QUICK BITES
New Honolulu spot for food and wine

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

The shop tucked into an old plantation-era house may be painted tangerine and turquoise outside, but inside it's a tasteful — and tasty — place.

The Wine Stop, "A Beer and Beverage Boutique," opened three months ago at N. King and Hauoli streets. Around the walls are wines labeled with shelf talkers that include helpful tasting notes and suitable food matches. In refrigerated cases are imported beers and a few special deli items (mostly Italian meats and cheeses), and the store stocks all manner of drink-related tools and accessories.

Liane Fu and Kim Caralovich, friends and lovers of food and wine, opened the shop as a way of getting paid to learn more about wines. They hope to pursue their master sommelier certificates.

The two used to give dinner parties in which Fu would cook and Caralovich, who has more than 20 years' experience in the restaurant business, would match the dishes with wines. Their shop focuses on everyday, affordable wines that pair well with food, especially wines in the $7 to $13 range, Caralovich said — the sort you can drink without guilt on a weeknight. They are especially interested in luring women out of the grocery store and into this purposely small, friendly, unintimidating place.

The shop hosts a weekly wine-tasting from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, periodic seminars and a newsletter. A membership program offers discounts. Information: 946-3707.

Prosecco, Italy's versatile sparkler

"What's nice about it is it goes with every sort of dish — you can have it with a main course as well as a dessert," she said. Recently she had a strawberry risotto at Donato's that paired perfectly with prosecco, because — it turns out — chef Donato Laperfido had made the dish with that wine. Prosecco is the name of the grape, by the way, not the brand name; it's made near Venice by the charmat (tank-fermented) process, not methode champenoise (fermented in the bottle), and is the second-most-popular sparkling wine in Italy.

For serving in place of a cocktail, before the hors d'oeuvres come out, she recommends another inexpensive sparkler: Spanish cava, a soft, pleasing wine that stimulates the palate. Because it's so soft, it's easily overwhelmed by food — unless it's something very simple, like toasted almonds or good-quality potato chips.