Beginning in 1997, and continuing on until 2011, we underwent a notable replanting of the vineyard beginning with Syrah and leading to Malbec, Grenache, Viognier, Gewürztraminer, and Chenin Blanc.

In line with the estate’s history with the Makee Family and their celebrated Rose Ranch, the tasting room was moved to the historic King’s Cottage in 1996, and the winery grounds expanded to include more production areas. This former guesthouse for Hawaiian royalty offered more space for wine tastings while showcasing the rich heritage of […]

While the 23-acre vineyard was maturing, an experimental sparkling pineapple wine was developed from the famed and plentiful pineapples grown in Upcountry. This project was actually not intended for sale. Rather it was used to practice and set up for the sparkling production once the vineyard reached maturity. This now famously unique wine does a […]

Our first pineapple wine – Maui Blanc – debuted in 1977, and the public response was so positive that our winemakers continued to explore the vision of producing wine from this beloved Maui fruit. Dimitri Tchelistcheff, a world-class winemaker and renowned international consultant in the fields of enology and viticulture, was brought in to fine […]

A huge storm hit Maui in 1980 wiping out what was supposed to be the first harvest in 1980. Subsequently, the first harvest of Carnelian grapes came in 1981. In early September 1981, 22 tons of Carnelian were picked. Tchelistcheff had advised the partners to bypass their original goal of a red wine and instead […]

From 1981 to 1984, the harvested grape tonnage was solely used to produce Traditional Methode sparkling wine, Maui Brut Blanc de Noir. Years of labor and development went into producing this exclusive sparkling grape wine, made from grapes grown in one of the most unique vineyards of the world, here on Maui’s largest volcano.

On Friday September 21, 1984 the christening of the Neighbor Islands container barge Haleakala (“House of the Sun”) in New Iberia, Louisiana. A bottle of Maui Brut Blanc de Noir was smashed against the stern railing of the barge by Mrs. Wasacz, wife of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.’s senior executive vice president.

Our first vineyard release occurred in 1984 with the Maui Brut Blanc de Noirs. This was Hawai’i’s first estate sparkling wine. Nearly 2,000 cases were produced, which sold out rapidly.

Maui Brut gained fame when it was served at President Ronald Reagan’s inauguration ceremony in 1981. This enormously unique and energetic wine represented the islands of Hawai’i at the President’s celebration and exposed the world to our vineyard and winery in Maui.

The fragrant and tropical Maui Splash was released in 1992. Originally, only a few gallons of Splash were being made each month for a single restaurant. The wine was intentionally left sweeter in style and then was being used like more of a wine cooler. As we produced more, we began serving it in the […]

The Hula o Maui, a pineapple sparkling wine produced using the Traditional Methode, was released in 1994. Having been just an experiment in the first years of the winery’s inception, it was considered a crazy thought to produce a pineapple sparkling wine, much less to do so using the Traditional Methode Champenoise. As a sort […]

What quickly became the premier agriculture event in Hawai’i began in 1995, and was simply called “The Ulupalakua Thing.” Its purpose was to celebrate Maui’s agricultural community and to facilitate partnerships between local farmers and our island’s many talented chefs, which has a large focus today in the farm-to-table movement. The event became enormously popular […]

On September 16, 1879, Captain James Makee died at the age of 67. His body was covered in Kentucky whiskey and placed in a lead coffin. The coffin was laid to rest in the mausoleum below the sugar mill that he had built when he first moved to Rose Ranch. His body remained there until […]

In 1878, a severe eight-month drought dried out the newly planted fields, and from then on the sugar cane acreage declined steadily year by year until March 1883, when the last crop was ground in the mill.

As the story goes, a poker game was in session in which the king had played his last chip. The card table was on the open porch, which offered a great view of the ocean below and the moon lit outline of the island of Molokini. King Kalākaua called for another hand. “I will bet […]

The last sugar crop was ground in the old mill in March 1883. Cattle were then allowed to graze on the fields of standing sugar cane, and ‘Ulupalakua then became solely a cattle ranch.