France 44 Wine & Spirits » News

Another Feather in our Cap

Rick — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:27:10 +0000

We’ve done it again! Minnesota Monthly awarded us with our latest “Best of” award, this time for our sister store across the Mighty Mississippi, the St. Paul Cheese Shop. This little shop of delights is located near the corner of Snelling and Grand. And fear not, there is plenty of free parking.

Of course, the Minneapolis location offers all the same wonders as the St. Paul shop, so you don’t have to go across town if you happen to live near our Minneapolis store. (You will, however, miss the undeniable urban funkiness in our small-is-beautiful shoebox-of-a-store St. Paul store!)

Check us out and see what all the press is about!

France 44 Partners with Children’s Cancer Research Fund

Rick — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:39:10 +0000

On Saturday, November 6th, Children’s Cancer Research Fund will host the 30^th annual Dawn of a Dream gala, held this year at the Depot in downtown Minneapolis. France 44 is pleased to partner with the CCRF this year in many ways, including a fabulous list of wines for the gala’s Wine Pull. Guests will purchase tickets for $50, $75 or $100 to take their chance at “pulling” a wine of equal or greater value, which they can enjoy with their guests that evening or take home at the end of the event.

The wines available in the “pull” will all be donated. As a service to CCRF supporters, we put together a list of recommended wines ranging from $49.99 and up which can be purchased either online

(click here to shop online – be sure to select “in store pickup” as the shipping method and state “Wine Pull” in the comments section) or make your purchase in the store. All wines purchased for Dawn of a Dream will be collected by France 44 and delivered to the event, so as a purchaser you do not need to worry about delivery. Wine purchasers will receive a 100% tax-deductible donation receipt from Children’s Cancer Research Fund in the mail following the event.

In order for the event organizers to properly account and list all donated wines, please make your selections on or before October 8^th. Later submissions will be delivered to the event venue, but will not be listed on the printed auction booklet.

Heavy Table and Matt Fisher on IPAs

Erica — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:33:19 +0000

Hot summer afternoons are the perfect times to enjoy a refreshing IPA. Our own Matt Fisher talks with heavy table about the history of the brew and its wonderful attributes and the interesting varieties seen today. Check out what he has to say!

Best of City Pages:Wine Shop & Cheese Shop!

Erica — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:19:32 +0000

We have received the very prestigious awards of Minneapolis’s Best Cheese Shop and Best Wine Shop! Check out the articles as well as the many other wonderful people, places, and businesses in the Twin Cities that have received Best Of awards.

Cheese Shop: http://www.citypages.com/bestof/2010/award/best-cheese-shop-1378800/

Wine Shop: http://www.citypages.com/bestof/2010/award/best-wine-shop-1378810/

France 44 IN THE NEWS AGAIN!

Rick — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:24:58 +0000

Our resident Cheesemongers, Benjamin and Song, are featured in the food blog SimpleGoodandTasty.com, in a discussion of local food versus imported delights from the other side of the planet. So, is it OK for the devoted locovore to indulge in a Carles Roquefort or a Pata Negra Spanish ham? Check out the blog and join the conversation!

France 44 IN THE NEWS – SCOTCH

Rick — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:12:58 +0000

Our resident beer guy, Matt Fisher, also likes him a wee bit of nippy sweetie from time to time. Thankfully, his earnest tippling has prepared him well to opine about delicious Scotches. Also convenient is the local foodie-blog’s interest in Scotch. So that stars aligned (and some sponsorship agreements later), we have this in-depth article on two great Scotches stocked on our neat and clean wooden shelves. Why not check it out?

SURVIVE WINTER: TAKE A WINE CLASS

Rick — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:06:53 +0000

By all accounts, this winter has been brutal. You would be forgiven if you’re feeling a little stir-crazy.

The good news is that we have lots of wine, a well-heated building, and a fully-plowed parking lot! All we need is a few good souls to venture out into the last throes of the Minnesota winter to enjoy one or more of our awesome (and award-winning) wine classes.

Take a look at our calendar and see if anything tickles your fancy. Also remember that our cheese shop can offer you a snack pack, custom matched to the wines being sampled in the class!

So what are you waiting for? Click here to view our calendar! At only $30 per class, our program is the best deal in the Twin Cities.

JUST IN! – A FRESH CROP OF CHEESE

Rick — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:53:12 +0000

In a sure sign of spring, we just received a big shipment of cheese (wonderful cheese!) from around the country and around the world. Indeed, our cheese cases are practically bursting at the seams with beautiful blues, awesome alpines, great goudas, and wonderful washed-rinds!

You owe it to yourself to stop by and ask for a sample of anything that strikes your fancy. We love to have you try things, because the stress of selling you something you won’t like is just too much for us to bear!

But please, whatever you do, DON’T ASK FOR A SKIM-MILK CHEESE!!! It might cause our cheesemonger’s head to explode!

Attention Beer Geeks:

Erica — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:16:17 +0000

We have doubled the size of our walk in beer cooler to 1200 ft²! This may mean more aimless wandering and potential hypothermia. Not to fear a staff member is always present to help you navigate your way through the towers of delectable brews. This also means more room for MORE beer! Keep your eye out for new additions to our selection. If this is all too overwhelming for you, Matt, our beer expert, is teaching an introductory beer class March 9^th. Come learn the fundamentals of brewing while enjoying some new suds.

Ames Farm and their Busy Bees

Rick — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:18:09 +0000

The current bout of summer-like weather has us thinking about honeybees, flowers, songbirds, and (of course) honey! When we think of these things, our minds naturally drift toward the folks at Ames Farm and their horde of busy bees.

Liesa Helfen from Ames Farm Single Source Honey will be here to sample
out their various sweet nectars. Ames honey is collected over one specific time period, from one unique geographic location and from one single hive. They have some 300 hives in 18 different locations! All Ames single-source honey is raw and unfiltered, which means it has not been exposed to any heat outside of the hive and has not been blended or heavily processed.

If you’ve never experienced honey the way the bees do, then you’re missing out on one of the planet’s last unspoiled treats. Come on by our Minneapolis location on Saturday, January 30th from 2pm to 5pm. As always, the tasting is free of charge and open to the public. You’ll be able to taste the difference single-sourcing makes for honey. Caveat: We will not have any of the honey in the bear-shaped bottle, so if you want to compare, you’ll have to bring your own!