Welcome to Shelf Stars, The Growler’s cheap wine column in which we discover the best under-$15 bottles in town. This edition of Shelf Stars is brought to you with underwriting support from Central Avenue Liquors. Whenever a wine drinker in the Twin Cities comes across the chenin blanc grape on a menu at a restaurant, … [ Read more]
Shelf Stars: Two Endearing Lambruscos
Welcome to Shelf Stars, The Growler’s cheap wine column in which we discover the best under-$15 bottles in town. This edition of Shelf Stars is brought to you with underwriting support from Central Avenue Liquors. The height of popularity for lambrusco in the United States coincided roughly with that of the Pet Rock and feathered … [ Read more]
Shelf Stars: Never met a Bobal I didn’t like
Welcome to Shelf Stars, The Growler’s cheap wine column in which we discover the best under-$15 bottles in town. This edition of Shelf Stars is brought to you with underwriting support from Central Avenue Liquors. Is it a coincidence that many words with multiple B’s are used to describe fun and cheerful things? Bubbles. Baubles. … [ Read more]
Shelf Stars: For great rosé, en Gard!
Welcome to Shelf Stars, The Growler’s cheap wine column in which we discover the best under-$15 bottles in town. This edition of Shelf Stars is brought to you with underwriting support from Central Avenue Liquors. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, it can be maddening to find the right rosé. Wine stores often … [ Read more]
Shelf Stars: A Better Vinho Verde
Welcome to Shelf Stars, The Growler’s cheap wine column in which we discover the best under-$15 bottles in town. This edition of Shelf Stars is brought to you with underwriting support from Central Avenue Liquors. Every spring, my good friends down the block host a gathering in their backyard called the Vinho Verde Opener. It’s … [ Read more]
Shelf Stars: The Magic of Montalcino
Welcome to “Shelf Stars,” The Growler’s cheap wine column in which we discover the best under-$15 bottles in town. This edition of Shelf Stars is brought to you with underwriting support from The Wine Thief and Ale Jail. Montalcino is what you think of when you picture a storybook Italian town. It’s a tight cluster … [ Read more]
The State of Spirits: Minnesota’s distillers reflect on a challenging year and uncertain future
Like all small businesses, Minnesota’s local distilleries have been challenged on multiple fronts in the wake of COVID-19. Stay-at-home orders shuttered their cocktail rooms. Restaurant and bar closures sent their on-premise sales into a tailspin. Loss of revenue prompted changes in staffing and operations. Pre-pandemic, the industry was already disappointed that the Minnesota Legislature did … [ Read more]
The Growler’s Cocktail Hall of Fame: Our drinks editor selects the best drink recipes we’ve ever published
It didn’t take long for five o’clock to assume a quasi-religious significance. Over seven weeks of layoff, stay-at-home, and various shades of quarantine and social distance, it became a welcome ritual. The clink of ice cubes, the pop of a shaker, something to mark the day and time. With no bars to frequent and … [ Read more]
Fridge Pickles Are The Taste of Summer
The last jar of pickles I bought at the grocery store was from a well-known national brand. The label had the words “artisan recipe” and maybe even “farmers market” as well. I brought them home to top a cheeseburger or Cubano or something, but I vividly recall the first bite of those pickles: a squishy, … [ Read more]
Shelf Stars • A Cheat Code for Summer: White Wine from Gascony
Welcome to Shelf Stars, The Growler’s cheap wine column in which we discover the best under-$15 bottles in town. This edition of Shelf Stars is brought to you with underwriting support from Central Avenue Liquors. In a mini-fridge in the basement of our home, my dad would keep bottles of a bargain California white that … [ Read more]