Reservations are not necessary.
Admission: Free
Call: 808-878-1266
E-mail: info@mauiwine.com
Web site: www.mauiwine.com
Where to buy Tedeschi wines: Online and at the winery tasting room; allow five to seven working days for shipping. They also can be found at retail outlets statewide, including ABC stores, Hilo Hattie, Kmart, Wal-Mart, Longs and Foodland, Star and Safeway supermarkets. Gerard's, Haliimaile General Store, Mama's Fish House, A Saigon Cafˇ and Vino are among the Maui restaurants serving Tedeschi wines.
Next Sunday, Tedeschi will be observing a very special occasion -- its 30th anniversary -- when it hosts a Harvest Celebration featuring tastings, champagne-making demonstrations, guided tours, viticulture exhibits and commemorative stemware giveaways.
The stellar entertainment lineup will include performances by Jennifer Kehaulani Oyama and Natasha Mahealani Akau, winners of the coveted Miss Aloha Hula title at the Big Island's Merrie Monarch Festival in 2003 and 2004, respectively.
To commemorate the event, Tedeschi is introducing a new wine called Upcountry Gold, a chenin blanc made from the first harvest of its latest vineyard varietal. Festival attendees will be able to meet and chat with genial winemaker Ben Mendez, who was born and raised in the islands.
Trained in agriculture, Mendez began his career with Tedeschi 22 years ago. He learned every aspect of viticulture and went on to master the art of winemaking. His knowledge of the culture of grapes and how to enhance their natural characteristics in the finished product has brought Tedeschi Vineyards to a new level of excellence.
SHADED BY magnificent 150-year-old cypress trees at a cool 2,000 feet above sea level within Ulupalakua Ranch, Tedeschi Vineyards' setting is among the prettiest on Maui. History buffs will appreciate its equally memorable story.
In 1845, King Kamehameha III leased 2,000 acres in the verdant Upcountry region of Ulupalakua to American businessman L.L. Torbert for growing and processing sugar cane. Eleven years later, James Makee, a Scottish sea captain, came to Maui to convalesce after an accident at sea. He fell in love with the island, purchased the Torbert Plantation at Honuaula and renamed it Rose Ranch after his wife Catherine's favorite flower, Maui's lovely lokelani rose.
Makee's home was a showplace renowned for its hospitality as well as its success with sugar production. In 1874, King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani arrived on the first of many visits to Rose Ranch. Here, it is said, Kalakaua was able to find peace of mind and escape from the stress of ruling a kingdom falling under the increasing influence of foreigners.
The king became such a frequent visitor that Makee built a cottage near the main house specifically for his use. Known as the King's Cottage, Kalakaua's former hideaway now houses Tedeschi Vineyards' tasting room, the centerpiece of which is an 18-foot bar shaped from the trunk of a single mango tree.
After Makee's death in 1879, Rose Ranch processed its last crop of sugar and turned its focus to cattle. Covering more than 20,000 acres, the spread was called Ulupalakua Ranch when C. Pardee Erdman Jr. purchased it in the 1960s.
Californian Emil Tedeschi looked at the slopes of Upcountry Maui and envisioned grape vines. His dream of making wine in Hawaii came true and Tedeschi Vineyards is marking its 30th anniversary.
THE YEAR 1974 was a red-letter one for Ulupalakua Ranch. That was when Emil Tedeschi, a native Californian, met with Erdman and shared his bold dream of making wine in Hawaii. A lover of fine wine and a strong proponent of growing Maui's agricultural industry, Erdman agreed to lease Tedeschi a few acres of ranch land to build and manage a winery.
While waiting for the first crop of Carnelian grapes to mature, Tedeschi came up with a novel idea: Why not produce a wine from the juice of pineapples, which were always plentiful on Maui? By a stroke of good fortune, renowned enologist Dimitri Tchelistcheff was living nearby, and Tedeschi enlisted his help to develop the now-famous Maui Blanc, which made its formal debut in 1977.
Today, the winery that carries Tedeschi's name has 22 acres in cultivation. It has become known for its distinctive products, which also include Maui Brut, an award-winning sparkling wine that was served at the 1985 inauguration of President Ronald Reagan, and Framboise de Maui, a raspberry dessert wine that is superb either sipped, laced in coffee or poured over cake and ice cream.
According to Hegele, next Sunday's Harvest Celebration is a great way for visitors and residents to experience what makes Tedeschi special. "It marks the reinvention and re-branding of Tedeschi Vineyards, Maui's Winery," she says.
Earlier, Hegele explains, Tedeschi had been known primarily for its three pineapple wines: Maui Blanc, Maui Splash (a light, fruity pineapple-passion fruit wine) and Hula O Maui (a crisp specialty pineapple wine imbued with tropical fruit aromas). Also, as far as grapes were concerned, the winery had worked exclusively with the Carnelian variety.
"But now we are seeking new opportunities to upgrade our vineyard," Hegele says. "We recently decided to plant new varietals: syrah, syrah noir, chenin blanc, pinot gris, chardonnay. The diversity of these grapes, combined with their ability to blend easily with other varieties, will increase our current wine selection and further our credibility as an 'established winery.'"
Tedeschi already is regarded as a leader in diversified agriculture on Maui, both for its accomplishments and for its support of other organizations. For example, students have created a delicious Maui Raspberry Wine Jelly from the raspberry lees it donates to Maui Community College's Culinary Academy.
"Our contribution allows the students to create a value-added product that provides experiences in manufacturing and wholesaling, and creates revenue for their program," Hegele said.
Entering its fourth decade is an exciting time for Tedeschi Vineyards.
"We have emerged as a true visitor destination," Hegele says. "Our location in Ulupalakua is a large part of our charm. This small rural community in Upcountry Maui offers breathtaking views and an insightful glimpse of Hawaii's history. The King's Cottage Tasting Room provides a strong connection to a fascinating bygone era. We look forward to building upon our rich past and embracing a very bright future."
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Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based free-lance writer and Society of American Travel Writers award winner.
