Vintner plants seeds of industry
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
LAWA'I, Kaua'i — Darrin DePeralta hovers over his vineyard with a special pride.
Jan TenBruggencate • The Honolulu Advertiser
His grapes have been in the family longer than he has, and they may form the basis of a new industry for Kaua'i: table grapes, raisins and wine.
Darrin DePeralta is growing Isabella variety grapes, which are said to grow well in tropical regions, from family cuttings originally brought from Madeira. He hopes to help start an industry in Kaua'i based on table grapes, raisins and wine.
The half-acre of Isabella grapevines are descendants of cuttings brought from the island of Madeira by early Portuguese immigrants. DePeralta, 42, remembers fondly the mother vine of his hundreds of plants.
"When I was 5 years old, my father had a 1957 Chevy. He had this vine (growing over a framework) as his garage. The grapes hung all around," he said.
About the time his job with McBryde Sugar Co. was ending as the plantation closed, DePeralta leased 10 acres of former sugar land and took up life as an independent farmer. He ran into California winemakers Amy Awtrey and her husband, Ray, now deceased, who had discovered that the Isabella grape is among the hardiest available for the Hawaiian climate.
The couple had moved to Kaua'i, where Amy was born, and hoped to establish a winery here.
DePeralta began raising cuttings taken from his father's garage as a source of rootstock for vineyards that the Awtreys wanted to plant. The Awtreys planned to graft to the Isabella rootstock the varieties of table and wine grapes they hope to produce.
Ray Awtrey died, but Amy is carrying on the vineyard plan with the help of family members, including her brother Joe Munechika and cousin Kenneth Yasutake.
Their Wines of Kaua'i partnership hopes to lease 450 acres of state-owned land along Waimea Canyon Drive formerly belonging to Kekaha Sugar Co. The lot runs from 1,000 feet above sea level to the 2,500-foot level.
Awtrey said the family would operate its own vineyard on 225 acres, and lease the remaining land in 10-acre parcels to other farmers. Wines of Kaua'i would agree to buy all their grapes, whether table or wine.
"We will be the only winery on Kaua'i, but we'll probably emphasize table grapes. They are so much easier to grow," she said.
The plan is to sell grapes to the Mainland and Japan when they are out of season in temperate areas, and to make raisins when the market is flush with fresh Mainland grapes.
Depending on the time required to get permits, Awtrey said the first table grapes could be on the market as early as summer 2004, and the first wines about 2007.
"We're not going to compete on the world market for fine wines. We're going to try to do something distinctive," she said.
Awtrey is in contact with Florida researchers who are breeding tropical grape hybrids. She hopes to find varieties with distinctive flavors and that grow well in tropical environments. The partnership hopes to make wines flavored by various fruits, including carambola, or starfruit. DePeralta already has some starfruit trees in the ground.
Awtrey said she hopes the Waimea Canyon Road venture will spark an interest for production of wines and table grapes elsewhere on the island.
"We hope that once this experiment evolves, other large land owners will allow people to have larger acreages for grapes," she said.
Many people think of wine as a European product. But grapes are native to the Americas.
Insects destroyed European vineyards and much of the continent's wine industry during the middle 1800s, until vineyard operators found American varieties that were resistant. Even today, many European varieties grow on rootstocks from the Americas.
The Isabella is a much-traveled variety. It is believed to be an American grape that was transported to Europe and then carried by Portuguese immigrants to Hawai'i. Some say it is a pure American variety, while others argue that it results from a cross between American and French grapes.
Later this year, Awtrey plans a visit to Madeira, home of the Isabella grape.
"I understand that they're still making an inexpensive table wine there, which they call Vino Americano. I'm excited to taste their version. The wine they're making is from the Isabella," she said.
