Colorado Wine Getting Better With Age (Thirst Colorado)
Jay McKinney
October 17, 2024
Homegrown Centennial State vino continues to evolve and mature
Colorado may not have the reputation (yet) of California’s viticultural industry, but wine grapes have been grown in the Centennial State for more than a century and the industry has only expanded over the years. Prohibition essentially halted the state’s wine production but after a revival in the 1960s, wine now contributes more than $300 million to the economy.
The Western Slope has become a legitimate tourist destination for wine lovers and Colorado’s picturesque vineyards consistently produce great fruit. Outside of the vineyards, wineries have also made their way to the Front Range and other parts of the state where grapes aren’t grown. The winemakers who make it all possible have seen immense growth and changes through the years but quality over quantity is still paramount when it comes to production.
One industry veteran who has left his mark across the state, is Ben Parsons, founder of the Ordinary Fellow Winery in Palisade. The winery gets its name from an old pub in Kent, England, where Parsons hails from and it is his latest winemaking endeavor after being in the industry since the early 90s. He obtained an enological degree in South Australia. He then applied for a winemaking job at Canyon Wind Cellars in Palisade and moved to Colorado in 2001. At the time Parsons didn’t even realize Colorado had a wine industry, but he was intrigued by the opportunity.
Through his time as a winemaker in Colorado, Parsons has worked with Sutcliffe Vineyards in Cortez, and he also founded the Infinite Monkey Theorem in Denver before moving back to Palisade to launch the Ordinary Fellow. With Infinite Monkey Theorem, Parsons pushed the envelope and sparked the urban winery craze when it became the first winery to can its product. Since then, other wineries have followed suit in an effort to make the beverage more casual and accessible. While Parsons has been immersed in the industry and seen it grow considerably, he still considers Colorado’s wineries more intimate than other areas.
“When I first moved here there were 36 wineries in Colorado and now there’s around 160 on any given day,” Parsons says. “The industry has definitely grown, but it hasn’t grown that quickly. It’s still small and niche, family owned and operated, and everyone’s got a good story. It’s going to be more intimate and less corporate when customers come out to visit because they’re talking to the owner. They want to have a conversation and experience and I think Palisade and the Western Slope in general offers that.
Palisade’s family-owned Wine Country Inn is a perfect example. It opened in 2008 and offers guests a premier Western Slope getaway with 80 rooms, luxurious amenities and incredible food and wine pairings. The Tally family owns the inn as well as Grande River Vineyards that shares the property.
Before purchasing Grande River Vineyards, the Tallys operated the hotel as a neutral space that promoted all the wineries on the Western Slope. The hotel now primarily serves wine made on site at Grande River Vineyards, but co-owner Anne Tally says they still embrace the “all for one, one for all” mentality and offer other Colorado wines. Each winery’s success is a win for the entire industry and Tally always looks to recommend other wineries when interacting with her hotel guests.