Month: April 2004

Michael McDermott and his family may have been the only people to move out of Seattle in the early 1990s, when that city’s high-tech grunge cachet was at its peak. The McDermotts moved to an abandoned dairy farm in Kelliher, Minnesota. The place was soon hopping with strange cattle—tall, hairy bovines with big horns, which arrived in a range of colors from specialty breeders all over the world.

There is something about these animals that have a hold on McDermott’s imagination, something that transports him back to his ancestors among the Highland clans of Scotland. “Can you imagine the ancient Scots going to war riding their Highland cattle, with their bodies painted blue … fighting alongside their Highland cattle?” McDermott asked me, by way of an unsolicited e-mail, a few months ago. “I am a bull tamer, and through my understanding of the form and function, I have recreated the ancient aurochs. You are invited to view our site and begin an adventure with the use of Highland genetics and its connections to ancient Highland culture.”

While driving hundreds of miles to his two-hundred-acre spread in northwestern Minnesota, it occurred to me that McDermott might have been inviting me to his website, not his actual farm. But I was practically there, and determined to see for myself what he was talking about.
According to McDermott, the Highland cattle and Highland crosses he breeds are well suited to the forests and bogs of northwestern Minnesota, able to survive outside and even give birth during harsh winters with no shelter. These are the cattle he envisions as the center of his Highland forefathers’ world, the ones clansmen rode into battle against the Romans. More tangibly, he says his bulls’ ability to graze on a wide range of rough forage helps create a natural balance of forests and their fauna, and keeps trees and shrubs in place, minimizing soil erosion. As if that weren’t enough, they provide jumbo-sized rib-eye steaks that are relatively low in cholesterol, which he sells by mail order.

When McDermott wrote to me about recreating the ancient auroch, I didn’t know what an auroch was—a monument à la Stonehenge? A Celtic symbol? A Bronze Age bagpipe? Turns out it’s a now-extinct breed of wild cattle, Bos primigenius, which is thought to be the ancestor of domestic cattle. The prehistoric cave paintings in Lascaux, France, featured aurochs prominently. Julius Caesar wrote about the animal he encountered in the Black Forest in the first century B.C., saying, “They are but a little less than elephants in size… Their strength is very great, and also their speed. They spare neither man nor beast that they see. They cannot endure the sight of men, nor be tamed.”

Aurochs were hunted throughout most of Europe during the Middle Ages until only a small number remained in a royal forest in what is now Poland. The last auroch died in 1627.

Through modern genetic methods and ancient breeding stock, McDermott claims to have recreated the auroch by accident when he bred his Highland cattle with Belgian Blue cattle. To my untrained eye, the hairy, muscular hybrid he has created does bear a striking resemblance to pictures of the wild cattle species of yore. Yet even at eight feet long and five feet high, the bulls are considerably smaller than some of the huge auroch skeletons unearthed in Europe, which have stood nearly six feet at the shoulder. But, hey, a miniature poodle is still a poodle, right?

Well, sort of. As close as McDermott appears to have gotten to an auroch look-alike, scientists say there is virtually no chance that he has reverse-engineered the original auroch’s genetic makeup. Still, it’s kind of a kick to see McDermott pet and calm a big animal that looks like the one Caesar declared untamable. I decide I’d be willing to ride one into battle alongside McDermott should the Canadians ever attack his farm from the north.—Dan Gilchrist

It started innocently enough, with a casual decision to gradually weed beige out of my wardrobe. What has beige done for me lately? What does it do for anyone, really? Have you ever received a compliment on a beige blouse or scarf? Later, while car shopping, I eagerly clicked on a web listing for a Plymouth Volare, an old favorite. I was crestfallen, then oddly annoyed to learn that the sedan was an indescribably innocuous shade of beige. You could compare it to the cream filling of a four-day-old bismarck. It made the car unbuyable. In the same way that tinted windows can impart a pimpish feel to certain automobiles, I realized that a beige Volare just immediately signifies “child molester.”

