2024 A Toast to Christmas: Wine Tasting & History at the Monastery

The Benedictine Sisters of St. Paul's Monastery are excited to welcome guests to an exclusive wine tasting event.

This fundraiser will feature several fun wines (see a sample below), great food, good fun, and of course our Sisters! The Silent Auction is ready for your viewing in the Riepp Room, Sister Jacqueline's nativity village is on display, and beautiful water colors will grace the art gallery. Night Prayer will be celebrated at 8:30pm in the chapel.

Join the Sisters for an exceptional holiday evening at the Monastery!

Featured wines:

A1: Altera Chardonnay, Pays d’Oc, France

Chardonnay from the south of France, from a property originally planted and controlled by the Knights Templar.

A2: Vincent Pinot Blanc, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Vincent the winery is named after St. Vincent, patron saint of winemakers. St. Vincent’s Day is January 22 every year, and I’ll explain why.

B1: J. Bouchon Pais Viejo, Chile

100% Pais, i.e. “Mission,” brought to the Americas by the missionaries 500 years ago and planted up and down the west coast of the continents. We now know this is a grape from the Canary Islands originally.

B2: Cline Cellars Ancient Vines Carignane Contra, Costa County, California

100% Carignane, an old grape variety brought to California in the 1800’s. Fred and Nancy Cline purchased an incredible collection of miniatures sculptures of the original Missions built in California for a early 20th century world’s fair. They are on display at the Cline Winery and it’s a regular stop for tourists, researchers, and school groups.

Jason Kallsen, founder of Twin Cities Wine Education LLC

Jason Kallsen started in the local wine scene in the early 1990s, waiting tables at high-end restaurants while attending college with the goal of teaching high school European History and Geography. After realizing that it would be far more enjoyable to teach adults how to drink, plus realizing that the wine world was basically history and geography incarnate, he proceeded to consult for Minnesota’s top wine retailer from 1996-2000 and work in various capacities in the wholesale and import wine business from 2000 until 2015.

Twin Cities Wine Education was founded in 1998 with the motto “Wine education without intimidation.” Jason has taught over 25,000 students the magic of wine over the years while also appearing on local, national, and international media including a worldwide broadcast of Performance Today pairing wines with classical music. He also teaches part-time in the continuing education department of the University of Minnesota.

Jason also specializes in sales staff training for wholesalers, importers, retailers, and restaurants. His customized approaches to wine communication has proven itself as a successful sales booster for the industry.

Jason completed his Sommelier Certification through the Court of Master Sommeliers in September of 2015. He lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with his artist wife Angela and the cats Oscar and George (aka “The Guys”).

Jason and Angela travel extensively around the world, always seeking to gain wine knowledge … and never believing they’ve got it aced (that can get you into so much trouble!).

St. Paul’s Monastery and The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. All contributions are tax deductible under IRS tax code section 501 (c)(3). Tax ID #41-0724050