"This Week" at Vino and Hiroshi
Facebook: Become Chuck Furuya’s friend
if you love wine, check out my “Wall of Photos” & captions
Wine Tasting—“2005 Napa Valley Cabernet” Wednesday, August 11th 6:00 pm
“Ulupalakua Ranch Spring Lamb” Wednesday, August 11th
STEAK & WINE Thursday, August 12th
“Fresh Dungeness Crab @ VINO” Saturday, August 14th
Wine Tasting—“MACHO REDS” Thursday, August 19th 6:00 pm
STEAK & WINE Thursday, August 19th
Saturday Night "Supper" @ VINO Saturday, August 21st
Wine Tasting “Rustic Reds” Thursday, August 26th 6:00 pm
STEAK & WINE Thursday August 26th
Wine Tasting—“Mediterranean Reds” Wednesday, Sept 1st 6:00 pm
Hiroshi August Locally Grown Menu Happy Hour at VINO and Hiroshi
"Now On To Wines"
Facebook: Become Chuck Furuya’s friend
Imagine, the kids are teaching me how to do Facebook. I am definitely not very good at it, but am REALLY excited about what can be done via this venue. As an example, if one looks at the photo section, we have been able to post some really cool pictures of vineyards, wine personalities, etc. Hopefully, this is just the beginning. Remembering the old saying, ”a picture is worth a 1000 words”? Hopefully, these pictures will add more dimension for you in understanding wine, especially ‘good” wine.
STEAK & WINE Thursdays in August 12th, 19th and 26th
At VINO we are switching our steaks to Vintage, a new supplier found by our corporate chef. The cattle are older than those from the Meyer program and converted to the NO growth hormone/NO antibiotic program. The bottom line, however, is that in two different BLIND tastings, the Vintage New York was the steak we preferred!!! To introduce this fabulous steak to our regulars, Chef Keith will offer our eight ounce VINO Vintage New York Steak at $12 each, on THREE Thursdays, August 12, 19 and 26. It is your opportunity to see first hand how good this steak really is! We will also be offering a special wine or two which might make an interesting pairing. You will see, this piece of beef is meant to be served with rustic red wines like those served in VINO. Remember. (NO other discounts apply & no take out orders.)
COME & GET IT!!
Wine Tasting “2005 Napa Valley Cabernet” Wednesday, August 11th 6:00 pm
Yes, we will be tasting Cabernet from the Napa Valley, even though it is the middle of a very warm summer. Why? Because we have the right line-up of wines, which incidentally happen to be showing well right now. Just note, there will be NO Fruit Bombs on this night! We will try FOUR of our favorite Napa Valley Cabs, each from interesting, unique vineyards and then crafted by some of the most talented winemakers out of California.
2005 Selene "Napa Valley"
the artistry of superstar Mia Klein, who previously consulted for Cabernet
projects like Araujo, Viader & Dalla Valle. Selene is her own.
2005 Beau Vigne "Juliet's"
this small, family owned vineyard is 1400 feet above the Stags Leap District
& crafted by David Phinney of Orin Swift fame.
2005 Neyers "AME"
the first Reserve wine produced from a hillside in the organically farmed estate vineyard of Barbara & Bruce Neyers.
If you know these two they would never do something half hearted.
2005 Forman "Napa Valley"
another superb Cab from superstar Ric Forman....
& the very first using the fruit from his dynamited, upper, ultra-rocky parcel
There you have it, four sensational wines, two ounces each $42 a person (not including tax or gratuity).
By Reservations only….533-4476 or email Sade…. svillatora@dkrestaurants.com
“Ulupalakua Ranch Spring Lamb” Wednesday August 11th
Hana Hou. VINO Chef Keith Endo is bringing in another whole Spring lamb from Maui’s Ulupalakua Ranch & will create ALL NEW specials on this night to pair up with Cabernet Sauvignon based red wines. Regulars know it will be good.
“Fresh Dungeness Crab @ VINO” Saturday, August 14th
Last Summer we took VINO Chef Keith Endo to work with some friends in San Francisco. I would say that is where & how he took a real liken to Dungeness crab. Mark your calendars, as Keith will unveil some of Dungeness Crab Specials on this night….& we will of course have some suitable wines to have with it. We will advise the menu & wines shortly.
