Montana - My Home

I visited western Montana last week and got a chance to check out a couple of emerging markets in the Flathead Lake area including Whitefish, Kalispell and Bigfork and also the Missoula market. It is always great to visit Montana since it is where our family is from and where I was born along with my parents and all my siblings. Telling the story of my grandmother Mary and her families immigration from France to north central Montana always means more when people actually know where Shelby and Sunburst are in Montana. Montana is still a place where it seems as if everyone knows each other even though parts of the state are showing significant growth.

I spent a day in both markets visiting mostly restaurants but did get a chance to visit a couple of impressive retail stores as well. In Whitefish I had dinner at Tupelo Grille in downtown Whitefish on my first night in town. Our distributor sale representative Peter Grantz and I had dinner with a California Owner/Winemaker Gary Luchtel with Suhr Luchtel in Napa Valley. It is always great to spend some time with other people in the business. The staff and the food were great and I had a great time. We shares a bottle of 1999 Chapellet Vineyard - Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. The wine was very impressive. Wednesday involved calling on several accounts including a stop at McGarry's roadhouse in Whitefish and a visit with Steve Nogal the owner and chef. Steve and his wife Sandy had been with the Inn at Langley in Washington for several years prior to opening this impressive place in Whitefish and were very knowledgeable about Washington wine. That always seems to help a bit. We ended the day in Bigfork at Invite - American Kitchen & Bar with Andrea & Andy Kriss. They have been big supporters of Fidelitas and have visited us on Red Mountain.

I spent a day and a half in Missoula with Jim Chapman. We had dinner at Red Bird Wine Bar the first night in Missoula. Very hip place and a great selection of wines and food. Missoula is a college town and just has the cutting edge feel of a college town. We made a stop at Worden's Deli and met with Chris whom I have met on several other trips through Montana. Worden's has a great deli and I would recommend a stop here anytime. We also visited Scotty's Table in their new location, very impressive new property. We visited Good Food Store also in Missoula and spent some time with Jerod Peitsmeyer the beer & wine buyer. What a great store and wine section. This gorcery store kind of had the feel of a Whole Foods but without the steep prices. I had a very productive visit to Montana. It is always great to go home to Montana.