With dry January coming to a close, we thought now might be an appropriate time to ease everyone back into the harder stuff with a low ABV cocktail: the spritz. Generally, cocktails sit anywhere around 20 to 30 percent alcohol, but spritz style cocktails are much lower in alcohol, with ABV being right around five percent. The most famous of these types of cocktails is the Aperol spritz, a refreshing libation that’s particularly good on a hot summer’s day here in the Twin Cities. So, if it’s a good summer drink, why are we discussing it now, in the dead of winter? Well, by simply swapping out the Aperol with one of our favorite aperitifs, Bonal, you transform the bright and citrusy summer cocktail into something with rich flavors of ginger, baking spice, and bittersweet notes. Add a splash of elderflower tonic and slice of grapefruit, and you have a delicious low ABV drink, perfect for the winter. With all that being said, here it is, the Bonal Spritz:
- 3oz Bonal Aperitif: Bonal is an aperitif that uses gentian root, cinchona bark (where quinine is derived from), and a blend of herbs that gives it its distinct bittersweet flavor.
- 1 Bottle of Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic: Fever Tree Elderflower tonic is floral and lightly sweet, while still having that distinct quinine flavor that tonic is known for. We think it’s an excellent pairing with Bonal.
Fill a large wine glass with ice, add your Bonal, top with the tonic, stir lightly, garnish with a half slice of grapefruit, and enjoy!
This drink, if mixed according to the above directions, will have an ABV of 4.9% (don’t worry, we did the math so you don’t have to), so feel free to have two! The depth of flavors in the Bonal are lifted and enhanced by the sweet, floral notes from the tonic, while the grapefruit garnish adds a pop of color and beautiful bittersweet aromas that only make this cocktail even better. The result is a fantastic winter variation of a classic summer drink that we hope you’ll enjoy as much as we do!
by Tom
By now you probably have some apple cider sitting in the fridge ready for a new spin. Here’s a fun fall take on the classic sidecar. If you’re feeling adventurous, try this warm during your next chilly evening by the fire. Or if you’re feeling lazy, simply warm up the apple cider, add cognac, and top with whipped cream for an easy treat.
Cachaça Zombie 
You probably still have some apple cider; we all make the same mistakes every fall, nobody is perfect. So here’s a great recipe to share with your ghoul and goblin friends at your haunted gatherings. Use up that cider and that dusty bottle of pinot grigio you never got to in the summer, and bring the shenanigans to the party!
Classes through WSET go beyond our public classes; think of these classes as a larger picture look at wine around the world, as opposed to the more focused, deep-diving topics that we cover in our public classes. Certification through WSET not only helps to inform you as a beverage consumer in what you like and why, but it also leads to enjoyment of libations on a more thoughtful level. 
WSET Level 1 is like baby step into the world of wine: think of this level as the elementary school level of wine; it’s the least intimidating of the four levels, and a great way to get the basics if you have really minimal knowledge around wine. Our first ever WSET Level 1 course is scheduled for January 28, 2023, and entails just one 6-hour in-person course, with the exam being completed at the end of the day. 
You can treat WSET Level 2 like high school – there’s more content to learn here, but it’s still not too intense of a course. You’ll expand more on what wines from certain regions taste like and begin diving into grape growing methods. You’ll also begin to taste wines deductively at this level, meaning tasting wines for their core flavors, aromas, and mouthfeel. WSET Level 2 is scheduled as a 3-day course, with class held once per week beginning February 5, 2023. 
At Level 3, you begin to explore wine at a more “college” level. Why do wines taste a certain way, what wine growing and production methods are used where and why, and so forth. At this level, the exam consists of multiple choice, essay questions, as well as a blind of two wines; it’s geared more towards those with a comfortable background in wine or those who have completed level 2. Our Level 3 course will be held once a week, from March 13th through May 29th of 2023. 
By Bennett
Jason’s dreams for owning a brewery began like many, as an avid homebrewer whose carboys of fermenting beer began to take up too much space. Landing a cellarman job in Montana led to assistant brewing, more brewing education, and eventually another cellarman role at Pelican Pub and Brewery in Oregon, where he “got his wings” and worked his way up to head brewer (see what I did there). After gaining this experience, the couple decided to head back to the Midwest to start their dream brewery. Steel toe boots, Jason’s preferred footwear for work, became the name, illustrative of the hard work ethic required for brewing great beer.
With “big dreams of staying small”, Steel Toe has only gradually increased their distribution over the years. They have kept their stable of beers small, focusing mostly on hop-driven pale ales with a discernible Pacific Northwest influence. You won’t see them brewing the latest smoothie-style sour, milkshake IPA or pastry stout. Heck, it wasn’t until last month that they “finally” released a hazy IPA. A few modern craft beer enthusiasts might be irritated by the purposeful absence of these experimental styles on their tap list. Steel Toe doesn’t bother with fads. Contrarily, they have preserved a reverence for beer styles that are oft-ignored in today’s craft market, such as Hefeweizen, Scotch Ale, Black IPA, and Imperial Red Ale. This conviction for well-made traditional craft styles is the thing I most admire about Steel Toe.
Let me just start by saying that if you haven’t visited the museum before, you are truly missing out. The building was built in a Spanish Colonial-Revival style, with impressive arches inside and out, Romanesque windows, and stone carvings throughout the space. This dramatic architectural design can be explained by the fact that in a previous life, the building housed a church. Even with the soaring ceilings, though, the space makes for a surprisingly warm and cozy environment. 
Our first of the series will focus on Dr. Konstantin Frank, one of the most influential figures in North American wine. Russian-born and Ukraine-raised, Frank helped to shape the grapes and styles of Finger Lakes wines. If you’re looking to try domestic wines that are produced in a more European style, this class will be an eye opener for you! We’ll taste a flight of Finger Lakes wines while discovering the many ways his legacy impacted the domestic wine industry, what in the heck trockenbeerenauslese means, and why you should be drinking more East Coast wines, all while basking in the Museum’s gorgeous art collections. 
For our second class of the series, we’ll spotlight André Tchelistcheff — AKA “The Winemaker’s Winemaker.” This Russian-born winemaker helped to shape the wines of California and Washington as we know them today. Through his legacy of peer-mentorship as well as his development of some of today’s most widely used winemaking techniques, Tchelistcheff played a key role in establishing North America on the wine map. We’ll guide you through a variety of wineries that his influence directly touched, and learn how his role in the 1973 Judgement of Paris helped to positively change the trajectory of domestic wine.
The third class of the series focuses on one of the most ancient winemaking regions in the world: Georgia. After perusing the museum with a welcome beverage in hand, you’ll taste through a flight of Georgian wines in the main exhibition of the museum. We’ll explain how their generational wine techniques persevered through the Soviet era, what a Qvevri is (and how many people can fit inside the largest ones), and why fermenting wine underground leads to some of the most complex and interesting wines. 
We’re capping off the series with a bang! Champagne and Caviar. Need we say more? We’re taking more of an experiential approach for the final installment of our partnership with TMORA, leading you through a luxurious tasting experience of what is perhaps the world’s best food and wine pairing. Your ticket will get you samples of six of our favorite champagnes, accompanying small bites, and, of course, caviar (roughly 15g caviar for each guest). As you taste, you’ll learn about the history and production process of Champagne, and discover why it is such a magical pairing to this iconic delicacy. 
