Makin' moonshine in Minnesota and grabbing ass in Iowa

The hubby and I have a new hobby, and not it's not what you're thinking.  It's visiting small independent distilleries and wineries in the region and sampling their products.  It actually started several years ago on a romantic weekend in Wisconsin Dells; where we visited our first winery Wollersheim.  Then a few years later we visited the Amanas in Iowa where we came home with I think 6 or 7 bottles.  But it's just within the last couple years that we've really picked up the pace.  We have hit just about every winery in central Minnesota and many along the Wisconsin border.  In just about every one we've visited, we've brought home at least 1 bottle, usually more.

Panther Distillery 

Friday this week, we took a drive out to Osakis, MN (about a 2 1/2 hour drive) to visit Panther Distillery; the first legal distillery in Minnesota in 154 years.  There we learned the whiskey and bourbon making process, toured the facility and got to sample.

While chatting with our tour guide, she told us about the role Sterns County played in the production and bootlegging of moonshine during prohibition, and how the Catholic church was even teaching people how.  I knew that the Minneapolis/St. Paul area was a haven for gangsters during this time; Al Capone had a hide out in Hayward, WI; but I had no idea ordinary citizens were involved and found it fascinating.

Minnesota law still prohibits distilleries from selling their products to the general public, so we weren't able to buy any spirits there, but I couldn't leave without picking up a copy of Minnesota 13 Stearns County's Wed Wild Prohibition Days.

Then Saturday, we headed south, to Iowa.  Hubby had found Bel-Aire Estates online and with wine names like Happy Ass, Wild Ass and Grab Ass, he just had to go try it out; and it was well worth the trip.  The wines were great, we came home with a bottle of each.  They had an apple wine,  a grape & apple, a peach,  a rhubarb (and I'm not a rhubarb fan but this was good), and a wild grape wine.  All locally gown, except the peaches.


But what do asses have to do with wine; you ask?  They have two donkeys that are kept as pets.  It was 2 degrees with a windchill somewhere below 0 when we visited, so we didn't go see the donkeys, but if you visit the winery in warmer weather you can visit with the donkeys and go for a stroll in the apple orchard.

We also picked up an Iowa Wineries guide, so next year I think we'll be making more trips to Iowa.

If you want to see a list of all the wineries we've visited so far you can find it on my Pinterest board Booze Travels.