It is an honor to have our wines at the table during the Top 100 Companies to Work For dinner on June 5th, 2014!

The three wines being served are part of our direct import program, which involves traveling to Europe regularly to meet with the producers, taste the new vintages, and make purchasing decisions for the upcoming year. Of course these work trips also involve keeping up with the dining scene in Paris, Milan, Barcelona, and Florence. (As we like to say, it’s good work if you can get it!)

This type of selection process is becoming less common in today’s wine world. As we see more and more “commodity” brands being created and pushed into markets by enormous multi-national corporations, the role of a wine importer as curator becomes all the more important, but more and more rare. It is in this niche that we thrive, with long-established friendships and relationships around the world with some of the greatest independent wine producers around.

Look for “Imported by The Wine Company” on the back label the next time you’re shopping for that perfect wine to enjoy.

Imported by TWC

Note: At the end of this post, you can find details on where to purchase these gems in Minnesota.

Wines served at the Top 100 Dinner on June 5th, 2014

Ottella 2013 Lugana, Italy
Ottella Lugana
An estate wine entirely harvested in small crates from their own vineyards, this elegant wonder is made from 100% Trebbiano di Lugana (locally known as Turbiana) in the D.O.C. region of Lugana on the southern coast of Lake Garda straddling Lombardia and the Veneto in northern Italy. Beyond its citric bouquet this is chiseled in its minerality and brightly balanced with a lemony structure that is sure of itself making this a white wine of presence and power despite its immediate appeal and nonchalant charms. A lovely bottling beautifully crowned with the embossed coat-of-arms of the family which is an escutcheon proper bearing eight stylized cherubic faces to mark the birth of octuplets which graced the family in 1500. Stunning wine, a lovely country, and a wonderful family as well. Food Pairings: Fish based plates, soup, pasta or rice, white meat.

Barraud 2010 Alliance Vergisson, Pouilly-Fuissé, Macon, France
Barraud Pouilly Fuisse AllianceA blend of various parcels of land:”Terres du Perret, la Côte Carmentrant et Vignes Dessus” with vines between 30 and 45 years of age, this is 100% Chardonnay and 100% Pouilly Fuisse –a Pouilly Fuissé of the highest order. Rich in extract, fully scented and ripe with a remarkable density for its size and structure, the palate is expressive of apples and pears, a lifted hazelnut aroma across the whole and a fine textural finish whose sea shell mineral and apple skin sort of tannins close with firm handshake –this is seriously good.

Emmanuel Darnaud 2011 Les Trois Chênes Crozes-Hermitage, Northern Rhone Valley, France (100% Syrah)
Darnaurd Crozes HermitageBacon meet berries. Berries this is bacon. Fast friends and what chums! Tangy plums, black pepper, meat pan juices and wild pastureland set quite the stage for this telling example of Crozes-Hermitage the gifted lower slopes beneath Hermitage in France’s Northern Rhône. Lovely in that it is fulsome, fragrant and bold without needing time in the bottle to tame the tannins or relax. Certainly not the bruiser that its elder brother from 2010 was at this age, this has a trimmer physique but is every bit as complex and perhaps still more sophisticated than Darnaud’s Mise en Bouche –the primary glimpse on Crozes-Hermitage from vines of a younger stature. Better yet is how appetizing its juicy structure washes over the palate keeping lift to this mouthful of Syrah. On the finish lifts a fragrant garrigue akin to wild lavender and sappy rosemary which is perfect to put all the tangy berried fruit into relief. On tasting this I dream of pairing it with roasted spring lamb, peppered skirt steak off the grill, a piping hot moussaka… this is a wine for food to be sure but every bit as fit to be the glass at the end of a long day as I am enjoying it now.

WHERE TO FIND THESE WINES IN MINNESOTA
The following retailers and restaurants have purchased these wines in the previous twelve months. Call ahead to confirm vintages and availability. Accounts are listed alphabetically by city.

