In recent years, “eating local” has become a significant factor in the food world. Grocery stores and especially restaurants proudly promote their relationships with local farmers and ranchers. And shoppers and diners increasingly look for products and meals prepared with local ingredients.
In my view, this is all good. Yes, I still enjoy prosciutto from Italy, Manchego from Spain, pâté from France, and toro sushi from Japan. But I also prefer to support local businesses as much as possible.
There is only one problem. Too often these good intentions don’t extend to local wine. Like most people, I’m too much in the habit of first looking for wines from the West Coast and Europe, even South America and Down Under. I’m not going to accept all of the blame, though. Colorado’s liquor stores and restaurants need to promote Colorado wine more (a shout out here to Wines of Colorado in Cascade for doing their part).
To their credit, Colorado restaurants and liquor stores certainly don’t have any problem promoting Colorado beer. And I have no problem drinking it! It just seems to me if we are really committed to our state’s producers, we need to put our money where our mouth is. And Colorado is a great state for consumers to make a local wine commitment.
Enter Drink Local Wine Week 2014(www.drinklocalwine.com), which officially ran from October 12-18. As its promoters the organization “Drink Local Wine” (DLW) describe it, “Eating local, or the ‘locavore movement,’ has almost become cliché. What has gotten lost in our rush to eat local is a greater interest in drinking local. Drink Local Wine Week celebrates the Locapour Movement.”
The organization and the week are intended to draw attention to wines from other states besides California, Oregon, and Washington. I do think we have seen interest in local wine grow in recent years. The American wine industry has expanded exponentially over the last decade. Now, many states can boast a thriving wine industry.
I agree with the DLW board members who assert, “(A) large part of the enjoyment of wine is exploration and discovery, the adventure of tasting the vast diversity of wine, from obscure grapes to lesser known wine regions.”
And Colorado is at the forefront of that movement. In 1990, there were only five licensed wineries in Colorado, four in the Grand Valley. By my last count, there were over 100 wineries statewide, about one quarter in the Grand Valley. Now, there are wineries located in nearly every region of the state. There are a dozen near Paonia just south of Grand Junction. Several more near Delta and Montrose, and even a handful in the mountains and in the southwest corner of the state near Durango and Cortez. The Front Range actually hosts the most wineries in the state with more than three dozen. Most of those are spread from Ft. Collins to Boulder to Denver. But there are a few in the Pikes Peak area.
And of course, one of the state’s premier wineries, The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey, is located just about forty miles south of Colorado Springs outside of Cañon City. Especially this time of year, as you ponder ideas for holiday gifts, a trip to the fine tasting room and gift shop, where you will find bottles of wine, art and crafts from Colorado and around the world, books, and a variety of food- and wine-related accessories.
The Grand Valley, though, still is the heart of Colorado’s wine industry. Around 80% of all the state’s grapes are grown in the valley. With Grand Junction and Palisade bordering the valley and a variety of agricultural products and outdoor activities, it makes for a fine wine country visit.
“Relatively speaking, all of the wineries are small. You will most likely meet a winemaker or owner at most wineries in and around Palisade,” says Paula Mitchell, author of “Exploring Colorado Wineries–Guidebook and Journal.”
This is true throughout the state. Almost all of the wineries welcome visitors for tasting. Most Colorado wineries are family owned and an owner often is also the winemaker. And the quality of the wines improves every year.
Colorado wineries are producing an amazing variety of wines but expect most red wine options to focus on the traditional Bordeaux-style varietals and blends, though I tend to be partial to the Syrahs and Cabernet Francs. Among the white wines, there are some good Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs, but don’t overlook the Viognier and Riesling wines.
If you are like me and you believe in supporting local farmers and artisan producers, you have been delighted to see the volume and quality of such producers improving. Don’t stop with supporting Colorado food. Colorado’s wine producers also deserve your support.
Come to think of it, I’m thinking of declaring “A Year of Drinking Locally.”