Whence all the beige in our world? I began to wonder. The more you look, the more there is. And the more you see, the more perplexing it becomes. Two years ago, you may recall, astronomers declared the universe to be a turquoise shade—the New York Times even ran a little Pantone-ish square of the shade on its front page—but weeks later they said sorry, we got it wrong. The real color of the universe is beige. Somehow that seems only fitting, and foreboding: Beige is as infinitely mysterious and ever-present as the universe itself. Beige is the universe.

Red is supposed to stimulate the appetite, while yellow is agitating. Certain shades of blue promote tranquility. What affect does beige have? Color theory tells us simply that beige represents practicality, conservatism, and neutrality. In other words, it has earned a reputation as the ultimate no-nonsense color. This explains how it has come to dominate in millions of square feet of corporate and institutional workspaces: copy rooms and kitchens, waiting rooms and lobbies, walls, halls, bathroom stalls… In its sheer abundance, beige collapses on itself to become stasis, obsolescence, mountains of computer monitors exported to Chinese junkyards.

Even now, despite the inroads white, gray, and black have made in the computer-equipment color palette, beige stubbornly holds sway in the average office (the sliver of candy-colored Macs is so small as to be insignificant). Post-it notes provide a small bit of solace—they’re not only useful, but yellow. But overall it’s a losing battle. Think about it. Did you ever get file folders in any other color than “manila” without specifically asking? A friend of mine just started a new job in a one-hundred-percent beige cubicle. Looking up at the white ceiling is his only form of relief, he says. No wonder half the workforce is on antidepressants and the other half hates its job. That’s the effect of an economy fueled by business-like beige.

Both in and outside the workplace, beige does dress up and try to disguise itself in more evocatively named colors—puce, taupe, cream, buff, oatmeal, biscuit, ecru, mushroom—but these many guises only reinforce its ubiquity. Tan and khaki are excluded from beige classification, however. They, like those food-oriented agents of beige, have other associations that give them some dimension. Beige, however, can only be a color. Or rather, it—not white—is the true non-color.

Beige creeps in when nobody is around to make a choice otherwise. Beige is absence: of care, of taste, of opinion. It is a void or vacuum (which further supports its recent scientific designation as the color of nothingness). Beige as “neutrality”? It’s more like beige as the intersection of mediocrity and apathy. This is why beige is simply everywhere, once you start looking, the visual residue of some weird, dull-minded neurosis, hiding in plain sight.

If you had to write the most boring book in the world, it would be hard to top the so-called Beige Book. This tome is published not once, but eight times a year by the Federal Reserve Bank—one of those all-powerful agencies that we really ought to know more about. (I, for one, simply can’t summon the interest. Maybe that’s the point.) The Beige Book itself is off-putting enough; purporting to gather “anecdotal information” from each of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, its title is probably more effective that any form of obvious censorship could be. Then there’s Minneapolis’ own Federal Reserve Bank, whose designers seem to have made a point of choosing the beige-est possible shade of Kasota limestone (a favorite among institutional architects in the upper Midwest). Standing aloofly beside the Mississippi, the layers and textures of the complex deflect curiosity by radiating a willful blandness, such that a passerby’s natural impulse is to direct her attention toward the river—which is probably just the way the Fed wants it.

Often you notice beige only in the presence of some other more assertive color. The Déjà Vu Showgirls club, just down Washington Avenue, provides a welcome contrast. One could argue that it’s intentionally garish and tasteless, given what the building’s tenant is up to, and it’s certainly no architectural wonder. However, let’s all be thankful for the pink paint on its frosted-stucco façade. It could’ve been beige. After all, beige was good enough for the multitudes of upscale lofts and townhouses that have sprung up all around it in recent years, importing a suburban, monochromatic, tract-house-style atmosphere into the downtown area.

