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Chef Wayne -- Videos and RecipesDid You Know? Enstrom's CandiesWine Tasting 101Did You Know? -- Wine CountryColorado Wines: What We're Making
  
  GRAND VALLEY WINE TRIPPING
That's what I love about Colorado's Grand Valley wine country. Sure, these winemakers take their product seriously, but they're also friendly and approachable, like their wines. Just outside Grand Junction, over a 18 wineries cluster on the mesas and alongside the Colorado River. But this wine region is intimate enough that you can tour it all in a day. So I've downloaded my route map, and planned out a driving route that hits the highlights. Leaving Grand Junction, I head south across the Colorado River on 32 Road/Highway 141 and drive onto Orchard Mesa. Carlson Vineyards is my first stop, where it's easy to get Parker Carlson talking about what it was like opening one of the first wineries here in the 1980s. "Those early days of winemaking were so much fun, it didn't feel like work," he
Continuing along the back roads, I find more small, family-run wineries, each with its own charm: Colorado Cellars and DeBeque Canyon Winery. I swirl and reluctantly spit (hey, I am driving) smooth and supple Colorado Chardonnays and Merlots, chatting with the folks who staff the tasting room -- often owners or winemakers. The route then dips down into the rustic town of Palisade, where more wineries bunch along G Road/Old Highway 6 like grapes on a stem. I take a side jog to Canyon Wind Cellars to taste some big-bodied Cabs and peek inside the valley's only underground wine storage (cool!). Then on to nearby Confre Cellars, St. Kathryn Cellars and the Rocky Mountain Meadery (making honey-based wines). At Garfield Estates, run by a couple of former tech execs who decided winemaking was a lot more fun than the dot-com world, I find a Fume Blanc to die for -- crisp and citrusy. Off another side road, Grande River Vineyards offers a free tour that takes visitors right into the vine rows to taste various grapes fresh-picked. At Plum Creek Cellars, I ask owner Doug
Farther down the road in the small town of Clifton, there's tiny Graystone Winery, focusing on port; a side trip south on Highway 50 finds relative newcomers Reeder Mesa Vineyards in Whitewater and Whitewater Hill Vineyards in Orchard Mesa. A longer detour, west of Grand Junction, brings me to one last bit of whimsy: the grand French chateau-style tasting room of Two Rivers Winery. And, I think, "Hey, why not?" If you can name a wine after a prairie dog and display a giant rooster sculpture, then heck, anything goes. One thing's for sure: in the Grand Valley wine country, they're not afraid to have a little fun. If you go: Events: Colorado Mountain Winefest is held in Palisade the third weekend in September; call 800-704-3667 or visit the Colorado Mountain Winefest website for more information. Wineries: Except where noted, wineries are southeast of Grand Junction, clustered around Palisade. Click here for a list of area wineries and contact information. Learn more about Colorado's Wine Country by watching our wine video here. |
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