Pineapple Wine Popular in Islands : Maui Blanc: California Born but Hawaii Bred

Hawaii’s only commercial winery has its roots in California.

It is owned and operated by Emil Tedeschi, 44, a transplanted third-generation Napa Valley vintner, and Pardee Erdman, 53, a rancher-geologist who grew up in Pasadena.

When they launched their winery in 1976 at this tiny Maui town (pronounced U-lu-pa-la-kua ) , they had no grapes. So, until they could come up with a variety suited to the red volcanic soil 2,000 feet up the western slope of Haleakala Crater, they used a local product for their first issue. What else but pineapples?

For eight years, Tedeschi Vineyard & Winery has produced and bottled Maui Blanc, Hawaiian pineapple wine, a surprisingly popular dinner wine at many of Hawaii’s better restaurants and hotels.

It was meant to be only an interim wine until the grapes came along. But from the initial 2,000 cases that were produced in 1977, pineapple wine production has grown to 10,000 cases sold last year at $6 to $9 a bottle.

“It will be no interim wine,” said Tedeschi, a wine maker in Calistoga, Calif., before moving to Hawaii. “Because of its popularity, Maui Blanc will always be one of our standard lines.”

After experimenting for several years with 120 varieties of grapes from all over the world, Tedeschi, Erdman and Dimitri Tchelistcheff--a well-known California enologist and consultant at the Maui winery--decided to plant 22 acres in Carnelian grapes, which are a hybrid of Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Carignane grapes developed by UC Davis’ School of Enology.

In December, 1983, the winery introduced Blanc de Noirs, a quality champagne made from the Maui Carnelian grapes and the first commercial sparkling wine ever produced in Hawaii.

Last year, 1,700 cases of Erdman-Tedeschi Blanc de Noirs were released and sold, 90% in Hawaii and the rest in California. The champagne sells in Hawaii for about $17 to as high as $26 in some of the resort hotels’ gift shops.

Tedeschi’s winery, vineyards and tasting room are located on Erdman’s 135-year-old Ulupalakua Ranch, an hour’s drive up a narrow, winding mountain road from Kahului, the nearest town of any size. Erdman bought the 30,000-acre ranch in 1963 and raises cattle and sheep. He had run through a variety of other crops, from avocados to coffee, looking for a way to diversify.

“Then I met Emil Tedeschi, who was looking for a place in Hawaii to grow grapes and produce wine,” he said. “We became partners in the winery.”

The two men have invested $287,000 of their own money in the project, borrowed $211,000 from the bank and $75,000 from the state. Sales last year, Erdman said, were in excess of $400,000.