Volcano Winery is one of three commercial wineries in the U.S. state of Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, and the first winery founded on the Big Island of Hawaii in the town of Volcano, Hawaii

Volcano, Hawai'i

Volcano is a census-designated place in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States located in the District of Puna with a small portion of the CDP in the District of Kaū. The population was 2,231 at the 2000 census. The population increased by 15.4% to 2,575 at the 2010 census...

, near the summit of the active shield volcano

Shield volcano

A shield volcano is a type of volcano usually built almost entirely of fluid lava flows. They are named for their large size and low profile, resembling a warrior's shield. This is caused by the highly fluid lava they erupt, which travels farther than lava erupted from more explosive volcanoes...

 Kīlauea

Kilauea

Kīlauea is a volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, and one of five shield volcanoes that together form the island of Hawaii. Kīlauea means "spewing" or "much spreading" in the Hawaiian language, referring to its frequent outpouring of lava. The Puu Ōō cone has been continuously erupting in the eastern...

. It is the southernmost winery in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The winery is located on a fault line

Fault line

In geology, fault line refers to the surface trace of a fault.Fault line, Fault Line, or faultline may also refer to:* "Faultline", a song from the 2008 studio album Versus by The Haunted...

 that runs near Mauna Loa

Mauna Loa

Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, and the largest on Earth in terms of volume and area covered. It is an active shield volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately , although its peak is about lower than that...

.

History

Volcano Winery was founded in 1986 by retired veterinarian Lynn “Doc” McKinney. The winery was sold in 1999 to Del Bothof, and the Bothof family still owns and runs the winery. The winery receives over 40,000 visitors a year.

Wines

Volcano winery makes several wines from the Symphony grape as well as fruit wine

Fruit wine

Fruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of base ingredients ; they may also have additional flavours taken from fruits, flowers, and herbs. This definition is sometimes broadened to include any fermented alcoholic beverage except beer...

s from and jaboticaba berries and guava

Guava

Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...

 fruit. The Symphony Mele wine won the gold medal at the 2004 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition in the Finger Lakes

Finger Lakes

The Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...

region, scoring higher than 3000 other wines in the competition.