Wine Tasting—“MACHO REDS” Thursday, August 19th 6:00
VINO friend Bruce Liebert always comes to our VINO wine tastings and cordially sips through all of the elegant, suave, delicious wines….or the tasty, food friendly gulpable wines….and even all of the pretty, delicate, feminine styled wines…..even though BIG & dramatic is what he loves. So earlier this year, we did a couple of BIG Red winetastings, in honor of “BIG Red”—our man Bruce. It was a blast!!!! Bruce has been traveling quite a bit this Summer and now he is back. So on this night, we gear up to do another tasting geared for Bruce and all of the others who have been waiting patiently for impact wines. This time we will be focusing on masculine, MACHO red wines (which can be VERY different from BIG wines), as we will hopefully see through these wines.
Here is the line-up…
2006 WHITCRAFT Syrah “Clover Vineyard”
a BLACK, savage Syrah, which is still seamless, well textured & remarkably UN-heavy
2004 RENATO RATTI Barolo “Marcenasco”
this legendary Barolo estate is simply “on fire” right now, producing some incredible Barolo’s
2004 DOMAINE de CHEVALIER
at VINO, we do not taste Bordeaux too often. Here is a STELLAR classic!!!!! NO fruit bomb here.
2004 HIDDEN RIDGE Cabernet Sauvignon
grown on a steep, rocky, “mountain side in Sonoma, this is Monster without being over the top.
There you have it, four sensational wines, two ounces each $42 a person (not including tax or gratuity).
By Reservations only….533-4476 or email Sade…. svillatora@dkrestaurants.com
Saturday Night "Supper" @ VINO Saturday, August 21st
Saturday Night "Supper" is a new concept for us. For our guests, it offers a three course, value dinner and every one will offer new dishes. Since we will pair wine with two of the courses, it also reiterates the "wine served at the dinner table" culture. Lastly it gives Keith, our staff and of course our regular guests a chance to experience something new. Most importantly, it should be fun! The last 4 were terrific & everyone had a blast! Our next one will be on Saturday, August 21st, with seating starting at 5:30pm. We will announce the menu shortly.
Wine Tasting “Rustic Reds” Thursday, August 26th 6:00 pm
Since this is the last “Steak & Wine” Thursday of August, we chose to again do some red wines ideal for steaks, in this case rustic red wines. We are talking about standout, soulful, rustic yet UN-heavy reds for this tasting…from Italy, France & California. Besides pairing well with steaks & VINO food, we are also hoping each wine provides a real learning opportunity as well.
Here is the line-up……..
2006 Villa Creek Garnacha
as good as the fabulous 2007 was at a tasting we did earlier this year, we think this ’06 is even better!
A delicious 100% Grenache from the limestone hillsides of Paso Robles.
2007 Drew Syrah “Valenti Vineyard”
perched on a breathtaking vineyard overlooking the Anderson Valley, this is a very elegant, suave, lovely
contemporary Syrah crafted by star winemaker Jason Drew.
2005 Domaine la Roquete Chateauneuf-du-Pape
The Brunier brothers of Domaine Vieux Telegraphe also own & produce this Domaine’s wines as well.
45 year old vines & their winemaking is a hard to beat combination
2005 Renato Ratti Barolo “Marcenasco”
wasn’t this #7 or #8 on the Wine Spectator’s TOP 100 last year?
2005 Domaine Grange des Peres
one of France’s truly GREAT red wines
There you have it, five sensational wines, two ounces each $42 a person (not including tax or gratuity).
By Reservations only….533-4476 or email Sade…. svillatora@dkrestaurants.com
Wine Tasting—“Mediterranean Reds” September 1st 6:00 pm
One of our wine goals with VINO has been to show people that different kinds of foods pair up with different kinds of foods. Therefore, eventhough Hiroshi’s & VINO are physically side by side, because the food programs are VERY different, then the wine programs should also be VERY different. As VINO regulars well know we spend a lot of time and effort to source wines which are more apropos with the Mediterranean inspired foods of VINO whether they are from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal or California. (Yes, there are some very good Mediterranean inspired wines now being grown & produced in California. Geographically they may not be Mediterranean, but they certainly can be philosophically). We would like to take this opportunity to taste FOUR very awesome examples of what we mean.
Here is the line-up.
2002 Clendenen Nebbiolo (California)
One of the two best Cal-Ital reds produced in California today. Crafted by Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat,
who has been making Nebbiolo for a long, long time….& this is his finest effort to date.
2004 Boscarelli Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (Italy)
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was one of the first six DOCG wines of Italy. That is saying a lot when one
considers Barolo, Barbaresco & Brunello di Montalcino were three of the others. The benchmark producer for
me has always been Boscarelli, who was certainly one of the vanguard, whose wines were good enough
to elevate this appellation on par with Italy’s best.
2006 Valsacro Rioja “Crianza” (Spain)
Growing up in this industry, Rioja was one of those highly regarded red wines of the world which
never really impressed me. I had many which I thought were really good, but was never really wowed.
