First Bite: Milly’s Wine Bar

Settling into a pink velvet seashell of a chair, feeling a little like Botticelli’s Venus, and a little like the fierce wine critic I can always be when I need to be, I considered the wine list at freshly opened Milly’s Wine Bar on Washington Avenue in Minneapolis. 

What’s that? A game? A challenge? Fun.

“Fight Kiwi Fight” read one entry on the wine list. To quote from the menu:

“Two half glasses of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc are presented to you blind. One is Sommelier Selected and the other is twice the price with an eye-popping score issued by Wine Spectator of 95 points—the highest rated Kiwi wine ever! And the winner is? $17”

Well, obviously, yes, sign me up, this is the kind of game wine people love to play.

I asked for the Kiwi Fight, and settled back. I turned my attention to: What a pretty, pretty place Milly’s is! 

Right across from Maxwell’s, not far from the hopping-est Bobby & Steve’s Auto World in town, close to the Vikings stadium, this is a part of town that was not, until now, obviously pretty. But: Everywhere I looked, giant windows, whimsical but elegant pendant lights, discreet glowing table lights, a little conversation nook here with a sage green couch, a book lined area there… It looked like a photo studio, and the very air seemed like it held invisible, infinite, infinitely flattering ring lights, and, did I mention Milly’s is pretty?

All hail Brandon Witzel of Quinn Design and Milly’s other co-founders, former Quinn Design clients and important local philanthropists Jill Mortensen and Kay Phillips. I called up Witzel to find out the Milly’s back-story: Turns out Witzel has an eye for historic properties, he also developed the Flock Co-Working space near Mia. He told me that the big driver of Milly’s was that Mortensen and Phillips yearned for wine bars like they enjoyed when they lived in New York, you know the ones, where everyone knows your name, the wine is amazing, and everything is tasteful and wonderful. To make the dream come true, they added wine director Timothy O’Neil, formerly of Fhima’s, and opened their doors on July 29.

A server set down two yellow glasses of wine on the pretty marble bistro table, I lifted one to my nose and—boy howdy, not to brag, but I aced that game in a second. “Not many people get that,” said my server. Yes! My heart raced, my ego boomed: I won a game!

I am not a games person! I get bored with board games before they even begin, I’m too slow and wary for field sports, I fall apart at trivia because Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic sound like synonyms to me and then people get so offended and start yelling—so when I am telling you that I won a game, this is a big deal for me.

More games please!

I summoned the other game. To quote the menu, again:

“FIND RON BURGUNDY! Two half glasses of the most fantastic Pinot Noirs are placed in front of you, and, simply put, one is a Burgundy and one is not. Correctly identify the Ron Burgundy and you’re halfway to being in a glass case of emotion! Honestly, Burgundy can really disappoint. But here you’re guaranteed to experience a stunning Burgundy in context of another rockin’ Pinot Noir. Should you find Ron Burgundy and also correctly guess where the other Pinot comes from, the Sommelier will give you a nip of dessert wine. Here’s a hint: It’s either Oregon or California. $28.” 

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People, I won again. I found the Burgundy! My heart leapt! My skin tingled! So this is what it is like to win a game? Bring it on! Sports! I discovered a sport, for me. At this late date. Is this a sport? Is sitting in a wine bar a sport? Then: I did not get the West Coast state right. But I was still exhilarated.

The wine list is not all games, and the majority of it offers all the things you want in a wine bar wine list. That is, there are enough unusual offerings to interest people who know too much about wine, but also long, chatty descriptions of wines which work to draw in people who aren’t just sitting out here like spelling bee champions eager for someone to read out the dictionary.      

Milly’s is a fun addition to Mill City. “It’s called Milly’s because of Mill City, the Mill District, all that?” I asked Witzel. “You’re one of the first to catch that.” I do like a guessing game!

1129 S. Washington Ave., Mpls., millysmpls.com