MN Connection: Powers Winery

Posted on September 2, 2017 by Nicholas Livingston

Powers Winery | Columbia Valley, WA

THE CONNECTION:
Graduating from the University of Minnesota, it is no surprise Mickey Dunne enjoys playing ice hockey, fishing, and cooking. Mickey experienced his first harvest in 1987 and has been hooked on the Washington wine industry ever since. After joining Badger Mountain as Sales Manager in 1998, the brand grew from 17,000 cases per year to more than 70,000 cases per year. Can we chalk that up to his Midwestern work ethic? It certainly impressed someone because Mickey was made a partner in 2005. Passionately committed to the success of Washington wines and the environmental sustainability vision embodied by Badger Mountain Vineyard and Powers Winery, Mickey is active in the Washington Wine Commission and sits on the Steering Committee of WineWise, an organization developing a Sustainability Guidebook for vineyards and wineries.

THE PRACTICE:
Second generation winemaker Greg Powers has a deep affinity for Columbia Valley and its viticulture. Growing up in the region’s spectacular farm country he helped his father Bill plant and manage Badger Mountain Vineyard. Today, Greg carries on the family traditions of sustainable farming and the passion-ate production of exceptional wines. Sustainability here is no mere window dressing but a core value. The winery is solar powered; the vineyards are certified Organic and Salmon Safe; the tractors run on biodiesel; the people all earn a living wage. Under Greg’s leadership, Powers Winery has been recognized as a “rising star” by Wine Spectator, and as one of the “50 Great U.S. Cabernet Producers” by Wine Enthusiast.

Under Greg’s leadership, Powers Winery has been recognized as a “rising star” by Wine Spectator.

THE WINES:
Powers wines are creatively blended and crafted to showcase Washington’s distinctive vineyards and diverse microclimates. Deeply rooted in long term relationships, Powers sources a variety of high quality fruit to produce compelling wines of uncommon depth, complexity and harmony. From the sun drenched Wahluke Slope they work with Butch and Jerry Milbrandt of Milbrandt Vine-yards, and Mike Roskamp who oversees Cougar and Coyote Vineyards. In Horse Heaven Hills it is Paul Champoux of Champoux Vineyards, and in Yakima Valley it is Scott Greer of Sheridan Vineyard and Harold Pleasant of Harold Pleasant Vineyard. Back home in Columbia Valley, it is the Monson family of Goose Ridge Vineyard and Mike Taggares of Tagaris Vineyard and organically grown Arete Vineyard. These are the people and places behind Powers.

THE OFFERINGS:

MN Connection: Gamling & McDuck

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Nicholas Livingston

Gamling & McDuck | Napa Valley, California

THE CONNECTION:
Over a decade ago Gabrielle Shaffer and Adam McClary met here in Minnesota while working in the local wine biz -Gabe for The Wine Company at the wholesale level and Adam in the local restaurant scene here in the Twin Cities. Between a shared passion for wines of the Loire and loud music they fell hard for one another. Soon pet names followed and Gabe became “Gamling” and Adam “McDuck”. Wine runs deep in these two and before long they decided to give up their great jobs and Uptown lifestyle to move out to Napa and juggle jobs and school and harvest internships and farming… Four years later all that work culminated in Loire inspired but Californian sun-soaked, handcrafted wines and they have gone from strength to strength ever since.

THE PRACTICE:
Between her respect for deliberate winegrowers and terroir driven wines that capture their gifted sense of place, Gabrielle fit right in at The Wine Company. Today Gabrielle spends her workday as the Head Viticulturalist at Stagecoach Vineyard where she minds 200 distinct blocks subject to many variables and microclimates -like a boss! Fitting because she is the boss. When she isn’t tending world class grapes bound for 80 other wineries, she applies her Midwestern work ethic and UC Davis education to her own wines sourced from the best plots across the region ideally situated to Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc. Over the years working together Gamling has imparted all she knows to McDuck and now the partnership does most everything together.

Over the years working together Gamling has imparted all she knows to McDuck and now the partnership does most everything together.

