Colorado Mountain Winefest

We just got home from the Scenic Wine Country Bus Tour, as part of the Colorado Mountain Winefest, and we were thrilled with the experience. To be honest, we thought we would go from one winery to another, have lunch, then more wineries, and then come home. While the wine was certainly a big part of this tour, the tour itself, with Monty Haltiner as the guide, and Levi at Smith Coaches as our fearless (and I mean it… there were hairpin turns that I wouldn’t go around in my car) as our bus driver, was definitely the highlight. We got to sample wines at 3 places, ate lunch at a wine country deli/​winery/​art gallery, and spent a lot of time on the bus checking out the scenery. Monty’s passion for the geology of the region made the tour so special that it exceeded our expectations. If you’ve never toured the Grand Mesa, doing it in the comfort of an air conditioned bus, with the sweet buzz of some Colorado wines in your blood, is the best way to do it.
We had tastings by very gracious hosts at Red Fox Cellars, Alfred Eames Cellars at Puerta del Sol Vineyards, and Williams Cellars. Each winery was pretty far from the other, which gave us time to meet our fellow winos, which was also a highlight.
Monty is super knowledgeable about the Colorado wine industry, as well as the Grand Valley area in general. You get the idea that if you asked him where to find anything he would have the right answer.
A word to the wise. We did spend a lot of time on the bus, which we didn’t mind one bit, but if that’s something that would bother you, this tour is not for you. Having said that, keep an open mind because we never would have driven this route on our own, but now we can’t wait to explore it more, and our curiosity would never have been piqued if not for this tour.

This used to be an awesome event. In fact, I have been to 18 of the last 21. However this year the festival has decided to ban families. As a result, I will not be attending nor will I be purchasing anymore Colorado wines. I hope they reverse this decision soon.

This winefest was an absolute blast! My only complaint was how expensive the tickets were. I’ve been to numerous beer festivals (where the breweries do not sell their goods), and they’ve all been a lot cheaper than this. I’m not sure why tickets are so expensive, but you would think that since this is the biggest sales day of the year for the wineries, they could cut the price a little.
Anyhoo, it is a beautiful setting to just chill out and enjoy wine and good food. There is a shuttle from Grand Junction hotels, definitely recommend utilizing this, as 1oz pours from over 40 wineries definitely add up fast ;)

We’ve lived in the grand valley for six years and never attended the Winefest. What a mistake. This is a GREAT event. There were 59 Colorado wineries represented at this event. A minimum 1 oz pour from every winery would send you home feeling no pain… have a driver. We discovered some new wines and had a great time with friends at this event. Put this event on your schedule for 2012.

I’ll begin by saying I’m a big fan of wine, just not particularly Colorado wines. Colorado wineries are definitely making strides to make better wines, but unfortunately I feel too many of them try to charge more because they’re Colorado wines and you can find much better wines at the same or cheaper prices from other parts of the world.
Having said that, this event is a blast. There is a guest chef dinner with Colorado wine pairings, a party in the park where most Colorado wineries are serving their wines. (please use a cooler for the wines people) You can taste everything from peach wine to riesling to cab sauvignon. Some wineries are using grapes from elsewhere while others are using grapes grown primarily on the Western slope whereas others still are using grapes grown in the city of Denver. You have the opportunity to taste a LOT of wine, so make sure to have a DD or a person sobering up over lunch if you’ll be there all day. Ironically, a lot of the wines we tasted later in the day were very good compared to the morning’s tastings? Coincidence, palate fatigue, or plain-​out drunkedness?

What could be more perfect than as many wine tastings as you want, free glass, and wine bag in the beautiful mountains of Colorado?
A 25 mile bike tour of the winieries?
If you are looking to buy some local wine and also have a hankering to chill out in the gorgeous sunshine and get a little wine-​happy than I would suggest looking for this next year.
We didn’t participate in the bike ride this year, but maybe next? We did get to enjoy wine from over 40 different wineries and the good company of all those participating. It does get pretty crowded, but there are wine peeps from all walks fo life from those who are just trying out wine to the seasoned veterans.
They also have some food, live music, ice sculpting, judging, sauce sellers, and jewelry stands, but I don’t relly reccommend this for the kiddies since it is centered solely on the wine.
Cons: kind of an open invitation to drink and drive since it seems like there aren’t a lot of people from Palisade who go. It is about the wine, so the food kind of gets ignored.
Pros: wine– duh. For beginners– really get to know what you like. Can stop by Glenwood on the way home.