Vineyards and Winemakers

Savor Minnesota

Maynard James Keenan on recruiting Dave Matthews fans and getting the Scissor Sisters drunk

Tool and Puscifer both to perform at River's Edge Festival

Cannon River Winery hosts Meet the Winemaker

​This summery spring has the open road calling. What better way to celebrate the warm breeze than spending the day at a not-too-far-away winery? On Saturday, April 7, Cannon River Winery in downtown Cannon Falls will be hosting its annual Meet the Winemaker event. The winery, which is less than an ... More >>

Top 5 books for wine lovers

​Wine can be an intimidating subject for many people. With so many wines, varietals, vintages, and regions, it can be hard to know where to start. What's the difference between chenin blanc and sauvignon blanc? Why are American wines categorized by grape variety and French wines by region? Was 200 ... More >>

Great River Road Wine Trail hosts local food and wine weekend

Mark your calendar for a weekend getaway.​Looking for a weekend getaway idea? The Great River Road Wine Trail is hosting a three-day Local Foods-Local Wine Weekend on June 3-5, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily. The Great River Road Wine Trail consists of 10 wineries near the Mississippi River ... More >>

Pizza Nea appreciates Surly this Week in Food

Venture out this Valentine's Day.Cupid has hit the Twin Cities. Explore Valentine's, viticulture, and vegetable gardens this Week in Food. Monday 2/14 Appeal to Cupid's culinary senses this Valentine's Day with myriad dining options. Wednesday 2/16 The Surly Appreciation Party keeps on kickin' ... More >>

Great River Road Wine Trail Holiday Food & Wine Festival

Great River Road Wine TrailWine...with a view.​Book a holiday flight for just $20--a wine flight, that is, sampled via vintners along The Great River Road Wine Trail at this weekend's Holiday Food & Wine Festival. The Great River Road Wine Trail is made up 10 wineries located near the Mississ ... More >>

The best free wine tasting of the year

Haskell's DowntownHaskell's Downtown Minneapolis: Try before you buy​Everyone who drinks wine has been to, or at least noticed, an in-store wine tasting, whether it's a winemaker in town or a distributor pouring six of their value wines. Well, a big in-store tasting tomorrow (Saturday, October ... More >>

Affordable wines made for grilled food

Nothing like a steak off the grill​Most people who drink wine are not going to pop open a 2000 Chateau Montrose St.-Estephe, a 1998 Fox Creek McClaren Vale, or a 2005 Dr. Loosen Erdener Treppchen for their casual grilling event with friends. If you do pop these open, make sure I am invited. Fo ... More >>

A great wine club for free

Mike ThomasThomas Liquors Wine Education series​There are several wine clubs in the Twin Cities, though many are more focused on socializing than on pouring wines with any character or providing educational instruction. But one very good wine club is offering you a chance to learn about South ... More >>

The most important concept in great wine: the winemaker

Mark VlossakMark Vlossak of St. Innocent Winery​Of the five most important facets of wine--terroir, vintage, appellation, wine producer, and winemaker--the last is arguably both the most and least important. The winemaker is the most critical factor in what comes out of the bottle, yet all win ... More >>

Worst Wines of the Year (so far...)

​I sample over a thousand wines a year (yes, I spit many, for the sake of my health and liver), and very few wines are what I deem undrinkable. My dad, for example, loves his Tisdale Merlot, which is usually on sale at Morelli's in St. Paul for $2.00. I consider it drinkable, especially for ... More >>

What kind of wine drinker are you?

John GlasSerious wine geek wines​To me there are three types of wine drinkers: the wine drinker, the wine snob, and the wine geek. Wine drinkers are the largest of the three groups, and they are the most likely to try a new wine bar, buy a glass of South African chenin blanc at a restaurant, ... More >>

Wine 101: Who made your wine--and why it's important

St. InnocentTemperance Vineyard Site​Can you name five wine producers? Many casual wine drinkers might mention Robert Mondavi, Sutter Home, Beringer, Coppola, or Kendall Jackson. But what about Monchhof, St. Innocent, and Felsina? In the fourth of a series of Wine 101 topics (which includes terro ... More >>