THE WINES:
Sourcing is paramount when you are place based winemakers who do not possess their own vineyards so Gamling & McDuck are vigilant about their fruit and tend their source material per sustainable farming. In the cellar, they utilize cool fermentations to retain all the nuance they strive to ripen on the vine. Fermentations spark to life thanks to native yeasts introduced at the crush from the bloom on the grapes themselves -making these wines all the more the round result of their terroir. Moreover Gamling & McDuck eschew any additions and manipulations. This is real wine made by real people who “play excellent film soundtracks in the cellar…” Adam once explained “…all methods intent on weaving typicity and narrative into the astral helix of their wines.”

THE OFFERINGS:
CHENIN BLANC | MCDUCK RED | CABERNET FRANC

MN Connection: Frog’s Leap

Posted on August 28, 2017 by Nicholas Livingston

Frog’s Leap Winery | Napa Valley, California

THE CONNECTION:
Strolling along Nicollet Mall at 9th Street, one cannot help but admire the beauty of the Young Quinlan building -the once department store of local fame. Built in 1921 this font of luxuries was run by Elizabeth Quinlan -a pioneering female business owner at the time. It thrived for years but by 1985 this building was in rough shape and if not for Bob and Sue Greenberg restoring it, who knows what its fate might have been. Protecting old buildings is only one of the Greenberg’s many strengths. Did you know this Minnesotan couple are also part-owners of Napa’s renowned Frog’s Leap Winery? Yet another reason for us in the land of sky blue waters to love Frog’s Leap all the more! Who wouldn’t want local pride in Rutherford dust!

If there is one winery in Napa Valley that matches the philosophies of The Wine Company like a hand fits a glove, it’s Frog’s Leap.

THE PRACTICE:
If there is one winery in Napa Valley that matches the philosophies of The Wine Company like a hand fits a glove, it’s Frog’s Leap. Founded in 1982 by Larry Turley and John Williams, their first vintage consisted of Sauvignon Blanc (ferments fast, no oak needed, quick to market) and a small amount of Zinfandel. The Sauvignon Blanc got noticed by none other than the New York Times, instantly sold out, and Frog’s Leap was off and running (or hopping, as it were). Years later Larry left the partnership to open Turley Wine Cellars, and John Williams moved the winery off the old frog farm (which used to supply the delicacy to the elite of San Francisco in the early 20th century) to a historic property on the eastern side of Rutherford Valley, where it continues today.

THE WINES:
Frog’s Leap is well known in Napa Valley for marching to their own drum and holding steadfast to their principles. At times principles get in the way of business success, but the goal has always been to make the best possible wines. From dry farming to Organic and Biodynamic viticulture, John William follows his own vision regardless of market demands. Lower alcohol wines for example keep balance and “allow you to enjoy more than one damn glass!” John’s wines have never exceeded 14.5% and most of his wines fall into the 12.5% range. Williams took a lot of flack and lost some market presence for this but what goes around comes around and today, in the quest for ‘balance’ Frog’s Leap is held up as a standard bearer.

THE OFFERINGS:
CABERNET | MERLOT | ZINFANDEL CHARDONNAY | SAUVIGNON BLANC

MN Connection: Duxoup Wine Works

Posted on August 27, 2017 by Nicholas Livingston

Duxoup Wine Works | Sonoma Valley, California

THE CONNECTION:
Could it get any more All American than studying under a Russian winemaker? Not if it is the renowned André Tchellistchef behind the California wine renaissance and arguably the best winemaker of all time. Could it get any more Minnesotan than being Anoka born and bred? Andy Cutter even studied cooking under the venerable Verna Meyer -Minneapolis’ Julia Child so to speak. Verna was a chef who studied French cooking in France and taught cooking classes in Minneapolis for forty years. Andy Cutter knows something about quality ingredients so it is no wonder he and his wife Deborah make delectable wine. Most amazing is that they make it all themselves -just the two of them if you don’t count their dozen or so cats.

These are real people, and their wines reflect them as much as they do their terroir.

THE PRACTICE:
Duxoup Wine Works is Andy and Deb Cutter. Their winery is their Dry Creek Valley home. Making their wines proves an intimate touch at every step. Their ½ acre Gamay vineyard grows right outside their home and the other vineyards are named for the Frediani and Teldeschi families that tend them. Theirs are fascinating wines of appealing character from varieties seldom planted to the area: Charbono, Gamay, Dolcetto, Sangiovese, and Syrah. In the cellar, their 100+ barrels are not numbered but named; “Halley’s Comet” sits beside “Groucho” or “Harpo” –tipping their hat to the Marx Brothers Duck Soup, then there is “Uncle Dave” and of course “Pavarotti” named for their love of opera. These are real people and their wines reflect them as much as they do their terroir.

