Wine Shops in Maui

I will be honeymooning in Maui in September and am wondering if there are any decent/good/acceptable wine shops on the island? I would prefer to not bring or ship wine on the trip, but if there are no good shops, I might have to. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

There are undoubtedly more around the island, but I visited 2 during a trip last month to the Wailea area of the island. Our needs were met at Stuey’s and Wailea Wines. They are in different malls but not that far from each other. Stuey’s also had a nice selection of cheeses and crackers which came in handy, packing plasticware, napkins, etc. for us. I had brought along several cooler bags from stateside as it gets hot in Maui.
Also, the ubiquitous ABC stores on all the islands maintain a good selection of standard, grocery store wines at reasonable prices ( for HI). Best wishes for your upcoming honeymoon!

Hi Jon, if you plan to buy wine and bring it to the restaurant, you bettet call the restaurant first. Many do not allow corkage.
However, some restaurant have a very good wine list with great pricing too.

Good advice. Up until very recently BYOB was not allowed at all on Maui. Regulations have varied by island/county in Hawai’i - for example, you have long been able to bring your own wine to a restaurant on O’ahu. Some very good restaurants on Maui, such as Hali’imaile General Store, were still not open to BYOB as of last summer, but I don’t know whether that may have changed by now. This article has more info on that: BYOB survives, despite petition

Does Long’s near the airport still have a nice wine selection since CVS bought it? Also, Costco near the airport always had some selections

There is the Costco near the airport. I never have much luck with Costco wines but they do have a large selection. Picked up a bottle of One Time Spaceman Moon Duck at Lahaina Foodland Farms and that was a big hit. The general store at Kapalua has a nice selection with some higher end stuff. Maui is a great place for a honeymoon, enjoy.

The secret place for great wine on Maui is Cash and Carry located at 90 Amala Place Kahului, HI 96732. Fair prices and great selection. Wailea Wines has a premium selection at a premium price. Costco is solid just avoid the wine guy trying to up sell you (he will drive you nuts.)

There are a few BYOB places on maui the two best are Kula Bistro and the other is Cafe 808 in Kihei (not the sandwich place) located in back of Moose McGillycuddy’s. Or if you are into a nice Riesling or champagne Kojima’s Sushi bar and cafe is great! Authentic stuff not the touristy Sansei or overpriced hotel stuff.

Yes Long’s in Kahului used to have a great wine selection but it has gone down hill from last year. Long’s Kihei was also pretty solid but I have not been there in a while since I live on the windward side.

BYOB is not allowed in Maui County. On the bright side you get to enjoy lots of good wine when you are at your room or lounging around. We had no problem drinking the case we Winechecked in last year despite the no BYOB.

Brian, that had always been my experience on Maui too, but check out the article from the Maui News that I linked above. Maui restaurants were given the option of allowing BYOB last spring (maybe after you visited) and the decision was upheld last summer. But according to the article, it’s likely to be hit-and-miss as far as which restaurants allow it and which don’t, so best to check ahead.

Just my two cents’ worth, but for the cost of a one-way checked bag ($50?), you can bring a case of great wine from your own cellar, rather than spending a bunch of time and money hunting around Maui for decent options from wine shops. Just tape up a case shipper box and off you go.

+1 … although it doesn’t cost me money to check a bag… but even if it did, still the way to go.

Yup. I went to Hali’imaile General Store, and the had 08 SQN syrah for $210. Great price for a restaurant imho.

Maybe I’m a minority opinion here, but I haven’t found vacationing in Maui to really make me want good wine; we’ve generally brought a handful of muscadet or the like for by the pool…

Something about the long relaxing days, and the warmer weather makes me want to skip more serious wines…

Im in this camp as well especially should I want to take a special bottle or more that may not be available on the island, e.g. Champagne, your favorite red and/ or white wine ; take them and youll be sure to have want you want when you want it.

We spend 3+ weeks a year on Maui. That time is pretty much my annual holiday from wine.

Absolutely agree! Something about being there always puts us in the mood for cold New Zealand Sauv Blanc, which I rarely drink otherwise!

On Maui the rule is if the restaurant does not have a liquor license it can allow BYOB. If the restaurant has a liquor license it cannot allow BYOB.

Is that still true? From the Maui News article I linked above, the Maui County Liquor Control Commission started permitting restaurants with liquor licenses to allow BYOB as of March 2012.

The commission in March made it legal for restaurants with liquor licenses to charge a corkage fee to allow customers to “bring wine onto the premise for consumption with a meal.” The state’s other counties already allow the practice.

Has that policy changed again since the article came out last August?

Maui is a funny place even though their may be a law permitting something people will sometimes ignore it. So far I have noticed no difference in the policy at all. I have contacted a few folks I know in the county and will let you know what I find out.

Thanks, Tracy. I visit friends on Maui every couple of years and I know what you mean. It may be that most restaurants there just prefer to stick with their old policy of no BYOB.