Store offers new twist to wine choice

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Jeramie Naser shows off one of the new “NR Times: Cyclone Edition” wines now stocked in the Family Fresh Market liquor store.

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There’s a new wine on the market and you can only buy it in New Richmond.

Family Fresh Market is now stocking “NR Times: Cyclone Edition” on its liquor store shelves.

The wine is produced and bottled by Northern Vineyards of Stillwater, Minn.

The private label, complete with vintage pictures of the damage from the 1899 cyclone that hit New Richmond, can be found on three types of wines — red, semi-sweet blush; semi-dry white; and semi-sweet merlot.

“We thought it would be a neat idea,” said Jeramie Naser, liquor store manager. “I did a bunch of research and came up with the name. We wanted something that has a local feeling to it.”

The store had hoped to start selling the Cyclone Edition wine by Christmas, in hopes of promoting the bottles as holiday gifts, but governmental approval moved more slowly than expected.

“And it took awhile to find a winery that would let us put our own label on their wine,” Naser added.

Now that the wine is on the shelves, Naser said, it’s been well received.

“For the week we’ve had it in the store, people are excited about it,” he said. “Even if you don’t drink wine, it’s neat to have it at home as a conversation piece.”

If customers do choose to drink the wine, Naser said he assures them that they will be pleased with the product.

“It’s really good wine,” he said. “I’ve tried them all.”

The wine is a limited edition selection. Once the initial shipment is sold, Naser said, the plan is to bottle the next round of wines based on each of the decades following the cyclone.

“We want to keep going through the past of New Richmond,” he said.

Naser noted that the New Richmond Heritage Center has been very helpful with local research and photographs for the wine labels.

Tags: business, retail, food