France 44 Wines & Spirits co-owner David Anderson dies at 80

A lover of fine wine, good food and classical music, David Anderson reveled in sharing his passions with others.

So much so, that his wife sometimes had to beg him to slow down a bit.

"We had home music soirees in the 1970s. We would have a couple dozen people, have the piano, play duets. We would serve gourmet food and wine," his wife, Gretchen Anderson, recalled.

"At one time I said, 'You know, David, we're entertaining or being entertained five times a week. Do you think we could cut that back a little?' "

Anderson, 80, of Minneapolis, died Oct. 27 of cancer.

He began his working life as a University of Minnesota administrator, then switched to educating wine buyers as a co-owner of France 44 Wines & Spirits in Minneapolis. Rick Anderson (no relation), owner of France 44, said David Anderson "really set our store in motion to be the wine-focused place that it is today. We have a great reputation for wine today. If that is at all true, it started with David Anderson.

"He would never be condescending, he would never be rude. But he knew a lot and he was great at teaching it. There's not enough time to sing his praise."

Anderson was born in Benson, Minn., and dreamed of a career in music. He played piano and French horn and often conducted the high school band. After graduation, he attended the U, where his love of wine was already blossoming. In fact, his wife said, he had a charge account at a local wine shop when he was 19, at a time when the drinking age was 21.

Also a lover of travel, Anderson met his wife when he stopped into a Dinkytown travel agency where she was working to arrange a trip abroad. They went out to lunch, were engaged two months later and married two months after that, a union that lasted 54 years.

The Andersons spent their first few years of marriage living in dormitories, as David Anderson served as a residential adviser and then as the U's first director of student housing. After about a decade, he left academia and worked as a management consultant. Then, one day, he found a way to combine vocation with avocation.

He walked into France 44 and told the owner that he could raise the store's sales and profits by focusing on wine. He was hired and later became a partner.

Gretchen Anderson shared his love of food and wine; with a discerning palate of her own, she became the host of frequent wine tastings. Their children, Alicia and Alex, also got early and frequent exposure to the wine business, doing chores around the store and visiting vineyards and wineries.

"My brother and I spent our young years on the winery floor while my dad bottled wine" at Alexis Bailly Vineyard in Hastings, Alicia Anderson said.

The Andersons were longtime supporters of the Minnesota Orchestra and attended classical performances of every kind in and around the Twin Cities. They also traveled widely in Europe, North and South America, Africa and Australasia. It was a full life, his son said.

"We're very sad that he's passed at 80 years old, but he said that he had no regrets. And we're happy about that," Alex Anderson said.

Anderson is survived by his wife and children. The family plans to hold a celebration of life in the spring.