A Winery and a Goat Farm: Feeling at home in Maui

If you've received the latest issue of Okanagan Woman Magazine in the mail, you know that the editor (moi) is spending a couple of months in Maui, HI this winter. Four days ago, on November 12th, my husband and I boarded a WestJet Flight from Kelowna to Vancouver, Vancouver to Maui.

We came for the sun, beaches and water sports -- doesn't everyone? But two months is a long time to be away from home in the Okanagan Valley, so while we explore the island, looking for new adventures, we’re also looking for places that connect us to home.





Hula Circle at Tedeschi Winery, Upcountry Maui
 



And where better than Maui’s only winery?  Ok, truth is, I’m using a bit of creative licence here.  We had not intended to visit the winery today. We were aiming for the Surfing Goat Dairy Farm (because we live on a little goat farm in Armstrong) but we got lost and realized we were on the road to the winery, so … what the heck? The plan had been to visit the winery a little later in our stay, when we are expecting friends from Lake Country to join us for a few days.  But there are no rules that say we can’t visit the winery twice, and since we were half way there … need I say more?

The Tedeschi Winery is located upcountry at Ulupalakua Ranch.  The drive up the mountain has plenty of switchbacks (slower and windier than Westside Road) and offers spectacular scenery and photo ops.  The wine tasting shop is quaint, but it’s not a winery tour like you might be used to in the Okanagan.  You don’t get to visit the vineyard or the wine cellars, but the grounds are lovely and the pineapple wine was intriquing.

We still wanted to find the goat dairy, so we cut our visit to the winery short, knowing we would be back in a few weeks. We backtracked, stopping briefly for a quick stroll through Sun Yat Sen Park, which has several memorial monuments and plenty of large Agave plants that have been engraved with the initials from its many visitors. 

 
We made it to the Surfing Dairy Goat Farm in time for the last tour and tasting of the day.  So, with a unique blend of goat cheese called 'Canada' (honey, cranberry & cinnamon) and  a bottle of Maui Blanc Semi Dry Pineapple wine in hand (OK, not really in hand, because I'm pretty sure that's against the law ... but in the cooler located in the trunk of our rental car) we drove back down the mountain, having found an Okanagan connection here in Maui.