It’s that time of year—the time for the most delicious weekend of the year, the big MPR benefit we call the Minnesota Monthly Food and Wine Experience. It’s the second year we’ve had it at Target Field, and I’m here to report that it’s actually a really spectacular venue to have it in. You get to see all the high-roller spaces, the Champion’s Club and whatnot, and it feels really splashy and spectacular.
There are three ways to get in, either with Saturday or Sunday show tickets ($75 in advance, $80 at the door) or at the big high-end wine tasting event, the Grand Red event, which is Saturday night for $90 a person, and includes food by Target Field’s chef, Pastor Jimenez, served in various stations around the big fancy clubhouse dining room. I went last year and it was so much fun. You find a great wine, grab a glass, spot a table serving something yummy, like spot prawns or beef tenderloin, get a plate of that, chat with the people in one line, get tips on where to go next—it’s a thoroughly fun time. And for a good cause! Proceeds benefit MPR, just like they do every year.
But wait! You say you are having a hard time justifying the $75 price tag? Just think of all the knowledge you’ll gain about wine, why, it could save you millions over your lifetime. Well, if you drink a lot. Thousands, certainly. For instance, Washington State has sent a delegation to our Minnesota Monthly Food and Wine Experience for the past few years, perhaps on the logic that us Canada-adjacent states have to stick together. I have been blown away, repeatedly and every year, by the sheer magnificence of the quality coming out of Washington State. It’s always been the reds that dazzled me—it’s a fantastic place to grow Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. But this year I decided to do a little personal research in advance, to find out whether Washington State Whites were of equivalent quality—and boy howdy are they. I had so many solid, good Viogniers, Rieslings, and Chardonnays that picking out only four to recommend was nearly impossible. But I did it.
This year, Washington State will once again have quite a presence inside the show. You’ll definitely find me there, looking for the next great wine stories—or at least using that as my cover for having a great time.
Join us! One of you even gets to come free. Just share your favorite wine tasting experience (whether at last year’s show, a friend’s, wherever) in the comments section below and our marketing team will pick a winner at random to get a pair of tickets to the Grand Red Tasting! Contest ends this Friday at 3 p.m.
