It's a wine, wine world

Recesssion? What recession? New wine and spirits stores are popping up from Lake Elmo to Lake Street, not to mention Woodbury, Plymouth and even the airport.

But on a recent excursion to retail outlets, a couple of venerable sites -- Tonka Bottle Shop and Sentyrz Supermarket -- seemed just as "new" to me.

Tonka Bottle Shop -- which has a Wayzata address (17616 Minnetonka Blvd.) but is located basically where Minnetonka and Deephaven meet -- just completed a refurbishing. The new space is much more welcoming and utilitarian, and has two striking remnants from its previous incarnation: bull and buffalo heads high atop the walls at either end.

Customers insisted that the outsized taxidermy be retained, said owner Tim Bevins, a widely admired local wine figure who's back on duty after a long illness.

Tonka Bottle, however, is a pup (pushing 40) compared with Sentyrz. That Nordeast staple got its license to sell alcoholic beverages in the 1930s and, best as I can tell, is the area's only full-service supermarket that sells wine, beer and booze in the same space as produce and Pringles.

"The city of Minneapolis advertised for liquor licenses just after Prohibition, but they proposed that it only be pharmacies," said store owner Walter Sentyrz Jr. "My grandfather [Stanley] went to the City Council and made a presentation and got one."

So the store (1612 NE. 2nd St.) began selling the beverages known back then as "hooch" and stayed with mostly the basics for almost three-quarters of a century. In February 2008, Sentyrz hired a young wine buff, Peter Houghtaling, to broaden the portfolio.

And a clear focus.

"We're trying to fit the neighborhood," said Houghtaling. "We're not trying to be like the big grocery stores that sell wine in other states. We want a diverse selection, wines that go with food and interesting wines that overperform at their price point."

Houghtaling, a Duluth native, cited a $13 wine as a prototype for his portfolio: the Monte Volpe Primo Rosso red blend made in Mendocino County by the Graziano family. "It's delicious, and it shows the relationship with Italy, with its acidity and minerality," he said, "but it has the fruit profile that people expect from California.

"We're known for our homemade sausages, and a wine like that with great fruit and good acidity is great with sausage."

A variety of choices

It will need all of that, plus its array of clubs and classes and smart pricing, to thrive in a location between two of the area's most bargain-filled outlets, Chicago Lake and Hennepin Lake.

Other new stores include Lake Elmo Wine Company (3511 N. Lake Elmo Dr.), a second Kowalski's (8505 Valley Creek Rd., Woodbury) and Surdyk's Flights Wine Market & Bar at MSP International Airport.

Meanwhile, aside from a couple of the WineStyles franchises, I'm not aware of any local wine and spirits stores that have closed of late.

The more merchants, the merrier, I say. Competition figures to enhance an already bargain-laden landscape (that's where the recession actually does come in).

The winners: you and me.