One of my most-ever hated buildings was the Vision Loss Resources rehabilitation center on Franklin and Lyndale. For years I passed it almost every day, an overwhelming monolith of windowless beige. The people using the building may be blind, but why does it follow that VLR should pretend to make this hulking monstrosity disappear for the rest of us by making it beige? Finally someone saw the light and painted it brick red. Not that it stemmed the tide. There’s a strikingly similar monument to blank beigeness at 28th Street and Nicollet, which I am told is a meatpacking plant (further evidence that beige is a perfect foil for mysterious goings-on); a tour of this particular neighborhood would be incomplete without noting the amazingly full-on beige McDonald’s, right down to the crushed-rock landscaping, a few blocks away. (McDonald’s brief flirtation with repainting its restaurants their original fire-engine red must have died out before they got to this one.)

Beige is a cover-up. In a mass-produced environment, one governed by efficiency and not aesthetics, it is the default choice to offend no one, and so it is imposed on everyone. Unlike white, it is said not to show dirt; thus the beige linoleum, carpet, blinds, walls, and appliances in apartments owned by real estate management companies. But what does the bounty of beige say about us as a nation? Political pundits yammer on about red states and blue states. (Republicans apparently having forgotten about the Red Scares, which could mean it’s now okay to call moderate conservatives pinkos.) However, given all the trouble that simmers just below the surface of our economic fantasies and melting-pot mediocrity, it seems depressingly likely that the true color of the USA is, like the universe itself, beige.

Annie Neeley is a former Rochester courtroom sketcher and police composite artist now living in Florida. She’s been working on this one guy for quite some time. When she met him, he was attractive enough, but hardly dream man material… more of a fixer-upper, really. At first sight, Annie knew she was up to the task. A few short months later, he’s romantic, sexy, and almost the spitting image of Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean. And now that she’s got him just as she wants him, she’ll do the same thing she did to all her dream men before: Auction him off on eBay for around $1,500.

“Jack the Pirate” is fifteen glorious inches of fashion-doll makeover, and Annie Neeley is one of a growing number of doll artists making a healthy income selling One of a Kind (OOAK) repainted dolls.

OOAK repaints are commercially purchased dolls—Barbie, Bratz, Gene, and so on—that get stripped of their original paint and costuming and completely made over. While she was working in the Rochester transit system, Neeley was a collector of regular dolls when she stumbled into the world of artful reconstruction. “I saw the repaints for sale on eBay and I thought ‘I can do this, and I can do it better,’” she told me.

It’s something like cosmetic surgery for dolls. The procedure may include erasing the doll’s facial features with nail-polish remover and repainting her face; taking her head off and removing her hair in order to re-root a different ’do; straightening bent arms or bending straight ones by making an incision in the arm with a razor blade, boiling the arm in water to soften the plastic, arranging the limb to the desired position, and then filling in the cut with putty; or using putty to augment facial features. Perhaps the most disturbing of the makeover processes is the “boil perm,” in which a doll’s hair is set by boiling her head.

DIY plastic surgeons find help and solace in the work of Jim Faraone. He is the co-chair of the International Fashion Doll Convention, an organization that sponsors a contest and maintains an email list dedicated to repainting techniques. Do you need to know how to rethread Barbie’s hair? Detach her head, and use a piece of wire as a needle. If the wire gets lost in there, you can use a crochet hook to retrieve it. “The wire held up well and it only took me about three Star Trek episodes to reroot the whole head,” wrote Laurie Samford. Several books have also been published that compile this wealth of information.

There is a brisk market for remade dolls. “I’d venture to say there are twenty-five to thirty repaint artists on eBay who do this,” Neeley explained. “And there are probably ten of us that do the best and have the top sales. There’s a little niche of very wealthy ladies who collect these dolls, and they will fight each other tooth-and-nail for them. Sometimes I think it’s a gambling thing.”

In other words, this can be not only a spendy habit, but a highly addictive one. Neeley slyly confides that she has one repeat client who has sixty of her dolls stashed in her bedroom closet, while a special doll showroom is being added on to her house.—Sarah Sawyer

May 11, 2004

“To a wine grape, it’s Eden.” That’s a trademark of the Napa Valley Vintner’s Association. For this wine guy, the Napa Valley Vintner’s Association tasting this past Thursday was heaven on earth. About eighty Napa Valley wineries showcased their best products, filling The Depot in Minneapolis.

