Happy Colorado Day! I can't think of a better way to celebrate Colorado than with Colorado Wine!
Last month, the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board (CWIDB, and for which I work part-time) held the Governor’s Cup Colorado Wine Competition. This year was the sixth incarnation of the largest, and most prestigious, statewide commercial wine competition (actually the First Lady's Choice was awarded the first year because the Governor had not given consent to use the title). The 2017 Governor’s Cup Best of Show winner will be announced at the History Colorado Center during the public tasting of the Governor's Cup Case. Modeled after the Virginia Governor's Cup Case, the top twelve wines will be the wines that the CWIDB use for the next 12 months for its marketing and educational endeavors.
A total of 325 wines from 45 local wineries were judged by a panel of sommeliers, wine writers, consultants, and winemakers from Colorado and around the country. This is almost a doubling of entries in just the past three years. Not to take anything away from any of the judges, but the most notable judge (once again) was Warren Winiarski, the world's first "flying winemaker." Winiarski is most famous for starting Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and winning the Judgement of Paris tasting in 1976. A bottle of 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon now sits in the Smithsonian Museum for that monumental accomplishment. But before changing California wine history, Winiarski made his mark in Colorado. When Warren and I first met almost five years ago, he told me that he wanted to come back to Colorado to see what the industry is up to these days. He keeps coming back year after year. He even brought Mark Chien, Program Coordinator for the Oregon Wine Research Institute, out to Colorado on his own dime as a resource for Colorado wine growers.
Other notable judges include: Doug Frost, Master Sommelier, Master of Wine and overall renaissance man; Andrew Stover, D.C.-based regional wine pimp and Wine Enthusiast 40 under 40 Tastemaker; Jeff Siegel, aka The Wine Curmudgeon; and Tina Caputo, Wine Storyteller and host of "Winemakers Drinking Beer."
The Governor’s Cup Case is composed of the top 12 wines and just so happens to include a cider, mead, white, red and dessert wines: the definition of diversity. There are 12 unique varietal and blended wines. This is the first year that the Governor's Cup Case does not have multiple wines from a single winery or duplicate examples of a specific cultivar (Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc have made up a bulk of the case in the past). This is the fourth straight year that Bookcliff Vineyards is represented and six of the wines in the 2017 Case have been in the Case previously. That is the model of consistency!
Does the fact that no single variety or style stood out this year mean that Colorado has no specific wine to hang its hat on? Well, that question is hard to answer when less that a quarter of all producers submitted samples and many of those that did, did not send their entire lineups. Nevertheless, the case does include wines from two wineries that have never been included in the case before! Progress one step at a time!
2017 Governor’s Cup Case:
Bookcliff Vineyards (Boulder), 2016 Riesling
Carlson Vineyards (Palisade), 2015 Tyrannosaurus Red Lemberger
Colorado Cellars (Palisade), Raspberry Wine
Colorado Cider Company (Denver), Grasshop-ah Cider
Creekside Cellars (Evergreen), 2014 Cabernet Franc
Guy Drew Vineyards (Cortez), 2015 Syrah
Meadery of the Rockies (Palisade), Strawberry Honey
The Infinite Monkey Theorem (Denver), 2013 The Bubble Universe Sparkling Albariño
Two Rivers Winery (Grand Junction), 2015 Port
Decadent Saint (Boulder), 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Whitewater Hill Vineyards (Grand Junction), 2016 Sweetheart Red
Winery at Holy Cross Abbey (Cañon City), 2015 Reserve Merlot
Governor’s Cup Wine Competition Public Tasting will be held at the History Colorado Center (1200 Broadway, Denver) starting at 6:30 p.m. on August 3. Tickets start at $45 for General Admission or $75 for the VIP ticket that will allow a tasting of previous Governor's Cup winners. You can find tickets here!
Also new this year, the CWIDB received a grant from the Colorado Tourism Office to create a documentary about the Governor's Cup. Here is a teaser for the video:
Governor's Cup—judges promo from IAN FRANK // FILMS on Vimeo.
A website devoted to Colorado Wine and beyond.
Showing posts with label Governor's Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Governor's Cup. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Monday, May 12, 2014
The first flying winemaker...
The consultant winemaker has always been important. Many people have a vision and the means to start a winery, but not the winemaking skill. Perhaps the best example would be Robert Mondavi. Mondavi was not a winemaker. He always hired winemakers to make his wine. For many years, his sons were the chief winemakers. Many other now-famous winemakers have also passed through the doors at Mondavi.
However, the role of a consultant winemaker is not that of a person that oversees the day-to-day operations at a winery, but stops in a few times throughout the year to offer an outside perspective. Napa Valley and Bordeaux are two places where wineries heavily rely on the advice of consultants
In the 1990s, the idea of the consultant winemaker took on an even bigger role as more people got bitten by the vintners bug and established producers wanted to make a splash by adding a big name winemaker to the payroll. As certain winemakers' fame began to rise, the concept of the flying winemaker took shape. Flying around the world and consulting for dozens if not hundreds of wineries, the likes of Michel Rolland, Stéphane Derenoncourt, Paul Hobbs and Nick Goldschmidt, have developed a reputation for being a guarantee of producing high-quality, expensive wines. Rolland has become the poster child for the flying winemaker moniker, he has also been cited as a reason for the development of the international style of wine.
