Owned and operated by husband and wife team Gretchen Skedsvold and Mark Henry, Henry & Son is focused on purveying natural products made by independent and small batch producers that you can’t find anywhere else. "We want to be kind of like the indie record shop of liquor stores," said Henry. From products of local distillers and brewers like Tattersall and Sisyphus to hard-to-find wines from California and Spain, the shop is filling the gap in a niche market.
Natural wine is like a countermovement.
Located near the Minneapolis Farmers Market and International Market Square, Henry & Son is serving as Minneapolis’ natural wine champion. Henry and Skedsvold are going against the grain by choosing to stock wines from trusted producers using sustainable practices that forgo unnecessary additives, avoiding many big label wine producers who often use sugars and colorants in their wines. "Natural wine is like a countermovement to the modern industrialization of wines," said Skedsvold adding that, "There’s been a lot of press lately just about how many additives are in wines, just like processed foods." At Henry & Son, all the wines they carry leave out those additives, making for a better tasting, higher quality product.
Skedsvold and Henry knew their shop was a risk – but so far, it’s going well. "We’re not trying to be everything to everyone," said Skedsvold asserting that, "Once you try really good, well-made wine you can’t go back."
Henry & Son is at 811 Glenwood Ave Minneapolis MN 55405.