Last month, we held our third annual Girl Scout Cookie wine tasting, and it was great. So what can top a Girl Scout Cookie wine tasting? How about a Honolulu Cookie Company wine tasting?!?
We took on this fun challenge just the other day. My friend and social media guru Lee Lonitz of Design forSite brought from Hawaii a beautiful box of shortbread cookies from Honolulu Cookie Company. He also brought a bottle of Volcano Red wine from Volcano Winery on the Big Island. Last but certainly not least, he brought milk chocolate macadamia nuts and dry roasted macadamia nuts. Woo hoo!
We happily got to work. We tried eight incredible shortbread cookies with a Chardonnay, a Merlot and the Volcano Red.
Here’s what we found:
| Type of Shortbread | Best Wine Pairing |
| Papaya | Chardonnay |
| White chocolate | Better on its own |
| Plain | Chardonnay |
| Coconut | Better on its own |
| Pineapple | Chardonnay |
| Kona Coffee | Better on its own |
| Guava | Better on its own |
| Chocolate-dipped chocolate macadamia | Merlot and Volcano Red |
On average, the lighter cookies paired better with white wine, while the heavier cookies paired better with red wine. Our favorites pairings were the pineapple cookie with Chardonnay and the chocolate-dipped chocolate macadamia cookie with the Merlot and the Volcano Red.
The three sweetest cookies (white chocolate, coconut and guava) tasted a little too sweet with Chardonnay. The kona coffee cookie tasted a bit too earthy with the red wines.
We also tried the three wines with the macadamia nuts. The results: The milk chocolate macadamia nuts tasted great on their own but tasted unpleasantly acidic with the red wine. The dry roasted macadamia nuts tasted great with both red wines but especially with the Volcano Red.
A little about the Volcano Red from the Big Island. It’s 85% grape juice and 15% jaboticaba berry juice. Believe it or not, it smelled like a volcano. Not that I’ve ever smelled a volcano before, but this wine had distinctly volcanic, earthy nose. The most pronounced flavor was black cherry.
Here is how Volcano Winery describes the wine: “The Hawaiians have long honored Pele, fiery goddess of the volcano. Known for her tempestuous, passionate spirit we have created a wine in her honor and call it simply Volcano Red, or Pele’s Delight. Blended with exotic island jaboticaba berries, it boasts ripe black cherry and cranberry notes; then ends with a light-bodied, fruity finish to cool her smoldering heart. Imagine what it will do to yours.”
Isn’t that lovely?
So now you have your choice of two cookie wine tastings – Girl Scout Cookies or Honolulu Cookie Company cookies. Enjoy!
As an independent wine consultant with WineShop At Home, I absolutely enjoy bringing a taste of the Napa wine country home to you one sip at a time. Whether you simply love to drink wine, seek a special personalized wine gift, or are in search of a new wine jobs opportunity as a wine consultant, feel free to contact me for a truly unique wine tasting experience!
Cheers,
Betty Kaufman, WineShop At Home
4 comments
Yummy Betty! I had a chance to visit the Maui Winery that has a delightful pineapple wine. The volcano red sounds fascinating. I enjoyed a Pinot last year in Napa that had a very pleasant volcanic ash flavor. It’s one of my favorites. Thanks for sharring!
Thanks for your comments, Nelson! I had a pineapple sparkling wine in Maui that was really yummy too. I love trying “local” wines and really trying to experience the local terroir.
Since you are the wine expert, what do you think would pair well with coconut?
Hi Caroline! I think a Muscat or a Sparkling would be great.