But Rolland wasn't the first winemaker to hop on a plane to go to work. Warren Winiarski, himself the son of a amateur winemaker (and for what it's worth, his surname literally means "son of a winemaker) was the first winemaker at the aforementioned Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa. He was also, perhaps, the first flying winemaker in the United States.
Friday, April 18, 2014
2014 Colorado Governor's Cup results
Two weekends ago, the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board (CWIDB, and for which I work part-time) held the Governor’s Cup Colorado Wine Competition. This year was the fourth incarnation of the largest, and most prestigious, statewide commercial wine competition (actually the First Lady's Choice was awarded the first year because the Governor had not given consent to use the title). The 2014 Governor’s Cup
was awarded to Canyon Wind Cellars’ 2012 Petit Verdot from the Grand
Valley AVA. The past two years saw cabernet franc coming out on top, but even before this result I was starting to think that petit verdot might be the best cultivar for Colorado producers. This year also marks the inaugural "Governor's Cup Case." Modeled after the Virginia Governor's Cup Case, the top twelve wines will be the wines that the CWIDB use for the next 12 months for its marketing and educational endeavors.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Colorado Wine Week, 2013
Next week (June 2-8) marks the third annual Colorado Wine Week. In 2011, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper proclaimed the first week of June to be Colorado Wine Week to coincide with the first ever Colorado Urban Winefest. Both the Urban and Mountain Winefest (in September in Palisade) are put on by the Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology (the wineries' and vineyards' trade association). The Urban event has changed venues three times the past three years, but has also grown in scope beyond just the Saturday afternoon festival and may soon surpass the original festival in importance for the local industry.
The kickoff event for the week's festivities is billed as a "Farm-to-Turntable" Party on Sunday, June 2. The idea behind this event is to combine a farm-to-table passed appetizer gathering with music from a DJ. It is nice to see a fresh approach for Colorado wineries to reach a different audience. Almost all of the wineries are run by retired Baby Boomers and the younger generation is often overlooked as an important consumer base. Not surprisingly, perhaps Colorado's most successful winery, Infinite Monkey Theorem, has focused on the "farm-to-turntable" type of crowd. I am looking forward to seeing how successful this event is.
Sticking with the hipper crowd and bringing back a theme from last year's Wine Week, local alcoholic beverages other than wine will be celebrated as well. There will be a Colorado Cocktail Celebration (June 4) at Green Russell where Denver's top mixologists will use local wines in creating unique mixed drinks. Also, on June 6, organizers have developed a wine, beer and spirits food pairing competition they've dubbed "Craft Colorado" at Root 25 Taphouse & Kitchen. I think it is an important step for the industry be considered on the same level as the highly successful craft breweries and distillers in Colorado. Too often wineries complain that they're not as successful as the breweries instead of trying to place nicely with them and support everyone.
One of the highlights of the week for me (because I helped organize the Governor's Cup) is the Governor's Cup Awards Presentation Reception and Tasting at the Hospitality Learning Center at Metro State University on June 7. Only medal-winning wines from the competition will be allowed to be poured; so attendees won't have to worry about getting a mouthful of vinegar or horse manure. I was able to taste many of the winners during the competition and can say that there will be some really nice wines poured. And for the second year in a row a cabernet franc won best of show. This year, Creekside Cellar's 2010 Cabernet Franc succeeded the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey as earning the Governor's Cup. As I've said before, I think Colorado could really make cabernet franc its signature variety.
The week concludes with the Urban Winefest breaking in its new digs at Infinity Park in Glendale. More than three dozen wineries will be sampling and selling bottles. The rugby stadium and park are near the high-rent Cherry Creek North so the walk-up crowd should be sizeable and affluent. The venue is not as centrally located as last year's, but the space is bigger and parking is more ample. If the festival stays at Infinity Park in 2014 I'd say this year's event was successful.
Perhaps the most important part of Wine Week isn't the proclamation or the events, but the buy-in from area restaurants and retailers. Along the Front Range, from Boulder to Colorado Springs, restaurants and wine shops are now involved in the local industry like never before. Dozens of restaurants will be offering Colorado wine and appetizer pairings all week. The restaurant tier has been a tough cookie for most Colorado wineries to crack, but Wine Week has been a boon for getting on wine lists and in consumers' mouths. And getting Colorado consumers to see that Colorado has a growing, quality local wine industry is the goal of the whole week.
Tickets for all events can be purchased here. Use the promo code "WINEWEEK" for $10 off (25%) your ticket to the Urban Winefest.
