Sticking with wine in the Twin Cities: The 3M Open, TPC Twin Cities, July 25-38, 2024
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You may not find the world’s best golfers in the field at the 3M Open, coming as it does right on the heels of The Open Championship. But there’s no reason you can’t drink good wine in the Twin Cities. I have a soft spot for the wine scene there, dating back to the “Aughts,” when I made regular trips to Minneapolis to call on United Healthcare. Don’t dismiss St. Paul either!
One of my local colleagues then was a regular at Osteria I Nonni, where we spent many wine-soaked evenings debriefing, which is a euphemism if I ever heard it. I Nonni is still around and worth a trip for a list that covers pretty much the whole Boot except maybe Emilia-Romagna and Molise, but who’s counting? If it’s not a night for La Dolce Vita, there’s an excellent selection from the rest of the world too. (NB: in a truly distressing development, the wine list is no longer online as of this 2023 update. I can only hope it doesn’t mean a decline in the strength of the overall program…)
I almost hate to say it, but Terzo’s Italian list is even stronger, with great regional coverage and variety. Organized by vineyard/village, the Piedmont section is a thing of beauty, both for depth and pricing. Check out the great prices on Roagna Babaresco and Barolo, barely scraping retail.
Bar La Grassa has a nice more limited Italian selection with good regional/grape coverage despite its modest size
Fhima’s website informed me there were 2951 bottles in stock on the day I looked. Honestly, it made me anticipate there was something special awaiting me, but it was surprisingly bland almost everywhere except maybe Bordeaux, where they pull out the stops, and red blends from California. There may be a hidden steal in the tiny Italian section but you can’t tell from the incomplete listing. You get the sense they could do so much more…(2024 update: the list here has also been removed from online view. I do not view this as a positive.)
The list at Meritage is impressive in size and ambition. It’s particularly strong in France and oddly weak in Italy, maybe conceding that realm to the dedicated restaurants above. But there’s terrific diversity and inclusivity at the global level, a welcome sight. For some reason it seems prices tend to escalate sharply for any wine from a widely recognizable French producer, like $220 for a ‘19 village Gevrey from Maison Drouhin. There are better values elsewhere in this list that’s a decent homage to France.
A business dinner a long time ago at iconic Murray’s was unforgettable for Pike Cheeks and the famous Butterknife Steak The heavily American wine list is not quite as memorable, with a lot of average reds until you get to the correspondingly expensive reserve list, which offers a nice lineup of trophy Napa reds.
If you’re in the mood for something less formal, Troubadour Wine Bar has small plates and an imaginative, eclectic list that changes regularly and touches a lot of bases for its size.
Alma has a small, heavily curated list that is aggressively weird but hopefully complements the food
Retail
On the retail side, looks like you’ll be fine at any of the following: Henry and Son, North Loop Wine and Spirits, South Lyndale Liquors or Surdyk’s.
No-see-ums: (couldn’t confirm the inventory online but may be worth trying based on what I read): 801 Chophouse, Cork Dork, Wine Thief and Ale Jail)
