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.

This New Year’s Eve, when you pop open a bottle of local bubbly, toast to 2023 memories and a new year full of hopes — but also say “cheers” to the notable sparkling wine scene that Colorado’s winemakers are cultivating.

During a recent trip within the U.S., the car’s GPS navigation system took me on an unexpected route between Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Basalt, Colorado. It steered me through a small town named Paonia in western Colorado, where I happened to have spent time—decades ago—as an intern for an environmental newspaper. Wanting to see this town again I veered in.

Colorado’s Food + Wine Classic Aspen chosen one of nine. Wine festivals are a great way to immerse oneself in the world of wine—without forking out thousands of dollars on courses or trips to growing regions. In major cities and small towns across the country…

On a recent Friday evening at Mondo Vino, a liquor store on West 32nd Ave. in Denver’s West Highlands neighborhood, there was a wine tasting going on in the back of the store. It’s the reason Julia Ward is there. She lives nearby.

Women are making their mark on the wind industry. Jayme Henderson of The Storm Cellar in the West Elks AVA is one of them. There are many wineries and tasting rooms around the world, but here are 13 women-led wineries and tasting rooms you need to try.

One might not think that a Bordeaux-style wine could be made outside the French region of the same name. However, three local wineries have gathered enough acclaim for their product to be featured on the new AmaWaterways Taste of Bordeaux River Cruise.

Alfred Eames Cellars just put an end to Carboy Winery’s two-year winning streak at the Governor’s Cup. Alfred Eames Cellars, located at Puesta del Sol Vineyards three miles south of Paonia in the West Elks AVA, won Best in Show on Nov. 4, for its 2019 Carmena. The wine beat 11 other contenders that participated in the 2023 Governor’s Cup Collection.