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Wine Tasting 101Colorado Wines: What We’re MakingChef Wayne – Videos and RecipesDid You Know? -- Wine Country
  
  WHEN YOU'RE READY TO DINE, COLORADO WINE IS FINE By Claire Walter
You'd expect a top-notch wine list from a place called The Winery Restaurant (642 Main St.), and that's exactly what you'll find there. Tucked into a discreet walkway – locals call "the breezeway" – just off Main, the restaurant's rich ambiance resembles a cozy wine cellar. Tasty appetizers are followed by generous cuts of beef and other hearty meats, fresh seafood and poultry entrées. The stylish, contemporary restaurant and wine bar 626 on Rood (626 Rood Ave.) ranks as downtown Grand Junction's leading purveyor of modern American cuisine. Chef Theo Otte innovatively combines the freshest ingredients and changes the menu to utilize what's best in the market at the moment. Wine director Dylan Burns pours a phenomenal 56 wines by the glass and has pre-selected 16 wine flights for tasting. Il Bistro Italiano (400 Main St.) recently celebrated 10 years of making fresh pasta daily and offering a seasonally changing menu featuring northern Italian dishes of beef, veal, chicken, seafood and specialty pizzas. The large menu at Dolce Vita Italian Restaurant (336 Main St.) also features northern Italian and Mediterranean specialties, and its sizable wine list has earned it a prestigious Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Not surprising for a restaurant whose name translates into
Pablo's Pizza (319 Main St.) dishes out more casual, but no less tasty, Italian fare. Named for Pablo Picasso, whose creative genius expanded boundaries in the art world, Pablo's prepares some 30 innovative pizza combos and create-your-own pies, along with paninis, calzones, sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts. If your tastes favor French cuisine, try Moulin Rouge French Bistro (317 Main St.), where chef-owner John Barbier has brought the tastes of his native Loire Valley to the Grand Valley. Moulin Rouge serves both classic and updated French specialties, from Soupe à l'Oignon to Tarte Tatin, and also boasts an extensive wine list. W.W. Peppers (753 Horizon Ct.) is a bright restaurant near the airport that has been serving American regional cuisine for 25 years. While known for its steaks, it also puts a distinct Southwestern culinary accent on local ingredients and offers some of the city's freshest seafood. Need proof that Grand Junction takes its wine seriously? You can even find it in a bakery or bowling alley here. The casual Coco's Bakery Restaurant (755 Horizon Dr.) serves lunches and dinners that are light – or not. Club 55 items are specially priced for guests 55 and over. Bristol's Bistro (2445 F 3/8 Rd.) serves up great wine and food inside a bowling alley – well, not an ordinary bowling alley, but in the GJ Scores Entertainment Center. Bristol's serves grilled chicken and shrimp skewers, calamari, steaks and thin-crust gourmet pizza – all of which you can enjoy with local Colorado wine
Colorado wines are poured to accompany Asian fare at Suehiro Japanese Restaurant & Sushi (541 Main St.) downtown and at Xian Wei Restaurant (1530 North Ave.), a Chinese restaurant near Lincoln Park Golf Course. Hotel restaurants offering Colorado wines include Oliver's Restaurant in the recently renovated Grand Vista Hotel (2790 Crossroads Blvd.), which serves everything from beefy steaks to light salads, and Otto's Restaurant and Lounge in the West Gate Inn (2210 U.S. Hwy. 6 and 50) is known among locals for its hearty Prime Rib specials on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. In Grand Junction, even the brewpubs get in on the wine action. Rockslide Restaurant & Brewery (401 Main St.), located in a bright corner building downtown, is known for good pub fare, great brews and a nice wine selection, too. The Ale House (2531 N. 12th St.) rocks from early-evening happy hour to late nights at the bar. In between the kitchen dishes up fish, pasta, steaks, fresh salads and more – and pours great brews and wines to go with them. In the warm months, its patio is one of the best in town. Farther out of town, the Red Canyon Grille in the spectacularly located Redlands Mesa golf community (2325 W. Ridges Blvd.) has an eclectic menu of mountainous nachos, popular soups and salads, steaks, venison, huge portions of lasagna, burgers, wraps and sweet treats to cap off a meal. For a full list of Grand Junction's restaurants – including those that serve Colorado wine – click here. [http://www.visitgrandjunction.com/dining/index.php?Start=&bExpanded=1] IF YOU GO:
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