The fruit from Whitewater Hill’s vineyard atop East Orchard Mesa is known to come up big and juicy. While that can be difficult to balance in a young wine, a few years down the road, the result is decidedly different. Take the 2006 Merlot. Its color is shifting toward a brownish red, indicating it’s getting [...]
Post Tagged with: "Grand Valley AVA"
The Basics of Colorado Wine
There are a million and one rules, terms, and definitions that can make learning about wine less pleasurable than chugging Carlo Rossi. Piedmont, AOCs, Châteauneuf de Pape, DOCGs, tannins, icewines, noble grapes, hybrids … the list of potential knowledge stretches longer than a European wine cave. It’s enough to make you want to drink your [...]
Canyon Wind Cellars 2008 Tempranillo
Tempranillo is a grape I’d love to see grown more in Colorado. It seems to have so much potential in the Grand Valley, yet it’s pretty darn hard to find a local bottle of it. Most popular in Spain, Tempranillo is also very common throughout South America, which features some of the only high elevation [...]
Two Rivers Winery 2008 Riesling
If I hear anyone else say they don’t like Rieslings because they are too sweet, I might just explode. Or at least open another bottle and sip it quietly on my porch and leisurely watch the sun set over the trees in front of my north Denver home. To say Rieslings are too sweet is [...]
Infinite Monkey Theorem 2008 Petit Verdot
We’ve been waiting for months for a Colorado red to come out of Infinite Monkey Theorem’s Quonset hut. In early July, winemaker Ben Parsons bottled the highly anticipated 2008 petit verdot, sourced from Grand Valley grapes. The wait to enjoy one of his Colorado reds is not over just yet, though. This wine is showcasing [...]
The three best spots for a wine picnic in Palisade
Is there any activity more quintessential in wine country than a picnic with a cold bottle of white wine? Methinks not. Bringing a backpack filled with cheese and crackers, and a few fresh mozzarella and basil sandwiches to pair with a delightful Viognier is simply heaven. While Palisade still could use a cheese shop in [...]
Carlson Vineyards 2008 Tyrannosaurus Red Lemberger
If you’ve ever met winemaker Parker Carlson and happen to know what a good lemberger tastes like, you can almost imagine it’s a grape that describes him well. It’s bold, but soft. Grand, but playful. Serious is not a word that would be a good descriptor of either, at least on first impression. So it’s [...]
Verso Cellars 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
Verso Cellars is playing an interesting game. The winery focuses on one grape: cabernet sauvignon. Instead of offering a horizontal tasting of various grapes, blends and styles, Verso offers a vertical of cabernet sauvignon. Available in the tasting room now are four offerings from 2003 through 2006. We hear a 2008 is on its way. [...]
Garfield Estate Cellars 2009 Viognier
American viognier is meant to be every bit the medium-bodied white wine that its French origins suggest. We actually make them a bit drier than a version from, say, Condrieu. That’s great for me and those who love their whites a little drier. Garfield Estate Cellars winemaker Rainer Thoma, who is sadly leaving his duties [...]
Varaison Vineyards Bin 3115 Merlot
Varaison Vineyards in Palisade managed to get three bottles of its wine poured at a U.S. Department of Agriculture wine tasting at the in Paris. Two were merlots. Varaison bottles more than one each year, labeling each based on the single vineyard on East Orchard Mesa were harvested from. The Bin 3115 is the smaller [...]