Being that the afternoon tasting for the trade industry was only two hours long, I should have made up a better plan of attack. As it was, I only got around to about fifteen of the eighty wineries, getting delayed by great conversation as well as great wine. Many of these wineries are looking for distribution in Minnesota, so I was quite excited about introducing a few of these hot commodities to The Wine Doctor, one smaller distributor looking for some new labels.
One of my personal goals with the smaller Napa Valley producers, those yet to have distribution here in our fair city, is to introduce their wines myself to the public, through a variety of tasting events. It’s a pleasure to show people who love these wines how easy it is to pick up a cell phone and place an order directly to California. Shipping is “free” when you consider the savings on sales tax.
Anyway, back to the wine tasting, which also showcased many familiar names, such as Shafer, Duckhorn, Terra Valentine, Raymond, Burgess, Clos du Val, Freemark Abbey, Phelps, Heitz, and Schramsberg. Many great wines were offered at their tables, but I found myself giving most of my attention to names like Frias Family, Gargiulo, Long Meadow Ranch, Howell Mountain Vineyards, Von Strasser, and Atalon.
For instance, I spent some time talking with April Gargiulo, the daughter of the vineyard owner—turns out he’s the CEO of Sunkist, and the Napa vineyard is his “hobby”. Well, he may be a mere hobbyist, but the product is amazing! That was the only word I found apt to describe the cabernet, the merlot, and the “Aprile” super Tuscan blend of sangiovese & cabernet.

A whole different story is unfolding at Fife Vineyards, whose owner, Dennis Fife, had been working in the industry forever, for the likes of Inglenook, BV, and Stag’s Leap. His 1999 Reserve Cabernet “Spring Mountain” evoked a similar one-word description in my wine notes: WOW! The experience of Fife only strengthened my devotion to mountain-grown wines, especially those from Spring Mountain. (Remember that the current reigning “champion,” The Wine Spectator’s “best in the world,” is the Paloma merlot from Spring Mountain.)
My pick for best wine at the tasting has to go to the Frias Family (from Spring Mountain, naturally). Fernando Frias was generously showing his ’95, ’99, ’00, & ’01 cabernet (the only wine they make), each vintage a polished gem. Jon Sevigny of JV Wines & Spirits in Napa considers this cabernet the only one worth cellaring for a number of years; it’s very Bordeaux-styled, with great structure and great fruit. I will be showing the ’91, ’95, ’97, ’98 & ’99 at a tasting event coming soon. Stay tuned.

A few other top picks to share: Bell Wine Cellars merlot & cabernet; Freemark Abbey ’99 “Sycamore” and “Bosche” cabernets; Howell Mountain Vineyards’ ’01 “Beatty Ranch” and “Black Sears” Zinfandel; and Turnbull ’01 cabernet “Oakville.” A few others I would be raving about, but had no time to taste (though I have in the past), are Shafer’s “Hillside Select” cabernet, anything from Viader, cabs from Schweiger and Von Strasser, and Reverie’s ’99 Special Reserve.

What did some of the other local pros enjoy? Mikael Thollander of The Wine Doctor reports that his favorite winery was also Frias Family, followed by Gargiulo (do great wine minds think alike, or what?), and Peju. Mikael will be doing all he can to become the distributor for Frias Family wines. Another colleague, Tim Nordland, longtime manager of Lunds/Byerlys wine shops, concurred on the Frias and loved the Viader, though he commented that the latter wasn’t as good as past vintages. He added that the Volker Eisele wines were “killer stuff.”

This pretty well sums up the powerhouse cabernets, merlots and blends from Napa Valley. Killer stuff indeed, and to many minds, surely to my own, worth the high price tags many bottles command. Again, my recent trip to Napa Valley convinced me that this is so. “For a wine grape, it’s Eden.” To a wine lover, this region is truly paradise.

