Are you hoping for a beautiful, sunny Saturday? I am, and not because of the fishing opener, it’s because at two o’clock Saturday afternoon, I will be appearing at Delano’s Woodland Hill Winery to sign and read from my book, Drink This: Wine Made Simple. Now I know some of you are thinking: But Dara, you’re not a big Minnesota wine fan.
Right. This is true. As I have told everyone who asks, European wine reflect thousands of years of tinkering with plants in fields to develop the wines we all know and love. Thousands of years. In Minnesota, where it is too cold to grow traditional European varieties, the tinkering has just begun. Most Minnesotan wines taste like that first draft of history—though I have been impressed with some, like Alexis Bailly’s Voyageur. Most Minnesotan wines get overly charitable reviews from critics who say things like: “It’s good—for a Minnesota wine.” Yet because I dare to say what I really think, Minnesota wineries are on me like flies on pie trying to make me change my mind. Will they succeed? Find out Saturday, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., in Delano, as we drink wine—some made from local grapes, at least one made from rhubarb and one made from apples—and sign books.
Please note, this will be my first appearance after winning this year’s James Beard Foundation Award for Writing on Spirits, Wine, or Beer. If enough of you ask me to in the comments, I might even be persuaded to wear my James Beard medal. It’s got a green ribbon this year.
Look, what else can I say? Don’t think you can hold out and wait for a better invitation to drink rhubarb wine with me because you will not get such an invitation! This is it! And I hear the Delano vineyard is beautiful, and is a charming place for a wedding, so if you’re scouting for such, or simply looking for a nice thing to do Saturday afternoon, come on down!
Woodland Hill Winery
731 County Road 30 SE
Delano, MN 55328
763-972-4000