THE WINES:
Whether it is the Charbono planted in the 1920s by the Frediani family to the volcanic soils of northern Napa Valley or the Sangiovese planted by the Teldeschi family in the early 1900s to the gravelly clay loam of northern Dry Creek, the Cutters source exceptional fruit. Consistent quality has been paramount from the very start. Since 1981 Duxoup has remained a small production, gravity flow winery whose gentle hand yields wines that are silky, fruity, and come from venerable vineyards. The wines express not only terrior, but the highly skilled work of the two owners, both experienced and respected for their independence. At a mere 1,500 cases a year, Duxoup wines may be rare, but they are well worth the effort to find.

THE OFFERINGS:
CHARBONO | DOLCETTO | SYRAH GAMAY NOIR | SANGIOVESE

MN Connection: Badger Mountain

Posted on August 26, 2017 by Nicholas Livingston

Badger Mountain | Columbia Valley, Washington

THE PRACTICE:
Visionary and life-long farmer Bill Powers planted Badger Mountain Vineyard with his son Greg in 1982. Just six years later, well-before the word organic became trendy and then universal, Bill transitioned his 80-acre estate to organic viticulture and in 1990 Badger Mountain Vineyard became the first Certified Organic vineyard in Washington State. Produced in the premiere Columbia Valley AVA, Badger Mountain Wines benefit from an ideal location and climate, deep volcanic soil, and organic production from vine to bottle. Badger Mountain N.S.A. wines (No Sulfites Added) are USDA Organic Certified and are made with certified organically grown grapes. All Badger Mountain Vineyard wines represent their ongoing commitments to environmental sustainability and the creation of high quality wines that reflect the purest expression of exceptional fruit.

Since 1990, Badger Mountain has not used chemical herbicides, insecticides, fungicides or synthetic fertilizers among their vines.

THE WINES:
Since 1990 Badger Mountain has not used chemical herbicides, insecticides, fungicides or synthetic fertilizers among their vines. Harvesting premium fruit is virtually assured by respecting these assets: a favorable location and climate, volcanic soil, and organic techniques. Using this diverse palette of organic grapes, winemaker Jose Mendoza creates a spectrum of classic varietal wines with no sulfites added. Jose’s imaginative blends result in fresh, provocative wines -each with a distinct, heady balance of fruit and floral notes, spice and earth. Badger Mountain’s NSA wines carry the USDA Organic logo and, per federal regulations, contains less than 10 parts per million sulfites.

MN Connection: Argyle

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Nicholas Livingston

Argyle | Willamette Valley, Washington

THE CONNECTION:
Argyle is synonymous with Rollin Soles, the affable “cowboy philosopher”, founding winemaker at Argyle, and the only winemaker to make white, red and sparkling wines to reach Wine Spectator’s Top 100…but every philosopher has an apprentice and who knows when pupil might surpass professor? In 2013 Rollin handed the torch of head winemaker to Nate Klostermann, graduate of the University of Minnesota in Food Science. After getting a taste for winemaking at Falconer Vineyards along the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Nate went west to the Dundee Hills, started at Argyle as a harvest intern, was quickly promoted to enologist, and then assistant to none other than Rollin Soles. Now at the helm Nate is proving a keen-eyed captain making wines every bit as moving.

THE PRACTICE:
Prospecting the New World’s coolest latitudes, Brian Croser and Rollin Soles staked a claim in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, a place ideal for late ripened Pinot Noir and Chardonnay fruit. Since 1987, Argyle Winery has produced world-class methode champenoise sparkling wine, barrel fermented Chardonnay and ‘silky’ textured Pinot Noir from low yielding vines on winery farmed hillside slopes. As an estate winery where they work the fruit themselves, it comes as no surprise that environmental stewardship is a core value at Argyle as proven by their status as LIVE Certified Sustainable and Certified Salmon Safe. Argyle was named “OREGON’S PREMIER WINERY” by Wine Spectator in 2000.

