![]() ![]() Rolle's far from the only hockey veteran to turn to wine: at the Wayne Gretzky Estates in Ontario, you can sip a Chardonnay and then step into a pair of skates for a spin on the adjacent rink. Gianni Buonomo's tasting room will not be confused for any place in Rolle's hometown: it's described onĪs "San Diego’s only fully-functioning beach winery." Still, Rolle displays Minnesota hockey paraphernalia including sticks, pucks, pics, and skates. At the Kitchi Gammi event, general manager Al Dorvinen ("I've known Al since six years old," Rolle said of the former Hermantown Hawk) recounted frustrations with UPS shipping, emphasizing the winemakers' efforts to keep their products' cross-country journeys as quick and smooth as possible. Rolle's winery is part of a rapidly growing segment of the industry, based on direct-to-consumer membership sales rather than conventional liquor store sales. "Join our fedora family," read a wine club flyer distributed on Wednesday. Dapper hats are encouraged at Rolle's tasting room. Gianni Buonomo, the winery, is named for a legendary "consummate gentleman" figure in northern Italian culture. Ten Denfeld alumni were on hand last week, according to Rolle they planned to gather for a class picture after the tasting. Keith Rolle himself played for Denfeld High School, becoming co-captain by the time of his 1980 graduation. ![]() His father Dennis Rolle (1924-2009) and uncle Glenn Rolle (1921-2014) were both high school hockey coaches with storied achievements the former at Thief River Falls and the latter at Duluth East. Rolle comes from Northland hockey royalty. Of course, Minnesota doesn't just have sentimental value for Rolle: He has a strong member base here, and local investor Charles Johnson is a backer. Memberships entail sampling opportunities at Rolle's Ocean Beach tasting room, but the winemaker repeatedly emphasized that his Northland guests were getting some exclusives.īob Dylan, like Rolle, now spends a lot of time in Southern California, but Dylan fans can only dream of the sort of Northland loyalty Rolle so extravagantly demonstrates. Rolle's Kitchi Gammi tastings are expressions of gratitude to the community he came from, but they're also sales pitches: Every table was laden with forms that could be used to order from Gianni Buonomo's subscription-based wine club. ![]() We certainly did receive good treatment, sampling several of Rolle's wines with paired morsels personally introduced by the club's executive chef, Chris Stetson. So we do our best to make it up to them." "When the photos come back and they see what we've been doing here, they feel a little slighted. "Our wine club members in San Diego are wondering why in the hell Duluth people are getting all this good treatment," said Rolle to the several dozen invitees who filled the Kitchi Gammi's Great Hall for the annual Gianni Buonomo wine tasting event. Before moving to San Diego and founding Gianni Buonomo Vintners, Rolle grew up in Duluth. ![]() It may be hard to imagine a Southern California winemaker strolling into the Kitchi Gammi Club and receiving a warm reception while roasting residents of neighboring counties, but Rolle is a special case. ![]()
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