You know what’s wild? For all the wine “holidays” and dedicated months celebrating specific wine regions, there is no Colorado Wine & Spirits month (yet)! Having lived in Denver for nearly a decade, and having tried numerous wines and spirits from across the Centennial State, I’m on a mission to bring more awareness to the many fine producers from there.

Colorado Mesa University’s Viticulture & Enology Program has received a $50,000 grant from ETS Laboratories in St. Helena, California, marking a significant boost for western Colorado’s winemaking industry. The grant, to be distributed in annual installments of $10,000 over five years, will extend ETS Laboratories’ sophisticated analytical services to CMU Tech and, by extension, the Colorado winemaking community.

Colorado is known for its iconic natural destinations and the opportunity for outdoor recreation it provides, but it’s also home to a growing wine scene. Here are eight of Colorado’s local and noteworthy wineries you’ll find off the beaten path.

The Colorado Association for Viticulture & Enology (CAVE) just finished their annual VinCO & WCHS Conference and Trade Show, which took place January 15-18 at the Grand Junction Convention Center. VinCO is the region’s premier grape growing and winemaking conference and brings together top experts in enology, viticulture, and marketing.

Marla Yetka of Bigsby’s Folly Winery likes to use a Julia Child quote when it comes to wine and food: “Wine is meant to be with food – that’s the point of it.” As the co-founder and chief experience officer, Yetka has adopted that idea at her craft winery and restaurant in RiNo. “Food brings out the best in wine and wine brings out the best in food. They simply go hand in hand,” Yetka says.