Continuing with the travel-centric
theme of my last couple posts, I thought I would write today about wine in
Hawaii. I was traveling there over the long weekend, and on each of my recent
trips, I’ve been thinking about how the wine industry functions in each
location. I think it is often top-of-mind given we have our class on Thursday
afternoons, and I end up traveling somewhere new less than 24 hours later.
Hawaii is particularly interesting as a wine drinking and growing location, as it
is both very remote (~2000+ miles from the coast of California, and ~4000+ miles
from Japan) and also a prime tourism destination; replete with restaurants with
expensive wine lists. As somewhat of an aside, given I was not able to find a
great deal of information, I would love to be able to track a bottle from its
origin in France (as an example) through its journey to Hawaii to understand
all the temperature/humidity changes that may (or hopefully may not) impact the
quality of the wine.
But,
given I did not find a tremendous amount about the wine supply chain to Hawaii, in
my research about wine in Hawaii, I did find that wine is actually grown in Hawaii
(which was surprising to me, given the relatively tropical climate). On Maui,
there is the Ulupalakua Ranch (which started planting vines in 1974) [1]. They
produce a (strangely) high variety of different varietals (Grenache, Syrah,
Viognier, Chenin Blanc, Malbec, Rose, among others). In addition to the more
traditional wines, Maui wines also produces “Pineapple Wine” (the “Maui Blanc”)
[2]. Similarly, Volcano Winery on the Big Island has been producing wine
since 1986 at vineyards 4000 feet above sea-level [3].
While it
is hard to know the quality of the wine without having tried it, I think the
fact that wine is grown in Hawaii at all (and now seemingly everywhere –from my
home state of Minnesota to Texas, and beyond), speaks to the fact that there is
something unique (and likely economically irrational) going on in the wine industry.
To the point in our first class together about how wine supply vastly outweighs
wine demand (and has consistently over many years), the fact that wine is grown
in such diverse locations is also evidence of that same irrationality. There
are not many other agricultural products grown nearly everywhere, but for some reason,
in my opinion, the romanticism/allure of being a winemaker (and/or owning a
vineyard), leads people to grow wine from coast-to-coasts and the islands beyond
(even in places I would never have guessed wine is grown).
Sources:
As a local Hawaiian I've had the opportunity to try Ulupalakua Ranch's wines on two separate occasions. The winery itself is picturesque, located in Kula, high on the slopes of Haleakala, with sweeping views of the pacific. The wine does not hold up to the setting. It is relatively forgettable and the smattering of varietals is confusing. The "Pineapple Wine" is very sweet to the point of being syrupy, making it perfect for a tourist beach picnic but little else. It isn't a sign of status in Hawaii to have their wines on a restaurant menu or to give to a friend or colleague as a gift.
ReplyDeleteI have not had the opportunity to taste wines from Volcano Winery on the Big Island. The fact that many of their wines are "infused" or blended with fruits is worrisome.
Both wineries seem focused on the mid-market tourist, not the high-end consumer. I have always been surprised by this as Hawaii has a few ideal bands of geography on the sides of the volcanoes on Maui and the Big Island where the volcanic soil, elevation, and sun exposure seem ideal for certain vine varietals. A combination of the cachet of being produced in Hawaii, superior winemaking techniques, and targeted marketing to the elite tourist market seems like a winning strategy.
A number of consumer product goods startups have been launched in the alcohol beverage space (Ko Hana Rum, Ocean Organic Vodka, HAPA by Handcrafted Island Distillers Hawaii) in the recent past, so it seems like only a matter of time until wineries begin to pop up in the islands. I'm personally hoping to launch one after I've established my primary career in real estate development, so you will have to check in with me in 10 years to see what progress has been made.
Sources:
https://www.kohanarum.com/home
https://oceanvodka.com/our-story/
https://www.islanddistillers.com/
I look forward to visiting your winery in the not-too-distant future! Thanks for the very insightful reply!
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