Seven takeaways from the first Colorado WineFest

Fresh off the end of a week of firsts — the first Colorado Wine Week and the first CAVE sponsored Colorado WineFest in Denver — it’s time to take a look back at seven lessons learned over great seven days that celebrated local wine. Remember, only 95 days left until Colorado Mountain WineFest kicks off its 20th anniversary celebration in Palisade.

The best dressed winemaker in Colorado is Steve Flynn. From the relatively new Vino Salida, he came to the governor’s mansion dressed to the nines in a vintage suit that hearkened back to the styles of the roaring ’20s. The look went well with the bronze medals his wines took in the Celebration of Premier Colorado Wines.

There were two notable absences. Settembre Cellars had to pull out in large part due to owners Blake and Tracey Eliasson welcoming their first into the world recently. And the state’s flashiest winery, Infinite Monkey Theorem, continued its run of no-shows at Colorado-minded wine festivals. You’ll have to go to Food & Wine Classic in Aspen this weekend to see IMT winemaker Ben Parsons out and about.

Evan Faber is the biggest Colorado wine supporter in the restaurant business. The beverage director at Salt in Boulder put together the best $10 tasting I’ve ever been a part of. During a social media gathering to kick off Colorado Wine Week, he pimped four of the more than dozen local wine offerings on his restaurant list, gave a full-on guide to tasting wine, talked about each generous pour in detail and served delicious snacks from Bradford Heap’s stellar kitchen.

Blind tastings mean anything is possible. Cottonwood Cellars, one of the state’s oldest wineries, has never caught my eye as being one of the really good winemakers in the state. Yet it surprised by taking home best of show red for its 2005 Classic Blend, a Bordeaux mix. I’m still not sold on a majority of its offerings as being standout, but after trying the award winner, I see that the Olathe winery has the ability to produce good vino.

I still don’t love Northfield at Stapleton as the venue. It’s understandable why CAVE picked it; there are few places in Denver that can host that large of a wine-inspired event without having to jump through serious city loopholes.  That said, it feels a little too generic a shopping center for my tastes, and I’d love to see it move downtown next year. City Park and Larimer Square come to mind.

It’s impossible to taste wine critically at a festival with 50 wineries. There are two many styles, distractions and impediments to judge anything fairly — so you should just go to festivals and have fun. Save the tasting notes for when you are at home with one of the bottles you bought at WineFest.

Riedel glassware is legit. These expensive, varietal-specific wine glasses make a difference. The seminar at WineFest was a great way to taste wine for 90 minutes. More on that later this week.