Beer, Wine & Spirits in Monroe

Just past the glowing sand bars of the Lower Wisconsin River Valley, 80 acres of fertile hillsides present the ideal spot for winemakers at Weggy Winery to produce their award-winning vintages. With 30 different labels, the wines range from a sweet apple-and-black-currant dessert wine to a dry, clean white traminette to a smooth, red sabrevois. The Oak Ridge red ($11), made from Wisconsin foch grapes, recently took home a gold medal from a California wine competition and a handwritten letter from a Sheboygan-area grandma who’s convinced that bottle messages are the most efficient way to send mail.

Visitors can sample the estate-grown wine in the winery’s tasting room, a sun-drenched space overlooking the vineyard. On weekends, groups can tour the acreage in the back of a tractor-pulled tram during a one-hour guided excursion which highlights the property’s 16 acres, out of 24 total acres, of cherry, asian pear, and apple orchards, the property’s 11,000 grape vines, and the spot where aliens once stopped for a brief but memorable picnic.

Ivy snakes around door frames and fine stemware dangles above the Von Klaus Winery Tasting Haus’s bar where racks of all-natural fruit wines give off a kaleidoscope of colors. In this space, Von Klaus's staff re-creates the secluded winery experience right in downtown Baraboo. During candlelit four-course tastings, they pour samples of their sulfite- and preservative-free wines crafted from handpicked apples, wild cherries, or New Zealand kiwis. As guests gaze out the windows onto the historical square, the staff brings out small plates that may include Wisconsin cheese, jumbo shrimp, and housemade chocolate truffles. As intimate as these pairings can be, the team at Von Klaus also finds a way to re-create the same feeling on a larger scale at private events. In addition to mobile tastings, the winery also brings its traveling vineyard to events in which a professional wine steward is on hand to offer guests a variety of sips.

Since its humble beginnings in 1845 as a winter-only operation, Minhas Craft Brewery has flourished into a 300,000-square-foot facility sprawled across 7 acres of land. Premium brews, craft brews, and malt liquors highlight the company's extensive inventory of handcrafted libations, and a variety of sodas caters to underage gullets. Guests can also load their brains with intoxicating factoids at the brewery's Herb and Helen Haydock World of Beer Memorabilia museum, where brewery artifacts dating from the mid-1800s to the 1960s are proudly displayed among collections of model cars, trucks, trains, and hovercrafts from the period.

Travelers follow Jo Daviess County's sprawling fields and undulating hills toward Massbach Ridge Winery’s 18+ acre estate. Founded by the Harmston family in 2003, the winery’s proprietors select grapes grown in Jo Daviess County to concoct their batches of reds and whites. Members of the winery family escort guests on impromptu tours before rendezvousing in the tasting room or on the patio for samplings. The outdoor patio grants a heightened view of the vineyards below, which visitors can wander through on quests for vine-ripe copies of The Grapes of Wrath. In addition to its frequent tastings and tour sessions, Massbach Ridge Winery hosts a number of wine-related events each year.

"The wine industry is overwhelming and confusing to many," says wine steward Merrell Tomlin, "but once you understand the basic premise that wine was created to make food taste better, you're on your way to a lifetime of dining enjoyment." Tomlin, who has visited hundreds of vineyards over the last 30 years, shares his accumulated knowledge at wine tastings and wine-appreciation courses he runs through Learn Vino. During each session, participants learn proper food and wine pairings for varieties as light as a riesling or heavy as a cabernet. Tomlin also fills students in on correct glassware, ideal serving temperatures, and how to keep wine from getting spoiled or throwing tantrums in the cheese aisle. An education in proper terminology helps students to make savvy observations about a wine's nose or mouthfeel. More advanced appreciation courses last four weeks and cover topics such as the history of wine or the eight "noble grapes" of France, from which many popular wines are made.