Willamette Valley: 5 top wines from the greenest winery in America

Willamette Valley Vineyards: They even recycle their used corks​ Many wineries that make it start out small, receive some positive press, expand and gain a following, but rarely in the wine business do you see a leader that is as environmentally conscious as Willamette Valley Vineyards out of ... More >>

Great River Road Wine Trail hosts food/wine weekend

​For a crash course in local wine, hit the Great River Road Wine Trail's "Local Foods-Local Wine Weekend," on Saturday, June 5, and Sunday, June 6, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day. The trail consists of 10 wineries near the Mississippi River (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa) and will offer s ... More >>

Goose Lake Artisan & Farmers Market

Meek Family Estates: Minnesotan now makes world-class wines in Washington

Michael MeekMeek Family Estates Yakima Valley​I met Michael Meek two years ago as he was about to release his first vintage of Meek Family Estates. As a resident of Minnetonka, Michael realized that to make world-class wines you need to head west, and his location in Yakima Valley, Washington ... More >>

Wine 101: Vintage

One question I love to ask wine drinkers is: "What is 'vintage'?" Some people respond with "old," or the year the wine was bottled, or the year the grapes were picked. In this Wine 101 post, I'll explain the importance of vintage talk about how winemakers can create good wine in almost any year. ... More >>

Savor Minnesota a boost for local wineries

Saint Croix Vineyards wine tasting​Anyone with preconceived ideas about Minnesota wines is probably re-evaluating those notions if they were part of Saturday's first-annual Savor Minnesota event at Canterbury Park, which featured the best of Minnesota wine, food, and beer. Though the exhibitor ... More >>

Wine 101: Terroir

Ernst LoosenWehlener Sonnenuhr on the Mosel River​On a bottle of wine there is so much information, with some items being extremely important while some meet just meet legal requirements. Over the next five Wine 101 blogs I will explain five of the most important wine concepts in the world: t ... More >>

Minnesota Monthly Food & Wine Experience

5 Great Bottles of unusual wine

Looking for an out-of-the-ordinary wine? Here are bottles made in odd places or from obscure grapes, recommended by Solo Vino.

Iowa wine industry growing

Iowa's capitalizing on some of Minnesota's cold weather grapes to support its growing wine industry.

Alexis Bailly Vineyard harvest wine available this weekend only

Wanna feel exclusive? Then head out to Alexis Bailly Vineyard this weekend for some of its very limited Nouveau 2009 wine.

Meet local food writers at Magers & Quinn

The hottest spot for foodies in the next few weeks might not be a restaurant but a bookstore.

Taste of Greece

Cold climate wine competition tomorrow at U of M

Cold climate grapes will be strutting their stuff at tomorrow's first-ever competition among wines originating in places like Minnesota.

Coming soon: Indian Island Winery

More wineries are coming to Minnesota. Schweet!

Midwest wineries trying to get a piece of the action

The Upper Mississippi River Valley seeks recognition alongside Napa, Sonoma Valley.

WineFest

RIP Sam's Wine Shop

Washington Avenue's beloved boutique wine shop has shut its doors.

5 Great Bottles: Minnesota wines

Wine industry toasts the Obamas

5 Great Bottles: Eco-friendly drinking with organic wines

Presidential feast at North Coast

The Natural History of Minnesota Wine

Port is the Answer?

In which Dara seeks great Minnesota wine in all the wrong places, and finds it anyway

Reviews You Can Use

Want to put your newfound wine smarts to the test? City Pages' guest taster issues his recommendatinos for bottles sure to please.

Asked and Answered

What's the wallaby on the label of that shiraz trying to tell you? What about the syrah label featuring a generic chateau? Dear Dara answers all your peskiest wine questions.

Asked and Answered: Dara Answers All Your Peskiest Wine Questions.

Wine Party: Spanish Reds

Skip the Forest, Focus on a Few of the Most Typical Trees, and You May Finally Feel Comfortable in the Fabulous Jungle of Spanish Red Wines

Elsewhere in Europe

Want to taste your way through another country? Local restaurants are a good first stop

Stick-Free

The only place you'll find Schumacher's famous Czech-German cuisine today is twixt the mighty Midway and Ye Old Mill

Noble Grapes

Car-seat country scores a family-friendly wine bar with a serious education mission

The Wide Whirl of Wine

Dear Dara explains why you can't always get what you want

The Grape Debate

It's enough to drive you to drink

Juice