First, a little background on the business of wine bars. There is probably no harder way for a restauranteur to make money than to open a wine bar. Unlike a coffee shop, you can’t take it to go. Unlike a taproom, you’re making far less margin. And unlike the beer world, you can’t down three […]
I need to let you know about one of the great wine bargains in the city which will be happening through the month of April 2018. Let me break this down to the place, the situation, the new sommelier, the new chef, and the amazing current deals on wine. The Place: NineTwentyFive Restaurant at Hotel […]
My little business is a four legged stool. What most of you know me for are my public wine classes (and huge thanks to all that attend!). The second part of my business consists of private events for individuals and corporations. The third part is about coaching and training the sales staff at wholesalers and wineries to […]
On the morning of Tuesday May 30th we got a phone call from the management of Toast Wine Bar that they would be closing after service that evening. I asked if I could announce it to the Twin Cities Wine Education fans to give them one last chance to enjoy, and they requested no. They […]
There was a time about ten years ago that we rented a house in a little French villages called Pelissanne, located near Salon-de-Provence and the Southern Rhône Valley. Pelissanne is a perfect little real French village, off the radar of tourists (especially Americans). The old part of the village is full of 16th and 17th […]
Note from Jason: This profile is about one of my favorite people in the local wine scene. Erin Rolek represents the younger generation of sommeliers in all the best ways: fun, sassy, opinionated, but without the ego or pretentiousness that characterize much of the sommelier world. Her list at The Bachelor Farmer is not only balanced […]
We are deep into winter around here. Daytime high temps in the single digits. The scraping off of the windshield. Do you have your emergency kit packed in your car? Do you have a 375ml of Port in there too? Over the weekend I had the slow cooker bubbling away with a Provencal chicken stew of epic […]
