I have seen the future of wine retail in the Twin Cities, and it is ... in the outer-ring suburbs. In all directions, from Ham Lake to Apple Valley, Long Lake to Woodbury, smart, dynamic people are bringing passion and innovation to stores, restaurants and wine bars.

A couple dozen miles north of downtown, the ever-resourceful Corey Burstad has installed a pair of Enomatic machines at his new restaurant, T-Box Bar & Grill. Located in a new, easy-to-miss building just off Hwy. 65 (1434 147th Av., 763-413-9950), the restaurant is a revelation, with a cozy, classy atmosphere, no liquor ("We don't want to be the 1 a.m. bar," Burstad said) and a nightly changing menu built around what's freshest in the adjacent market (halibut en papillote when I dined there).

The Italian-made Enomatics store four bottles at optimum temperature and humidity, dispensing 1-, 2- or 5-ounce pours and then injecting nitrogen into the bottle to keep it fresh ad infinitum. Burstad, whose taste runs toward food-friendly wines, rotates a surprise-laden array of offerings in the machines in particular and on the wine list in general.

The dirty little secret at restaurants is that they generally charge the price they pay for a bottle for one glass. The rationale: That might be the only glass they sell, because the wine might go bad before anyone orders another glass. The Enomatice remedies that "and allows us to charge a better price per pour," Burstad pointed out.

There's a nice wine selection at Tournament Liquors next door and a better one at the Tournament in Blaine, where a fun sidelight is envisioning the layout of the car wash that it replaced.

An hour-plus drive to the south, a new Apple Valley municipal store (5470 W. 157th St.) has gone the "green" route, with a bevy of organic wines, a tasting bar from recycled glass (Skyy Vodka bottles), geothermal heating and cooling and sundry other enviro-friendly features. Cities from Elk River to Eden Prairie are joining the 21st century when it comes to atmosphere and selection.

The retail picture is getting stronger to the east and west, as well. Every day, thousands of Hwy. 12 commuters whiz past the plain-Jane exterior of Long Lake's Liquor Barn with no notion of what Mike Yungner has amassed inside: one of the state's best inventories of collectible wine.

At the other end of the metro in Woodbury, Ray Zemke at Cellars and Bill Abrahamson of Northgate provide bargains, surprises and joie de vivre at flagships of local chains. Anchoring a new Woodbury strip mall (pardon the redundancy) on Bielenberg Drive are the second outpost of the Wine Market and a dandy wine bar, Cravings.

The ardor for wine reaches well beyond the metro area. Up in Aitkin, Minn., Ross Otto spearheads the Northern Lights Wine Club, which has a Feb. 19 tasting of Beaucastel and Tablas Creek wines. He's also starting up a branch in Mora with a gathering Tuesday (www.northern lightswine.com, 218-343-4410).

Closer to the Twin Towns, wine savant Kent Benson is teaching classes in St. Cloud (webpages.charter.net/swirl, 320-252-4013 evenings), and New Prague's Trailside Liquor (www.trailsideliquor. com, 1-952-758-9463) has one of the state's most active clubs and great gatherings throughout the year.

So for the cool wine experiences, go west, young men and women -- or south, or ... you get the idea. Bill Ward • bill.ward@startribune. com

Read Ward on Wine at www. startribune.com/blogs/wine