OK, back to the lovely reality that is springtime in Minnesota. What else is happening around town, as pertains to all things vino? Spring wine sales, like our gardens, abound. As a new wave of flowers replaces the last wave as it’s fading, so with wine sales. Following up on Haskell’s, Byerly’s, and Surdyk’s sales, now two fine shops, France 44 and South Lyndale are in full bloom!

Scanning the extensive list from South Lyndale’s website (www.southlyndaleliquors.com) in preparation for a tasting I am hosting for the Northwoods Humane Society in early June, a couple of great wines jump out: Murphy-Goode “Wild Card” (sale price $11.99) and Steele “Pacini” Zinfandel (also $11.99). This is a good time to consider a perfect spring wine, Bonny Dune’s Cigare Volant: big, Rhone-style, as good as a forty-dollar Chateauneuf-du-Pape—at only $22.99. For the imports, try the wider selection at France 44—check out details about their sale at www.france44.com.

Enjoy this most precious springtime ever, with food and friends, and, of course, with wine. And please email me via The Rake or via my website at www.louiethewineguy.com with your picks for the best al fresco dining and best wines-by-the-glass lists in town. I will report on these in a couple of weeks.

And please stop in and visit me at the “Art-a-Whirl” in Northeast this weekend. I will be pouring some “Two Buck Chuck” merlot and a few other esoteric offerings at Old Science, right next door to Dusty’s Dago Bar, 1317 Marshall St. NE, on both Friday and Saturday nights. If you haven’t yet been a part of this art crawl, check it out!

May 3, 2004

There is a lot going on in town right now, with some big sales ending and another in full swing. Byerly’s/Lunds’ sale is done, and the Haskell’s Nickel Sale goes through May 8. Surdyk’s is back on the scene with its “20/20” Sale through May 8,, during which they are featuring twenty percent off all wines in the store that “normally” sell for twenty dollars or more. This is another case where I should make my “consumer alert” about inflated “normal” prices. One small example: Surdyk’s lists Conundrum (a must-try this summer season!) at $26.99 regular price; with twenty percent off, it would be $21.59. By comparison, Wayzata Wine & Spirits (not known for its good values) lists Conundrum at $23.99, and if you attend the “Sipping by the Bay” tasting/fundraising event (more on this later), you get a fifteen percent discount for a sale price of $20.40.

Another brief plug for Sam’s Club & Costco. They feature great prices for low-end wines, but are of special note in the high-end category, which you would not expect. For instance, Sam’s carries Viader regularly. This fabulous product, a Cabernet, Merlot & Cabernet Franc blend, retails at most places for around $90 a bottle. At Sam’s they sell the 750ml for about $55, and the 375ml for $29.99. If you want to have something very special for a Mother’s Day toast, pick up the 375ml bottle. It is a treat.

The big news this week is a tasting report from three events last week. The first was a tasting and fundraiser for the Twin West Chamber of Commerce, where some twenty wines were shown. Among the whites, where a regional comparison of chardonnay was the focus, the entries from Napa (Burgess) and Sonoma (Clos du Bois) showed best over the central coast offerings from Concannon and Castle Rock. The fifth entry in this group was from Pedroncelli of Dry Creek region of Sonoma, and this was picked last.

A special bottle, not available in our market but worth ordering directly from Napa, was the Husch sauvignon blanc. Very clean and smooth, it’s a great wine for summer fish dinners. Topping the list in the white wine department was Bonny Dune’s Muscat Vin de Glaciere dessert wine. Wow! At eighteen percent residual sugar, this luscious treat would be the perfect finish to that special evening which you began with Viader. The “ice wine” sells for $18.99 for the 375ml bottle.

On to the reds! My collection here offered a wide range, from the “good value”of Penfolds “Rawson Retreat” merlot ($6 at Sam’s) to the wildly eclectic and very over-priced ($45) Blockheadia Zinfandel. Nevertheless, this Rhone-style wine was by far the hit of the evening, though the ’99 Burgess Zinfandel showed very well, as did the ’99 Mt. Veeder Cabernet (my favorite, but then I am a fool for Napa mountain-grown cabernet!).

