Thirty years ago at a trattoria on the isle of Capri, Bill Ward had a lusty homemade red that rocked his world. Ever since this "so that's what wine's all about" moment, he has been seeking similar experiences, always aiming to approach wine with an innocent eye. He's been writing about travel, food and wine for more than a decade and won a James Beard Award in 2004 for a series on Italian regional cuisine. His column, Liquid Assets, runs every Thursday in Taste.
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Destination: Fargo
It’s always been a bit of a goal of mine to at least step foot in all 50 states. (A stopover at the Dallas Airport was sufficient for a good while, but now I really wanna get to Austin ASAP.)
Anyhoo, if I actually had a list, I could have added North Dakota to it this past week. And one reason I’m glad to finally have gotten there is to visit a wine store I’d heard good things about for year’s, Happy Harry’s Bottle Shop.
On a cool, rainy afternoon -- the only kind we seem to have hereabouts these days -- I headed to Fargo’s larger Happy Harry's, located at 1621 45th St. SW. (There are two in Fargo and two in Grand Forks.)
This is one of the best all-around wine and spirits stores in these parts. The wine selection is well-chosen, broad and deep, and I love the organization by varietals, meaning there are syrahs/shirazes and pinot grigios/pinot gris from several countries apiece all in the same spots. That also meant that Cal-Ital renderings of Italian varietals were in the Italy, and the wine writer in me trumps the copy editor in me in approving.
Perhaps most impressive is one of the best arrays of Ports and sherries that I’ve seen anywhere.
The beer and liquor sections are equally cool, especially an eye-catching and –popping array of teeny "airline-sized" bottles near the front entrance.
Wine buyer Dustin Mitzel said he used to get more customers driving up from the Twin Cities to nab some Caymus cab or Joseph Phelps Insignia or other high-end Napa wine that had sold out lickety-split in the Twin Twins. Not in the current economic climate, though.
Still, if you’re anywhere near Fargo, this store is well worth a visit.
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