By Misty I.

Are you a winosaur? Haha…I’ll let you define what that is. A few weeks ago, my husband and I attended a wine tasting at Jackie Rey’s with two other couples. The six of us ended up having a pretty fantastic evening. I never have that much fun in Hilo on a Sunday night!

When I initially pitched the idea of attending the wine tasting to my husband, he was apprehensive. Ugh, his “I don’t like wine” response was soooo predictable. I quickly countered with “if you don’t like the wine you can order beer and I’ll drink your wine!” Win. Win. Wink. Wink.

The tasting started early since it was a Sunday. We were greeted by the friendly hostess and escorted to our table that had been beautifully set. The Kaikodo Building (formerly known as the Hilo Masonic Lodge Hall) was built in 1908 and is such a class act. The picture below looks like it was taken in the 1980’s, thankfully the building still hasn’t changed much.

Within a few minutes, Sommelier Holly introduced herself and our taste buds perked up as we were introduced to the selections from Southern Wine and Spirits.

We tasted reds that evening, all of which I had not experienced prior. To my dismay, my husband drank most of his wine. Shucks!

Sommelier Holly was very down-to-earth and I enjoyed learning about the wines. I especially loved her descriptions and food suggestions.

We ordered a few appetizers to nosh on as we discovered each of the offerings. We decided on…

Edamame dressed with sesame oil, furikake and sweet chili

Warm Rosemary Bread which I’m almost certain is of the La Brea variety.

Kalua Pork Spring Rolls were my favorite appetizer of the evening.

The great thing about the tasting was the entire menu was available including dinner and dessert. If you are more of a sakesaur you are in luck! Kadota Liquor is teaming up with Jackie Rey’s for a Sake Pairing Night this Thursday, November 30 at 6:00 p.m. Only in Hilo!