I remember when Formaggio opened on Oahu a number of years years ago. The decor was a bit odd. The location strange -- in a downmarket strip mall. But thanks to the inspired wine selections of local vino maestro Lyle Fujioka and a highly competent kitchen, Formaggio hit a wonderful chord. Honolulu actually had no wine bars at that time. Alas, Lyle stepped away from the helm several years ago (the wineshop bearing his name next door continues on as a stellar bottle destino). And now it seems Honolulu can't support a winebar with a wide, eclectic selection of bottles. A recent visit reveals a watered down list full of supermarket favorites (why would I go to a wine bar to drink a mass-market bottle like St. Exupery?) Italian wines, once a mainstay, were almost non-existent. And a glass of basic Graham's tawny port cost as much as an entire bottle of the stuff, an over-the-top price inflation.

It was enough to make one want to flee to Du Vin, a more recent wine bar entry with better food, fabulous brasseriesque ambiance, and a downtown location in the hopping Chinatown bar district. My first visit there, with a local food critic, was a lot of fun. The food was quite good. The wine list was fun, long and strong. Pricey, sure. But plenty to pick from. In a return visit it seemed the list had been pared back and loaded up with more recognizable Safeway-friendly names. The food is still really good -- no surprise, as this place is under the close watch of Indigo's steady-as-she-goes tocquemaster Glenn Chu. But the wines, the wines, what happened to the wines? Call me a wine snob. Call me an elitist. And true, Chuck Furuya seems to be doing just fine with his iteration of an Italian 'inoteca, Vino. But two watered down wine bars don't bode well.

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—Alex, 03/28/07