Other reds of note: Laurier Pinot Noir, Charles Shaw (of “2-buck Chuck” fame) Merlot, River Oaks Cabernet, and Purple Moon Shiraz, all direct from California entries and all worth checking out if you travel anywhere Trader Joe’s has a store. (There are rumors about TJ coming to Minnesota. If anyone has inside information about this development, please let me know.)

A very special finale for the red wine enthusiasts at this event was a port from Shafer Vineyards of Napa Valley fame. Absolutely spectacular! Worth $30 for a half bottle? Most definitely.

The second tasting event was the aforementioned “Sipping by the Bay” fundraiser put on at the Wayzata Country Club by the local Lions. This was your more typical tasting event with around seventy wines offered, with perhaps one-third of those worth tasting. I guess that they want to offer something for everyone, but really—Yellow Tail Shiraz?

To give the French a break, I did try the Louis Jadot Pouilly Fuisse, and it was pleasant, but was it worth $21.69? Perhaps my palate has become dulled by the over-fruity and sometimes over-oaked California chardonnays. The French white Burgundies just don’t do it for me like they used to. Perhaps this would not be true if I were tasting a $50 Mersault or Puligny Montrachet, but, then again, how great are the high-end California chards, like Ferrari Carano and Newton? At the lower end of the spectrum, I’ll take California any time. And the Australian chards? They do etter, in my opinion, with the reds. Among the better chardonnays shown were Fess Parker, Kunde, Clos Pegase, and Toasted Head (very oaky!). And, of course, the Conundrum, which unfortunately still gets listed as a Caymus product, which it isn’t. Conundrum is a blend of chardonnay with several other grapes…a touch sweet, but very smooth. A truly perfect picnic wine.

The other “Burgundy” grape, pinot noir, was well represented by David Bruce, La Crema, Kenwood, and Morgan. All very nice to my taste, and even more to my nose. There isn’t a better wine bouquet than pinot noir. (A word of note about Tin Roof’s rose of pinot noir—there are more and better dry rose wines appearing on the market all the time. Check them out. They are great summer wines, and many, like Tin Roof and Bonny Dune, are available with screw caps, which only makes them easier to sneak into parks and other places you are not supposed to bring alcohol.)

The bigger reds like merlot and cabernet and zinfandel were topped by the Terra Valentine Cabernet from Spring Mountain. Don’t get me started on how great the Spring Mountain appellation truly is! Terra Valentine may not be the best producer on Spring Mountain (they have some amazing competition with the likes of Pride Mountain, Frias Family, Guilliams, and Paloma, to name a few), but their product is very good and they are owned by the Minnesota Wurtele’s. Gotta support our friends and neighbors. Clos du Val showed very well (if that is news), and the Trefethen Cab was solid. A bit disappointing to my taste were the cabs from Alexander Valley, like Geyser Peak and Frei Brothers.

In my next report I will share my experience at the Napa Valley Vintner’s Association event on May 6. And we will also look further into what is happening on the local wine scene during May. As we Minnesotans can all agree, everything begins looking lovely in May, when the season opens on outdoor grilling, picnics, boating, cabins, and al fresco dining in the city. What a great time to share exciting new wines or old favorites. Enjoy this fabulous month!

April 20, 2004

This week’s edition must begin with a report from last Friday night’s gala Napa Spring Wine Fling, presented by The Rake and sponsored by Excelsior Vintage. The party, held in the lovely atrium of the Doubletree Park Place Hotel, was attended by about 60, and featured almost 70 wines from Napa Valley. Those from the local wine industry remarked that there had never been as varied and fine assembly of Napa wines here in the Twin Cities. Those accolades this might be eclipsed by the Napa Valley Vintner’s Association tasting, coming up on May 6—we’ll have to see.

