When Kaibab Sauvage started farming at 20, he wasn’t thinking about disrupting preconceptions of Colorado wine. He was simply following an instinct. “I believe that you don’t pick farming. I think farming picks you,” Sauvage said. “You’re either bitten by the bug or not.”
A Washington winemaker is countersuing Carboy Winery that has accused it of unsanitary wine practices, arguing those are “pretextual” allegations meant to justify a contract breach. In its countersuit, Alexandria Nicole Cellars of Prosser, Wash., claims that Carboy Winery has raised “supposed quality concerns” to renege on bulk wine and grape supply agreements.
Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology (CAVE) recognized the Winery of the Year, Grape Grower of the Year, and Friend of the Colorado Wine Industry at its annual awards banquet. Aspen Peak Cellars, owned by Julie and Marcel Flukiger, was recognized as Winery of the Year for 2025. Palisade winemaker Kaibab Sauvage took home the Grape Grower of the Year award.
Colorado native Jesse Katz, who sold a single bottle of wine for a record $1 million in 2021, has accumulated 41 perfect 100-point scores for his wines and was named Winemaker of the Year. Colorado is known for its many breweries, but a favorite son has made his mark in another liquor-related pursuit: winemaking.
If you want a true taste of Colorado, make a point to dine at Ludwig’s at the Sonnenalp Vail during Toast & Table, a winter dinner series that blends Colorado chefs and Colorado wines in celebration of the Centennial State. “Our goal was to highlight the quality of Colorado wine by pairing each event with well-known local Colorado chefs whom guests recognize and connect with.
Carboy Winery of Littleton, CO, is accusing a Washington winemaker of concealing from clients that it produced contaminated wine due to gross mismanagement and unsanitary practices. The winery has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Alexandria Nicole Cellars of Prosser., Wash., violated a contract by supplying substandard “polluted” wine.
At the Western Colorado Research Center near Orchard Mesa, a new experiment is underway that could change how vineyards operate in sunny regions. Colorado State University is leading research on agrivoltaics—the practice of combining agriculture with solar power generation.
Colorado itself has gone from wine country afterthought to a legitimate destination with 150+ wineries in the state. While Palisade is the heart of the Colorado wine country, Denver has become its own wine destination, with more than 10 urban wineries.
Wine lovers are inherently intrigued by terroir, for great wine regions are defined not only by their talented winemakers, but also by the landscapes that come to represent style and personality. What then of Colorado’s high desert plains?
Colorado’s wine industry has steadily blossomed into a small but vibrant industry with over 150 wineries. Though relatively young compared to its European and Californian counterparts, Colorado showcases a diversity of high-quality wines. Every glass of Colorado wine offers more than flavor, it carries a story.
After four years of knocking on the door of Colorado’s Governor’s Cup Collection, Palisade’s Sauvage Spectrum Estate Winery & Vineyard nabbed the Best of Show. The winery had made the “top wines” group in the Governor’s Cup Collection in 2021, 2023, and 2024. Of the 12 wines selected to comprise the 2025 Governor’s Cup Collection, Sauvage Spectrum received the Best in Show award for its 2024 Zweigelt (tsvai-gelt).
I’m finally home for a few days, and a chance to catch up and review some of the best new releases from a few of my favorite Colorado wineries. Many of you will find these notes ‘academic’, in as much as you don’t believe you can get the wines. Yet you can! All of these small family-owned businesses need our support, and can ship directly to most states.
