As the Prince of Pau Hana, I often get asked, “What wine can we serve with our favorite local foods like Poke, Sushi, Huli Huli chicken, Thai, or Chinese?
If there was a wine made for our tropical climate and Hawaiian regional cuisine, it would be the food-friendly Gewurztraminers and Reislings.
Today’s Gewurtraminers and Reislings are not the sweet German wines that many of us recall from our wine entry days (Blue Nun, Black Tower, Havemeyer). Today, the Gewurtraminers and Reislings are less sweet, slightly dry, crisper, more acidic and absolutely more balanced.
This gives us a great wine to:
(1) Cool the heat and spice of these dishes with the sweet crispness of the wine.
(2) Cleanse our palate between bites of these powerful local foods.
We discovered a real gem from the cool climate region of California’s Anderson Valley, from Handley Vineyards, the 2009 Gewurztraminer. When wine enthusiasts rave about the rich aroma of a wine – this is what they mean. Pour, swirl and smell – your glass is filled with honeysuckle, lavender, lychee, and white peaches. What is really fun is that you can get both floral and tropical. Then take that first sip, and you get that unmistakably local lychee with hints of citrus and white peach. Pause, swirl and sip again…next you can taste the layers of spice, grapefruit, and more lychee and peaches. Ono-licious!
Milla Handely has proven that Anderson Valley is a world class location for this grape varietal. The result – an immensely flavorful, spicy white wine with extraordinary balance – an excellent food wine.
And lots of fun food marriages to try:
Match this Handley Gewurtraminer up against a spicy Poke…great wine and food balance…it’s so much better than you might guess! Cool off the heat of a Thai or Chinese dish, enjoy with Huli Huli chicken from the Deli or add a great balance to the barbecue and the sweet richness of the meat. Chill well in the fridge and remove about 15–20 minutes before serving…delicious!
Meet, Chat, and Sip Gewurt’ With Winemaker, Milla Handley!
Handley Vineyards owner and winemaker – Milla Handley will be at Foodland Farms, Aina Haina, on August 10th from 4 to 7pm to offer her wine and visit with you. Come taste for yourself why we are so excited about Gewurztraminer. We will be serving her wines with our Hawaii’s favorite Poke and Huli Huli chicken. See you there!
Cheers!