The wines shown last Friday night included certain labels available here in Minnesota, names like Jarvis and Vine Cliff (this chardonnay was stunning!), Chateau Montelena and Shafer. But most of the excitement arose around one particular table, which showcased some special wines not yet distributed in Minnesota. Standouts in this group included: Luddite ’01 Carignane, L’Ecosse ’96 Cabernet Franc, Atalon ’98 Merlot, Atlas Peak ’97 Cabernet, Prager ’97 Cabernet, and a few stunning meritage wines like Barlow ’01 Red, Elodian (Tom Eddy) ’00 Napa Cuvee, Beaucanon ’00 “Trifecta”, High Rocks ’01 “Wrangler Rouge”, Delectus ’00 Argentum, & Orin Swift’s amazing ’02 “The Prisoner.”

It should be noted that all those wines not yet available here in the “Paris on the Prairie”—wines that wowed industry palates as well as those of the general public—sell for under $30 a bottle. “The Prisoner” quite an impact, as well it was expected to. Dan Dawson, owner of Back Room Wines in Napa, offered this tasting note: “Orin Swift owner/winemaker Dave Phinney brought me a barrel sample of this ’02 “The Prisoner” last summer, and for those familiar with the ’01, it’s all that and more. The recipe is about the same: just over half zinfandel, and about a fifth each cabernet, sirah, and charbono. Perhaps the best compliment I can give it is that Dave is accomplishing his goal of consistency. He wants the same sweet, spicy, jammy, exceptionally smooth, faintly toasty, hedonistically delicious red wine every year. …It is off the charts on the Yummy scale. It is unique as a wine itself, for I have heard over and over again since the 2001 disappeared, “This is good, but it’s no Prisoner.”

The great thing is that you, dear reader, can pick up the telephone, call Dan at his shop (707-226-3560), and have him put together a mixed case of wines like “The Prisoner.” Whether he has any of this gem remaining I cannot predict, but I do know someone else in Napa who had six cases when I was visiting (three weeks ago). And this was my main excitement Friday night, to witness Greg Varner, owner of Excelsior Vintage, Andre Peters of Surdyks, and Mikael Thollander, of The Wine Doctor, gush about these remarkable wines.

The point is this: For every great wine you encounter on a retail shelf here in town, there are ten more just as good at perhaps half the price gathering dust in California. There truly is a glut of great wines available to us; we simply have to learn the ropes when it comes to acquiring them. Delectus is a label, for example, that I deeply want to expose around town. Its owner/winemaker, Gerhard, makes amazing wines (his “Argentum” was Mikael Thollander’s top pick, and it sells at the winery for $20 a bottle, less 20% if you are a “friend of Louie’s.” Pick up the phone and give Gerhard a call(707-255-1252).

Remember that every penny you spend on shipping, you save by not paying sales tax (nine percent here in Minnesota). I was concerned about shipping at first, until I saw the Styrofoam shipping containers Dan Dawson uses. He has never had a case of wine not reach its destination safely.

My deepest wish is to educate wine lovers and expose them to these “insider secrets,” so that they can fully enjoy the incredible quality that comes out of Napa Valley and other west coast wine regions —without spending a small fortune. Remember the May 6 tasting event. It will cost you $75, but in the end it could save you hundreds.

Louie the Wine Guy will next be offering a few of the above-mentioned gems at a benefit tasting for the Twin West Chamber of Commerce, Thursday April 29, at the Colonnade Building in Golden Valley. (952-540-0234 for reservations)

Also coming up: my “Introduction to the World of Wine” seminar series, with the focus on the first of three sessions being California, Oregon, & Washington. This seminar takes place Wednesday May 5, 6-9pm, at the Doubletree Park Place Hotel. ($40/$35 club members, includes light dinner. 763-476-0699 for reservations, which are required).

As for other newsworthy events about town, Haskell’s and Byerly’s & Lunds continue their big sales through the end of April. Most of the outlets have a variety of free tastings in conjunction with the sales. France 44, for example, offers customers a tasting each week, Saturdays from 2-5pm, with five to eight wines available. Call store for details: 612-925-3252). South Lyndale Liquors, one of my favorite shops, offers the Grapevine
Wine Club tasting series. Go to: http://www.southlyndaleliquors.com/grapevine_main.htm for details.