Otella Lugana

Lake Avenue Restaurant And Bar
Duluth
218-722-2355

Campiello
Eden Prairie
952-941-6868

Buon Giorno Italia
Lilydale
651-905-1080

Nelson, Jeff
Minneapolis


Red Cow - North Loop
Minneapolis
612-238-0050

Erte & The Peacock Lounge
Minneapolis
612-623-4211

Broders' Southside Pasta
Minneapolis
612-925-9202

Kowalski's Uptown Market
Minneapolis
612-377-3448

Terzo
Minneapolis
612-925-3113

Surdyk's
Minneapolis
612-379-3232

France 44
Minneapolis
612-925-3252

Red Cow - 50th St
Minneapolis
612-767-4411

Toast Wine Bar & Cafe - Closed
Minneapolis
612-333-4305

Riverview Wine Bar
Minneapolis
612-729-4200

Haskell's - Minnetonka
Minnetonka
952-544-4456

Lyn 65
Richfield
612-242-1510

Mchugh, Mike
Saint Paul


Ann Avant
Saint Paul


Seventh Street Liquor Barrel
Saint Paul
651-222-6811

Thomas Liquor
Saint Paul
651-699-1860

Nicholas Livingston
Saint Paul


Red Cow - Stp
Saint Paul
651-489-0554

Do Not Use - Scandia Olde Towne Liquor
Scandia
651-433-5845

Marx Wine Bar & Grill
Stillwater
651-439-8333

West Side Liquor - Waite Park
Waite Park
320-253-9511

***

Barraud Alliance Vergisson, Pouilly-Fuissé, Macon, France

Mgm - West Bloomington
Bloomington
952-888-9421

South Lyndale Liquor
Minneapolis
612-827-5811

France 44
Minneapolis
612-925-3252

Mcdonald Liquor Store
Minneapolis
612-721-6686

Henry & Son
Minneapolis
612-200-9517

99 Bottles
Moorhead
218-284-0099

Bridgeview Liquors
Moorhead
218-477-6162

The Wine Shop - Nicholas Barth
Saint Cloud
320-251-7733

Angela Kallsen
Saint Paul


Little Wine Shoppe
Saint Paul
651-645-5178

W.a. Frost
Saint Paul
651-224-5715

Solo Vino
Saint Paul
651-602-9515

Salut - St Paul
Saint Paul
651-917-2345

Jordan Berndt
Saint Paul


Team Liquor W&s - Shorewood - New Ownership
Shorewood
612-325-0328

Gianni's
Wayzata
952-404-1100

Cotroneo's Vino & Birra
White Bear Lake
651-429-7551

***

Emmanuel Darnaud Les Trois Chênes Crozes-Hermitage

The Beanery
Aitkin
218-927-7811

Tutto Bene
Bemidji
218-751-1100

Tournament Liquor - Blaine
Blaine
763-786-4992

Hilton Mpls-bloomington
Bloomington
952-893-9500

Sunfish Cellars
Lilydale
651-552-5955

Lincoln Square Liquor Barrel
Mahtomedi
651-770-0692

Zipp's
Minneapolis
612-333-8686

South Lyndale Liquor
Minneapolis
612-827-5811

The Kenwood - New Ownership
Minneapolis
612-377-3695

Lake Wine & Cheese
Minneapolis
612-242-0073

North Loop Wine & Spirits
Minneapolis
612-338-5393

Vincent's
Minneapolis
612-630-1189

Heyday
Minneapolis
651-699-3536

99 Bottles
Moorhead
218-284-0099

Bridgeview Liquors
Moorhead
218-477-6162

Winestreet Spirit-north Oak
North Oaks
651-483-1767

Northfield Liquors
Northfield
507-645-5153

Premier Wine & Spirits -old Ownership
Osseo
763-425-4680

St. James Hotel
Red Wing
651-385-5544

Minneapolis Golf Club
Saint Louis Park
952-544-4471

University Club - Summit
Saint Paul
651-222-1751

Salut - St Paul
Saint Paul
651-917-2345

Solo Vino
Saint Paul
651-602-9515

Bj Thorkelson
Saint Paul


Little Wine Shoppe
Saint Paul
651-645-5178

W.a. Frost
Saint Paul
651-224-5715

Gipper's
Saint Paul


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