Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1013885
106 / the tasting panel / august 2018 BURGUND Y, FRANCE Patrick Okubo, MS, is the Fine Wine Specialist and Wine Educator for Young's Market Company. Don't let his baby face fool you: In addition to years of experience in restaurants, Patrick Okubo is a Master Sommelier and Certified Wine Educator via the Society of Wine Educators. Young's Market Company has been lucky enough to keep Okubo onboard as its Fine Wine Specialist and Wine Educator in Hawaii for the past seven years. Thankfully, the prolific somm was on hand at Kapalua to take us through one of the most complicated yet renowned regions in the world: Burgundy and, more specifically, the Côte de Beaun's Corton and Corton-Charlemagne. To showcase these limestone rich sites, Okubo poured Louis Jadot's Corton Grand Cru and Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot Corton- Charlemagne Grand Cru. A prestigious négociant founded in 1859, Louis Jadot holds an impressive acreage of Grand Cru and premier cru vineyards. The Louis Jadot wines presented were so special that Okubo had a bit of trouble track- TOKAJ, HUNGAR Y "Coming to Maui was on my bucket list," Eniko " Magyar, Project Director for Wines of Excellence, said as she introduced the Hungarian Tokaj region, "but I never imagined it'd be for this reason." Magyar may have been joking she was there for work, not pleasure, but there is truth in comedy: It seems Magyar never stops working, which must be part of the reason the domestic market is seeing more of a Hungarian wine presence than ever before. Magyar and Attila Balla, President of importer and brand builder Vinum Tokaj International, are almost singlehandedly respon- sible for introducing Hungarian wines—particularly dry Furmint—to North American palates. Magyar would be the first to admit, however, that the producers they represent have made their jobs easier. In the Tokaj region of Hungary, a small but dedicated number of trade members have been working tirelessly the past several years to boost the international prestige of dry white wines, as well as the country's famous sweet wines. When Magyar shared the first Tokaji wine, the MÁD 2015 Tokaj Furmint Dry White, during the seminar, the audience was struck by its apparent minerality—bordering on salinity—balanced by creamy stone fruit, a result of Tokaj's volcanic soils. At the end of her presentation, Magyar also shared the Patricius 2006 Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos, a dense wine bursting with ripe apricots. "Our natural sweet wines— meant to bring an element of surprise and uniqueness to all wine lists—walk the balance between sweetness and acidity like no other wine," Magyar said proudly. "We consider them treasures that reflect the inimi- table presence of nature, the special climate and microclimate conditions, and the centuries- long tradition of viniculture and winemaking in Tokaj." The sold-out "Digging into Unique Terroir" seminar at the 2018 Kapalua Wine & Food Festival. Eniko " Magyar, Project Director for Wines of Excellence. The brand builders of Hungarian wines in the U.S. market: Eniko " Magyar and Attila Balla, President of Vinum Tokaj International.