As an estate winery where they work the fruit themselves, it comes as no surprise that environmental stewardship is a core value at Argyle…

THE WINES:
Argyle’s vineyards define their wines. At 120 acres, Knudsen combines old vine blocks with new high-density blocks planted to “Old World” Dijon clones at high elevation in Dundee Hills -proving key components in Argyle’s sparkling wines. Just south sits the warmer Stoller planted in 1995 using state of the art viticultural techniques producing some of Oregon’s finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Fifteen miles away sits Lone Star, a 160 acre site in Eola-Amity Hills. Their newest is the 135 acre Spirit Hill, a high-elevation site in the gusty Van Duzer corridor of Eola-Amity ideal for sparkling wines. All grapes are hand harvested into small baskets, chilled overnight to 35F, and crushed the next day. Chilling preserves ripe fruit characteristics and naturally limits oxidation yielding superlative wines.

MN Connection: Alexis Bailly

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Nicholas Livingston

Alexis Bailly,
Hastings, Minnesota

THE CONNECTION:
Minnesota’s original winery, Alexis Bailly Vineyards has been growing cold hardy grapes in Hastings since 1973 when David Bailly planted the first vineyard in Minnesota in that pioneering spirit that marks our northern lot. The tasting room opened in 1978 with the celebratory release of the first wines ever produced commercially of 100% Minnesota grown grapes. Today, Nan Bailly represents the second generation of the family and continues this proud heritage of making wines in the world’s most difficult climate – “Where the grapes can suffer.” After years tending vineyards that many believed would surely fail, Alexis Bailly not only proved the wines can be delicious but that cool climate grape varieties are as hardy as the people who settled the North Star State.

Alexis Bailly not only proved the wines can be delicious, but that cool climate grape varieties are as hardy as the people who settled the North Star State.

THE PRACTICE:
From this once-unlikely grape growing location in the Hiawatha Valley of the Upper Mississippi come the nationally acclaimed wines of Alexis Bailly Vineyard. Bucking the conventional thinking that no wine grape could withstand Minnesota winters, Minneapolis attorney David A. Bailly bought a 20-acre field of winter rye in Hastings in 1973 and planted it with French grapes. He took to heart the French philosophy that vines under stress produce the best fruit. What better way to stress them than our winters?

THE WINES:
His passion and his palate for fine wine meant he would not be content to just produce a wine from Minnesota, it had to be a Minnesota wine of exceptional quality. Grape varieties, therefore, were chosen not for their hardiness, but for their flavor and the superiority of the wine they produce. To survive sub-zero temperatures each vine had to be buried in the ground at the end of the season. Backbreaking work that it is, it nonetheless made his job as a winemaker easier by providing him with the quality grapes he sought. In 1978, Bailly opened the doors to the winery he designed and constructed from Minnesota limestone and white knotty pine. It also marked the release of Alexis Bailly Vineyard’s first vintage, 1977, produced exclusively from Minnesota-grown grapes. David Bailly died in 1990. His daughter, Nan, continues his legacy as the master winemaker, producing wines that have won over 45 national awards.

Introducing MN Connections

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Nicholas Livingston

Your homegrown fine wine distributor and importer serving the state of Minnesota since 1985, The Wine Company is Minnesota born and raised proud to spit so you don’t have to.

While Minnesota Nice might keep us from boasting day in day out, we have a great deal to be proud of in the land of 10,000 Lakes. Minnesota is not only home to the headwaters of the Mighty Mississippi but Wheaties, Aveda, the Juicy Lucy, Scotch Tape, Bisquick, Post It Notes, HMOs, the stapler, the armored car, the Better Business Bureau, the skyway, the shopping mall, the Bundt Pan, the pop-up toaster, Rollerblades, the snowmobile, Spam, rice cakes, and Snickers among countless other candy bars… Minnesota is an innovative hotbed of all sorts!

We hosted the first open heart surgery and the first bone marrow transplant. Minnesota is even the Birthplace of Waterskiing which should not come as a surprise when one in six of us own a boat and Minnesota has 90,000 miles of shoreline –more than California, Florida and Hawaii combined. It is a special place indeed…but did you know that we also gave the world several accomplished wine folk involved in some of the best juice that belongs on your table?

Join us over the coming blog posts where we will highlight but a few of our favorite MN ties to wines worthy of your cellar. So don’t be a goose –it is Duck Duck Gray Duck after all; be nice and learn more about what connections make us Minnesotans so special on the wine front.