Jack Farrell, Haskell’s ahead-of-his-time wine connoisseur and media personality, dies at 82

Jack Farrell, the bow-tied and mustached face of Haskell’s liquor stores who became one of the Midwest’s most celebrated wine connoisseurs over a five-decade career in the Twin Cities, died of a heart attack July 27 at his family’s lake cabin in Deerwood, Minn. He was 82.

His death was confirmed by his family, who will assume control of Haskell’s, the local chain known for its specialty wine selection.

Acquired by Farrell and others in 1970, Haskell’s expanded from one to 10 stores under his leadership. His knowledge of fine wines — he globetrotted to wineries long before it was common for distributors to do so — earned him a clientele that included world leaders and celebrities.

But Farrell maintained a common touch, often saying the best wine education requires only a corkscrew and a notebook for documenting flavors. With his trademark look of bow tie, vest, blazer and pocket square, Farrell’s frequent radio and TV appearances in the Twin Cities made him a local media personality.

“It has been a ride like no one ever believed,” said his wife, Cathy. “The places we’ve visited, the people we’ve met, the reputation he’s made for himself and for our family, it’s just amazing.”

Farrell, of Minneapolis, died at his family’s cabin the same day his final appearance on WCCO’s Saturday morning radio program “Wine Chat” was broadcast. With temperatures expected to reach into the 90s that weekend, he recommended the “unsung, unheralded and undiscovered” white wines of Bordeaux to deal with the heat.

“Get some while it’s still available at such reasonable prices because sooner or later, in my opinion, the world is going to catch on to this huge area of white wine production,” Farrell said. “They’re food wines. ... They marry so well with so many things that other wines find it difficult to get along with.”

John Francis Farrell Jr. was born Jan. 17, 1942, the eldest of John and Gertrude Farrell’s seven children, and raised on the West Side of Chicago. He attended Butler University in Indianapolis before his work as a salesman for North Dakota-based Gold Seal Co. brought him to Minneapolis in the early 1960s, where he met Cathy. They moved to Milwaukee and began a family.

In the evenings, Cathy Farrell said, she would cook and her husband would pick out the wine.

“We used to soak the labels off the wine bottles and put them in a notebook, and put tasting notes in there and what we had for dinner,” she said. “We kept that up for quite a while.”

Shortly after moving back to Chicago, Cathy’s entrepreneurial father tipped the couple off about an upscale liquor store in Minneapolis going up for sale. It was Haskell’s, whose owner, Fritzi Haskell, is remembered as a pioneer in bringing French wine to the United States following the end of Prohibition.

Farrell purchased the store in 1970 along with three business partners, including former Minneapolis Laker George Mikan, and eventually bought out all three. Over the years, he learned much of the trade from his membership in the Wine and Spirits Guild of America, which organized traveling trips.

He visited six continents in search of wine, decades before the practice was standard. His family credits him for distributing wines from Argentina, Chile and Australia, and lesser-known products from France and Napa Valley, before they exploded in popularity.

In 2019, Farrell was recognized as the liquor industry’s Retailer of the Year by Market Watch magazine.

“His innovations were to be on the lookout for the latest, greatest,” said Farrell’s son Ted, who is president of the business today. He quoted his father: “Always keep an open mind and an open mouth when you come to learn about wine.”

Farrell’s media appearances raised his profile, eventually making him the man to call when dignitaries visited. He supplied wines for Pope Francis, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and for the White House during the administrations of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.

Family members described Farrell as a stern but dedicated and loving father, who always welcomed his sons’ friends for dinner and fishing trips.

In addition to his wife and son Ted, Farrell is survived by sons Brian, John and Beau, and nine grandchildren. All four sons are involved with Haskell’s.

While Farrell was ever the stylish man with refined taste, they said, he was still fond of treats such as Cheez Whiz or a bucket of fried chicken. For the couple’s 25th wedding anniversary, the family ate White Castle hamburgers with vintage champagne, John Farrell said.

On a recent episode of “Wine Chat,” Jack Farrell quoted a Latin phrase that translates to, “In matters of taste, there can be no dispute.”

Said Farrell: “Look at how many people like mustard on their hot dog and just as many like ketchup. It’s the same thing about wine. It’s do what you like and you enjoy, and that’s the most important thing.”