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We specialize in the online sales of Colorado Wines. In one convinient location, you can visit all of the Colorado wineries at once. Enjoy these fine Colorado Wines.
Below is one article on an unique Colorado wine event.
COLORADO WINES
A Rocky Mountain Festival Sampling
by Toni Dabbs - TravelLady Magazine
The Rocky Mountain Wine, Beer and Food Festival provides an opportunity to sample the wares of wineries from Colorado's Grand Valley. Held each summer at Winter Park Resort near Denver, the festival is a fundraiser for the National Sports Center for the Disabled.
The high-elevation Grand Valley, near the city of Grand Junction, is the heart of Colorado's developing wine industry. Historically, grape growing was part of the valley's early culture, introduced by the first settlers in 1882. The United States census of 1890 reported 1,744 gallons of wine made on 49 farms.
The 1910 census recorded 200,000 grape vines planted throughout Colorado, but six years later — four years before the U.S. enacted Prohibition — the state was declared dry and the vines were uprooted. Not until 1968 were premium wine grapes replanted in the Grand Valley. The region now is home to six wineries, three of which participated in the festival.
Plum Creek Cellars (3708 G Road, Palisade CO 81526), established in 1985, is considered by some people to be Colorado's premier winery. Its two main varietals are Chardonnay (which accounts for about half of the winery's annual output) and Merlot. Plum Creek also produces Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Noir. All wines are made from 100 per cent Colorado grown grapes.
Grande River Vineyards (787 Elberta Avenue, Palisade CO 81526), founded in 1990, produces an array of wines, including Meritage white and red Bordeaux style blends, Chardonnay, Viognier, Merlot, Syrah, and Desert Blush. The winery uses only grapes grown in its own vineyards.
coloradowine.jpg (61853 bytes)Rocky Mountain Meadery (3701 G Road, Palisade CO 81526), opened in 1995, specializes in honey wine, or mead, sometimes blended with freshly pressed fruit such as blackberries or peaches. Rocky Mountain employs state-of-the-art technology to filter its honey wine, or mead, resulting in a pleasant beverage that is clear and light — not syrupy. An unblended mead compliments poultry, while a fruit flavored one is suitable for dessert.
A winery brochure carries the legend: "To the Norse, mead was the drink of the gods. To the English, the drink of kings. To you, the drink of the enlightened." It also explains that the word "honeymoon" comes from the custom of giving newlyweds a month's supply of mead to encourage a fruitful marriage.
The festival wine tasting includes a commemorative wine glass, generous samples of local restaurants' specialties, cooking demonstrations and a silent auction. In addition, the Rocky Mountain Wine, Beer and Food Festival features seminars, a beer garden plus wine dinners, beer dinners and champagne brunches at local restaurants.
Winter Park Resort, which is a year-round base for programs of the National Sports Center for the Disabled, offers lots of activities to amuse visitors between festival events — hiking, biking, golfing, horseback riding, fly fishing or just soaking at the Hot Sulphur Springs spa.
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