It was a coup last year when Bellisio’s Italian Restaurant got Lee R. Anderson, who heads a multibillion-dollar corporation, to lead a wine dinner there.
But they’ve done it again.
Anderson will be back at the Duluth restaurant Dec. 22 to talk about the Korta Katarina wines from his vineyard in Croatia that will be paired with each course of a multicourse meal.
He’ll be there with his wife, Penny, and daughter, Katharine. Anderson will talk about the Croatian winemaking culture, while his daughter will introduce the five wines.
Anderson, 75, owner and chairman of Twin Cities-based APi Group Inc., is legendary in the corporate world.
He took his father’s small plumbing supply business and built a major corporation with about 40 businesses and more than 10,000 employees. Those businesses include the Jamar Co. and several other specialty contracting firms in the Twin Ports. His A&L Properties in Duluth, formed with businessman Rob Link, was behind the development of the Duluth Technology Village, Wieland Block, Bridgeman-Russell building, Oneota Industrial Park and more.
But the winery in southern Croatia was for fun.
Anderson and his wife became interested in Croatian wines during a humanitarian mission to war-ravaged Croatia in 2001. Fascinated by the unique flavors from the locally grown grapes used, the couple started their own vineyard and winery on the edge of Orebic, a town on the Adriatic coast in southern Croatia.
The winery opened for business in 2005. While the couple have a home in Florida, they also own two mansions on London Road in Duluth. With a team running their winery and vineyard year-round, the Andersons travel to Croatia two or three times a year.
Their Korta Katarina wine has been served at Bellisio’s for about three years.
Brian Daugherty, president of Grandma’s Restaurants, which owns Bellisio’s, said all of the special wine dinners at Bellisio’s are unique experiences, with careful pairings of wines with the courses.
“What makes this one really exceptional is Lee and Penny Anderson’s passion for their exotic Croatian wine,” Daugherty said. “They are owners and visionaries and come here personally to share their labor of love. Not many wine dinners have the creators and owners on hand, not to mention they are fellow Duluthians.”
That raises the game for Bellisio’s. For its culinary staff, it’s an extra push to come up with an impressive Balkan culinary experience, he said.
The menu for “A Night with Korta Katarina Winery” will include cevapcici with crescia, which is a European grilled flatbread, an Adriatic seafood crudo and lamb chops with a balsamic glaze.
The event, at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 22, is limited to 76 diners with more than half the seats already sold. Cost is $99 plus tax, which includes dinner, wine and gratuity. With the cost of the high-end wines alone covered in the price, Daugherty says it’s a good value,
For tickets, call (218) 727-4921 or buy them at Bellisio’s at 405 Lake Ave. S. in Canal Park.
