France 44 Wine & Spirits

Minnesota Monthly Night at France 44

carin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:16:45 +0000

Thursday February 2, 2012 6-8pm – Free Event

The evening will focus on wine tastings, featuring Minnesota Monthly’s Food Critic, Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl. Attendees will taste a variety of wines, and listen to tasting advice from France 44 experts and Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl. Minnesota Monthly will be on hand to sell discounted Minnesota Monthly Food & Wine Experience tickets.

6:30-7:30pm food critic Dara Moskowitz Grundahl will sign her book,

Drink This! Wine Made Simple

Make-A-Wish Wine Pull

carin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:52:10 +0000

France 44 has offered their support for the ‘Wish Ball’, the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Minnesota’s gala that will take place at the St. Paul RiverCentre, on Saturday March 3rd, 2012. Donors who wish to contribute wines for the event’s wine pull may do so by clicking here or by coming into the store and making their purchases in person. Either way, France 44 will safe-keep all wines purchased for the event and deliver them to the venue. Please make sure to identify your purchase as “Make-A-Wish wine pull” either in the comments section of the online shopping cart or to any France 44 sales associate and we’ll take care of the rest. If you purchase online, please use customer pick up as the shipping option. Thank you again for your wonderful support.

2 Gingers Irish Whiskey is Back!

carin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:37:40 +0000

France 44 is pleased to announce that 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey is back in stock, $19.99/bottle. We will have a bottle signing and sampling event on Saturday February 4th 2-5pm. Don’t miss this opportunity to have a taste and meet founder Kieran Folliard.

Insider’s Club

Erica — Thu, 26 May 2011 23:14:15 +0000

As an Insider’s Club member, you will enjoy a substantial discount on a mixed case of wine, hand-picked by our wine staff. We scour the globe for the best deals and package them up for you, along with notes on each wine. There is no obligation. You may cancel at any time. Cases for $189/case ( a 30-40% discount off the standard retail price) are available every other month .

Click here to sign up now!

LANDSKROON CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2008 PAARL SOUTH AFRICA

tom — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 01:14:49 +0000

Now that the colder weather is here, it’s time to break out a full-bodied Cabernet from Napa/Sonoma. Right? Not so fast there. According to the N.Y. Times last year, South Africa is one of the best places in the world to find quality and affordable Cabernet. With over 450 wineries, their 350 year old wine industry is 7th in production world-wide. Cabernet is their number one red grape variety and planted in about 13% of the total vineyard acreage. Coming from the Paarl(“pearl” in Dutch) region of South Africa, this one uses a nice combination of old and new world wine-making styles. Matured for only 12 months in oak (about half as long as typical Ca. Cabs), the wine still shows a cedar/sandewood character, but with more terrior – loam and clay, as well as pure fruit – boysenberry, mulberry, and black cherry coming through. Also, to add to the mix, hints of bell pepper, olive, fig, cola, cocoa powder, black tea, iron, and even a little sage herb. It finishes with fine polished tannins and brisk acidity. So, if you want something other than an over-oaked, over-ripe, over-alcoholic Cabernet from Ca. (they’re not all that way, thankfully), give this graceful food-friendly South African a try.

Price: $18.99 sale/ $21.99 regular

Tom Bates October 16, 2010

GREEK WINE CELLARS Kourtakis Nemea Kouros Red 2007

tom — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 21:48:05 +0000

Now that the cooler fall weather has arrived, it’s safe to drink red wine again, at least it’s more enjoyable, if not mandatory in my book. A unique and pleasant place to start might be this new one for us – a Nemea from the Kourtakis estate(established 1895) made entirely from the indigenous grape “Agiorgitiko”. Sound scary? It’s not. This bright intriguing and remarkable red has a fresh cinnamon spice(oregano?) aroma, ripe currant fruit and enough tannin to hold up to any red meat or pork. And with enough acid for tomato based dishes like spagetti and meat balls, it’s a good choice for those willing to try something other than Italian wine. With 10,000 cases imported to to US., you should be able buy plenty of this affordable little ruby.

p.s. Kourtakis won the “Value Brand of the Year Award” 6 times in last decade by the Wine & Spirits Magazine.

Price: $11.99/sale $13.99/reg.

Tom Bates September 23, 2010

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!

Chateau La Commanderie De Queyret – White Bordeaux 2009

tom — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:08:55 +0000

Named for a Commandery of Knights based here in the 13th Century, this highly respected estate sits on 106 hectares of clay/limestone soils, 20 of which is planted in Sauvignon Blanc- used in this wine. A delightfully pungent aroma and taste of sweet pea, lemon/lime, and grapefruit greets you, along with a dusty grey stone minerality and bracing acidity. It will enhance any seafood dish like trout, oysters, or shrimp, as well as salads, poultry, tex/mex dinners, and especially Asian stir-fry with snow pea pods. The 2009 vintage is being raved about by experts as one of the top vintages EVER in Bordeaux. So, it’s an exciting pleasure to get to sample whites from this vintage now, like this one, before the reds are released. Something to look forward to!

$14.99 /sale price- $16.99 / regular

Tom Bates

DOMAINE HOUCHART ROSE 2009 – COTES DE PROVENCE, FRANCE

tom — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:08:31 +0000

It’s summer and that means it’s time to break out the roses – like this one from the locals of Aix-en-Provence. With newly renovated wine making facilities, the 5th generation Houchart family estate has made a dandy. Sourced from 5 different grape varieties(Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvedre), it’s salmon pink in color and loaded with dark red fruits. Lively, fresh and DRY, this one has good structure, concentration and intensity enough to satisfy you red wine drinkers out there. Serve between 50-55 degrees with any grilled meats, ham, salmon, pizza or Asian dishes. Look for the gorgeous wallpaper type label.

Price: Reg. $15.99 / Sale $13.99

Tom Bates

Mirror Pond Pale Ale – Deschutes Brewery – Bend, Oregon

tom — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 02:10:28 +0000

Looking for a new pale ale to try instead of Bass, Sierra Nevada, or even our award wining Summit? Check this out! Very British in style, it instantly brought back fond memories of English Real Ales found in all the pubs there. After pouring, you notice a deep coppery amber color, and then the distinct floral ester aroma of the Cascade hops. You’ll get caramel, citrus, lemon, and grapfruit flavors with a fresh yeasty bread doughy character that leads you to a light toasty and satisfying finish. But don’t take my word for it, Alstrom Bros from the Beer Advocate gives this brew an A-. I would give it an A+. Cheers!

Price: $9.99 /6pk or $3.99 /22oz bottle

Tom Bates