2017-06-01 Liquor Commission Minutes

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value goes up." We sell wines out of California. Over fifty -percent of our sales go to Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Brazil, of all places. It's by collectors all over the world and we would like to have the rarest bottle around. Ray: And that's why he asked me to come on board to help invigorate some of the wine experience for the people, obviously, at the Four Seasons who live there on a full term basis. They were having problems getting wine and he was the key to bringing in wines that they would probably not be able to see on the island themselves. Dreimann: If some of the boutique wineries in Napa Valley sell a bottle for Harlan or Screaming Eagle; they're on allocation. If they do get an allocation, they're usually somewhere around $750 to $1,200/bottle. If there was a wholesaler in Hawaii, which currently there isn't, and you used the normal market of the Four Seasons, you'd have these bottles on the wine list for $3,500 to $4,000/bottle. Somebody who is a collector who knows and appreciates fine wine, they will pay that sort of situation. This is to enable a service to the community and to the members. Takaba: So they can special order though you? Like if they have a special wine that they want? Dreimann: On the Food and Wine Committee, I worked with the chefs and the committee and the chefs put on weekly and monthly special dinners for the members. They don't have the ability to do it as well as they would like to, simply because of the high pricing of the normal wine list. The first time this really was approached was by chefs who were frustrated that they couldn't offer quality wine with the quality food they served. On a couple of vacations, I went to my own cellar and gave it to the chefs. We made up some dinners and it was a huge success. It's a form of education as well. I get invited to talk about wine, where the wines come from and tell stories of historical things to do with many of the wineries around the world. It's fun at the same time. It's not so much about drinking; it's the experience of food and wine and the comradery of the people and getting to know them. I've been fortunate enough to know wineries around the world. We just had Bill Harlan, who is sort of a legend of wine in California, bring his family out and spent time talking about wine while we drank. Ray: There's a hierarchy of the members of Food and Beverage. My job is to take care of the members. They asked if they could come here today and as an amenity to this Board, I stopped. They asked me if they could come here today. I take care of the people who live there, most of them — a lot of them for six out of twelve months of the year. I can tell you whole-heartedly, for the membership community, this is something they have been designing and hoping for in the last thirty-six months. Takaba: Your operation in California is wholesale or retail? Dreimann: It's actually wholesale and partially retail. In California you're allowed to do sales on the web. There is an Elevation Wine Fund that sells directly to the public in JUNE 1, 2017- LIQUOR COMMISSION MINUTES 16