Lava Tubes and Cork Trees: Inside Volcano Winery

Welcome to The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast. I’m your host Forrest Kelly from the seed to the glass wine has a past. Our aim at The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast is to look for adventure at wineries around the globe. After all, grape minds think alike. Let’s start the adventure. Let’s start the adventure. Our featured winery in this episode.

We find out America’s Southern Most Winery. Do you have a guess? Let me give you a hint. Aloha. Oh, you guessed it’s Volcano Hawaii is where we venture to.

My name’s Kendall. And I’m the assistant manager and my associate here at Volcano Winery. Well, hello, Kendall. When you first come into the parking lot, and you look at the winery, what are we looking at?

Yeah. So when you first take a glance at Volcano Winery, the first thing that’ll definitely jump out to you is that we grow grapes here. We have rows of grapevines, Japanese tea plants, olive trees, and a one of a kind Hawaiian grown cork tree.

Now, what is also a cork tree?

So it’s a cork tree, but it’s harvested. You harvest cork from it. So the outer layer of the tree is how you harvest the cork. And it regenerates every seven years.

And that’s what you used to cork up the wine, as you know, cork says, what we up in that bottle. They keep it nice and sealed up. We also have a small tasting room. And in addition to that, we offer a free vineyard and production room tours in the backdrop. You’ll see Mauna Loa volcano on the left and Monacan volcano on the right. And then we’re heavily forested up in this area.

We have tons of native forests and lava tubes on the property here. Lava tube? What is that?

The volcano system on this island. They are not the explosive volcano that you would expect to see. They’re called shield volcanoes. And so, a shield volcano, instead of exploding out, it houses the lava in a big crater. And then when it goes to release the lava, it shoots it out, kind of like a plumbing system. It shoots it through all the lava tubes which are under our feet.

So you’re just outside of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. I imagine you get a lot of traffic coming from the park.

Yeah. So we’re about two miles from the national park entrance. So a lot of the time, we have customers that are hiking during the day, and then they come to check us out for an afternoon tasting or kind of the opposite. People come in first thing in the morning and do a little tasting so that they can go hiking with a little by little wine.

Right. It’s sort of that mountain. That volcano doesn’t look so big when they’re taking it.

Yeah. In reality, those are the two biggest mountains in the world. If we measure them from under the ocean to the tippy, tippy top of those mountains, taller than Mt. Everest. Yeah. Wow. So I was reading on the Web site where you’re very passionate about sustainability. So I imagine over the years, you’ve had to do some experimenting to make that happen.

We’ve experimented with a lot of different great varietals here, and we’ve narrowed it down to four varietals that work well for our microclimate here in the volcano. And those would include a great cold symphony, and symphony is a hybrid. UC Davis, California, actually created this grape in the 40s by doing a cross of the Mascotte grapes and the Grenache grape. So it’s kind of a cedar white grape. And we tried to blend it through a lot of our wine since it’s the main grapes that we’re producing here. We also do a grape called Cayuse Awaits. And that was created at Cornell University for the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. So that grows really well here. And then for red wine to do a Pinot Noir and Syrah, those two grapes do well here. We can produce well-rounded wines that really embody what you would imagine wine tasting like from Hawaii. They’re fruity, they’re light, they’re juicy, and a little bit on the cedar side. But yeah, that’s kind of what you expect coming from a Hawaiian wine.

That is it for part one in our next episode as we continue speaking with Kendall of Volcano Winery. We learn about their sustainability goals and their fundraising.

It is time now for a Listener Voicemail Question.

Hi, this is Peggy from Long Beach, California. What is the standard tasting poor when we go to a wine tasting? Thank you. Good question, Peggy. Doing my informal poll and speaking with different wineries, it varies. Some wineries pour one ounce, others two to three. Obviously, it’s at the discretion of the winery. But remember, they love it when you buy their wine. So they. Let’s just sample. Keep in mind, if you’re planning on buying. Don’t hesitate to ask for another sample.

Sure. Thank you for listening. I’m Forrest Kelly. This episode of the Best Five Minute Wine podcast was produced by his IHSYM. If you like the show, tell your friends and pets and subscribe until next time, pour the wine, and ponder your next adventure.

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Unveiling the enchanting world of wine in Volcano, Hawaii, the latest episode of the best five minute wine podcast takes listeners on a delightful journey to America's southernmost winery. Host Forest Kelly, with his engaging style, invites listeners to explore the unique offerings of Volcano Winery, where sustainability meets innovation. The episode features an enlightening conversation with Kendall, the assistant manager, who shares insights about the winery's breathtaking scenery, including the majestic Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea volcanoes that frame the vineyard. Listeners are treated to a vivid description of the landscape, which is rich in native flora and includes a one-of-a-kind Hawaiian cork tree. This episode not only highlights the beauty of the winery but also emphasizes the importance of sustainability in wine production, showcasing their commitment to experimenting with grape varietals suited for the unique microclimate of Volcano.

The discussion dives into the fascinating grape varieties cultivated at the winery, such as Symphony—a hybrid grape designed to thrive in Hawaii’s climate—alongside Cayuga White, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. Each varietal contributes to the winery's distinctive flavor profile, producing wines that are notably fruity, light, and slightly sweet, embodying the essence of Hawaiian viticulture. The conversation between Forest and Kendall is laced with humor and wit, making complex topics such as sustainable farming practices and grape hybridization accessible and enjoyable for listeners. Throughout the episode, the chemistry between the host and guest shines, creating an inviting atmosphere that encourages wine enthusiasts to consider their next adventure in tasting Hawaiian wines.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Volcano Winery
• UC Davis
• Cornell University