minneapolis/minnesota wine appreciation groups

This is not a prime winegrowing area. It's very cold and dry in the winter and hot and wet in the summer. This is the oppposite climate of the Pacific Northwest. Warm and dry summers and cool and wet winters are better for grapes, which is why Oregon and Washington are so good for growing grapes.

But all is not lost:

Alexis Bailly Falconer Vyds

These two are growing hybrids on the lower Mississippi, SE of the Twin Cities. I believe there is a winery near Stillwater (on the St. Croix), trying to grow Chardonnay. I have not tried these wines.

There are anumber of wine stores in Mpls-St Paul, however. When I lived there (early 80s), there was a chapter of Les Amis du Vin (thru Surdyk's Liquor) and tastings put on by Haskell's Liquor (Bacchus Wine Society).

This is a fairly good sized market, but not really a prime wine producing area.

Tom Schellberg

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (Xyzsch) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m17.aol.com:

an article on the region from the Star Tribune

More than I remember from my days in the twin cities, I still think Surdyk's is likely to be ones best stop although I did like France 44 when they were in Minnetonka