Along with two other Bodegas, the contemporary stylings of Valsacro convinced me otherwise. The combination of limestone based soils and their old plantings (some a 100 years old) says something.
2002 Domaine Tempier Bandol “Cabassaou (France)
Domaine Tempier is definitely royalty…..& Cabassaou is their TOP cuvee. It took us many years to finally
get some of this old vine, Mourvedre cuvee. Here is one 8 years old.
There you have it, four sensational wines, two ounces each. $39 a person (not including tax or gratuity).
By Reservations only….533-4476 or email Sade…. svillatora@dkrestaurants.com
King Crab Night @ Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas
Friday, September 3 & Saturday, September 4
Without a doubt Alaskan King Crab is one of the world’s most sought after delicacies. Not only does it have incredible, nearly indescribable taste, richness & sweet savoriness, but it certainly also has “one of kind” texture as well. On these two nights, James Beard nominee, Chef Hiroshi Fukui will prepare King Crab his way as only he can. Regulars who came in the past will attest what a treat this is.
Tomalley King Crab
with lobster tomalley battered tempura with cioppino sauce & fresh Italian parsley
Steamed Plain & Simple
with lemon wedge & drawn butter
King Crab Stew
with Manila clams, calamari with orzo & saffron clam broth
Butter Poached King Crab
with Ho Farm’s long beans, Big Island heart of palm, red jalapeno on squid ink pasta
½ pound $14.95
1 pound $29.50
This special will be offered (while supplies last) in addition to Hiroshi’s regular menu.
“Locally Grown” Menu… @ Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas
Chef Hiroshi Fukui will feature a new “locally grown” four course menu each month on SUNDAYS & MONDAYS ONLY.
$35 per person (not including tax & gratuity)
For August…
First Course
Brie Cheese Torched Maui Cattle Meat Loaf
truffled macaroni salad & ginger carrot puree
Second Course
Crispy Kauai Shrimp Tofu Salad
Mrs. Cheng’s tofu, kaiware sprouts, tsukemono, ginger & garlic chips with sesame soy vinaigrette
Main Course
XO Sauce Steamed Moi Fillet
cilantro, ginger, sizzlin’ peanut oil with soy broth & white truffle oil, steamed white rice
Sweet Course
“POG” Macadamia Nut Cheese Cake
orange lilikoi juice, guava foam & dulce de leche ice cream
Call now for reservations and be sure to mention that you are having
the Locally Grown Menu to ensure we don’t run out!
Reservations--533-4476 or email Sade…. svillatora@dkrestaurants.com
HAPPY HOUR IN VINO & HIROSHI EURASION TAPAS "at the bar seats only"
We are offering a 50% discount on food for those sitting at the VINO bar and Hiroshi bar from 5:30 to 6:30 pm on a first come first served basis. All orders must be in by 6:30 pm. (Vino food is only available when Vino is open for regular business) It is a great opportunity to have a bite to eat instead of fighting the traffic.
Now on to Wines...
Why do we change the wines by the glass so often? The answer is to try and experience the WORLD of wines.
If we change two wines a week, that means 104 new wines to try for the year. That is the fun part of it all, isn’t it?
2003 AU BON CLIMAT Hildegard NEW By The Glass
Hildegard is a sleek, highly refined, classy blend of pinot blanc, pinot gris and aligoté originally produced as a tribute to the thought that white Burgundies of old most likely included pinot mutations like blanc, gris and beurot. The 2003 has truly superb harmony and sophistication, but also still has the lively minerality and cool-climate acidity to keep the palate fresh and alive between sips. When Clendenen was last here we tasted and were absolutely mesmerized by this very wine……here is the final encore!!!!!!!!
2005 DOMAINE LA ROQUETE Chateauneuf-du-Pape NEW By The Glass
This estate was purchased by the Brunier family (of Vieux Telegraphe fame) in 1986 and is overseen by brothers Frederic & Daniel Brunier. This dynamic duo has proven how masterful they are both in the vineyards as well as in the winery. THAT is why we bought this wine and are offering it by the glass in VINO.
The Wine Doctor wrote the following:
”The grand vin here is the red Domaine la Roquète, sourced from 32 hectares of vines, half of which are on the Plateau du Pielong, a further 30% are comprised of a number of hillside plots dotted around the appellation, and 20% in the Pignan district, northeast of the town of Châteauneuf itself. The soils obviously vary across the three main sites, although they are largely characterised by sand and stones, sometimes the thick, heavy galets roules, the large rounded stones which originated in the Alps to the east, and which were transported on floodwaters from the hills across lower lands in Châteauneuf, and across southern France”.