The Wine Thief

March 22, 2008
A pleasant specialty wine store. Cozy and small. Staff were of the at-your-beckon-call variety very helpful and eager to please. Small, solid selection of generally uncommon european imports including several of the new italian items and a few very hard to find bottles of la bavaisienne blonde. Prices were on par with the larger stores, which is surprising. Definitely a reason to give this place some business once in a while. Because this is in my neighborhood and seems likely to provide some surprises, I’ll stop back here every so often.

January 11, 2008
This definitely is a wine store, as the beer section seems like an afterthought tucked away in the corner. The beer that was there was pretty good stuff, and the prices were reasonable, but when comparing this to Blue Max, Zipps or the Lex/Larp Cellars the selection really just isn’t there. Staff seemed fairly friendly, but not overly sothen again there was a wine tasting going on when I was there so maybe they were just distracted. Overall would be a decent place if you lived in the area, otherwise it would pay to drive elsewhere.

December 29, 2007
This is a wine store but the owner enjoys his micro and Belgian beers. There is a small but great variety of Belgian and other lesser-known beers. It is a great place to pick up random selections of beers. The place is also known to have beer tastings, which always have a good selection. Check the website for upcoming events. And, if you are into wine (or sake) definitely stop by. Everything is good and well-priced!

July 30, 2007 [ Updated August 1, 2007 ]
A small but high quality selection. I saw a few Belgian beers here that I have seen no where else. I spoke with the owner who enjoys beer very much and stated he prefers beer to wine, although wine is the focus of the store. There were also White Winter meads, and the best sake selection I have ever seen, including sake drinking vessels. The selection isn’t very big, but this is a very nice, upscale store with an owner who appreciates beer. He buys from Brad, aka "Brad the beer guy" so he is able to get his hands on some of the best beer coming into Minnesota.