Support your local wine merchant!

Tuesday is teaching night for me in St. Paul and I arrived early enough today for a quick side trip to Solo Vino, a local wine shop I had heard about, but had never visited. When I first walked in the door, I knew I was at the right place, as rack after rack of hand chosen (and labeled) wines from interesting appellations from around the world surrounded me. Things got even better when I struck up a conversation with one of the owners, Chuck Kanski. What really made the difference for me was the passion Chuck obviously had for wine and the respect for the palette of his customers. Yes, I probably know a bit more than the average person walking through the door, but I suspect that anyone who talks with Chuck will come away with great bottles at prices you can live with (care to put this hypothesis to the test, Garrick?; their selection of Tempranillo is the best I’ve seen in town).

So for listeners in the Twin Cities, I strongly recommend that you visit Solo Vino the next time you are in the area. Great selection and excellent customer service. I’ll be buying the wines for future shows there, so you might see me. For others, seek out the artisan wine shop in your area and vote with your wallet. It’s the retail equivalent to wine podcasts and blogs. Recommendations from real people who are passionate about wine.

What prompted my visit? It was one of the only places in town I could buy Trinitas Cellars Zinfandel that I plan on matching with chocolate cake for Wine Blogging Wednesday next week. The tip to try Trinitas came from listener, Stephanie (thanks!). Sometimes the stars just align themselves…