History
Wine Republic is the result of a labor of love over the last 10 years. Patti Judalena, a graphic designer for 20 years, wanted to do something else and that something else was open up a retail wine shop. She had her heart set to locate a shop near Grand Marais, MN but after meeting her husband RJ and the birth of their little girl, Excelsior, MN became the home for the shop. Patti enrolled in the International Sommelier Guild wine program and earned Levels I & II Certificates. Prior to opening the shop Patti always tasted wines with RJ although his favorite wine is absinthe, beer with any spirits a close third. RJ and Patti now do the wine buying together and the best part of that job is bringing in products we know our customers will love. Wine Republic offers only wines that are sustainable, organic or biodynamic. Beer is organic or gluten free, and the ciders and spirits also do not use chemicals in their production. We look forward to working with our customers and learning their
Specialties
Wine Republic is the First Wine Shop in Minnesota featuring only Sustainable, Organic and Biodynamic Wines. Our producer's wines are created with respect to the land, water and to the people who work the land. We choose to work with farmers that don't use synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Also in the refining process our vintners use organic and or free range eggs. We figured that if we didn't bring it into our home we couldn't pass them off to you.