The kickoff event for the week's festivities is billed as a "Farm-to-Turntable" Party on Sunday, June 2. The idea behind this event is to combine a farm-to-table passed appetizer gathering with music from a DJ. It is nice to see a fresh approach for Colorado wineries to reach a different audience. Almost all of the wineries are run by retired Baby Boomers and the younger generation is often overlooked as an important consumer base. Not surprisingly, perhaps Colorado's most successful winery, Infinite Monkey Theorem, has focused on the "farm-to-turntable" type of crowd. I am looking forward to seeing how successful this event is.
Sticking with the hipper crowd and bringing back a theme from last year's Wine Week, local alcoholic beverages other than wine will be celebrated as well. There will be a Colorado Cocktail Celebration (June 4) at Green Russell where Denver's top mixologists will use local wines in creating unique mixed drinks. Also, on June 6, organizers have developed a wine, beer and spirits food pairing competition they've dubbed "Craft Colorado" at Root 25 Taphouse & Kitchen. I think it is an important step for the industry be considered on the same level as the highly successful craft breweries and distillers in Colorado. Too often wineries complain that they're not as successful as the breweries instead of trying to place nicely with them and support everyone.
One of the highlights of the week for me (because I helped organize the Governor's Cup) is the Governor's Cup Awards Presentation Reception and Tasting at the Hospitality Learning Center at Metro State University on June 7. Only medal-winning wines from the competition will be allowed to be poured; so attendees won't have to worry about getting a mouthful of vinegar or horse manure. I was able to taste many of the winners during the competition and can say that there will be some really nice wines poured. And for the second year in a row a cabernet franc won best of show. This year, Creekside Cellar's 2010 Cabernet Franc succeeded the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey as earning the Governor's Cup. As I've said before, I think Colorado could really make cabernet franc its signature variety.
The week concludes with the Urban Winefest breaking in its new digs at Infinity Park in Glendale. More than three dozen wineries will be sampling and selling bottles. The rugby stadium and park are near the high-rent Cherry Creek North so the walk-up crowd should be sizeable and affluent. The venue is not as centrally located as last year's, but the space is bigger and parking is more ample. If the festival stays at Infinity Park in 2014 I'd say this year's event was successful.
Perhaps the most important part of Wine Week isn't the proclamation or the events, but the buy-in from area restaurants and retailers. Along the Front Range, from Boulder to Colorado Springs, restaurants and wine shops are now involved in the local industry like never before. Dozens of restaurants will be offering Colorado wine and appetizer pairings all week. The restaurant tier has been a tough cookie for most Colorado wineries to crack, but Wine Week has been a boon for getting on wine lists and in consumers' mouths. And getting Colorado consumers to see that Colorado has a growing, quality local wine industry is the goal of the whole week.
Tickets for all events can be purchased here. Use the promo code "WINEWEEK" for $10 off (25%) your ticket to the Urban Winefest.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Let DrinkLocalWine week commence...
The 2012 Drink Local Wine conference is now upon us. Wine and food media personalities from around the country are beginning to descend on Denver starting today! Activities include three media tours to wineries around the state, a media welcome dinner at the Governor's Residence at the Boettcher Mansion, three seminars featuring some of the top names in Colorado and regional wine, and the Nomacorc Twitter Taste-off with two dozen wineries pouring their best wines for media and the public alike to taste and tweet. After all of the Drink Local Wine festivities are complete, a few chosen tasters will stick around and judge at the Colorado Governor's Cup winemaking competition. The award-winning wines will be presented at a special tasting at the Governor's Residence on June 7, just days before the Colorado Urban Winefest in Sculpture Park at the Denver Performing Arts Complex on June 9. The next few weeks are going to be a busy time for the Colorado wine industry, but I think all this effort is going to pay off. People from around the country are finally going to see what Colorado wine has to offer.
In fact, one of the DLW media guests, Joe Roberts of 1WineDude.com and Playboy.com, penned a prologue to his experience at DLW. His main thesis was that he has low expectations for Colorado wine, but that he is not going to let his preconceived notion get in the way of fairly judging the local juice in the same way that he does wine from the world's major wine regions. He "firmly believe[s] that part of that encouragement is being brutally honest about the quality of each individual wine that crosses [his] lips when [he's] in critic mode." I commend him on this and hope that our local wineries are not offended if/when he pans some of their wines. Constructive criticism is something that I think some local vintners have a hard time accepting. All wineries, not just Colorado wineries, need to always seek ways to improve their wines, especially if they think that their wines are already great. As I've said before, there is no such thing as a perfect wine. If you're not always striving to improve, your beginning to fail.
That being said, I think Joe is going to be awesomely and pleasantly surprised. I think that the best of Colorado wine deserves to be in the same conversation with the best wines of the world. I've shown over and over again that when people have their preconceived notions about regional wine hidden by a brown bag they can see that Colorado's wineries can produce wine that is on the same quality level of wineries in Napa and Bordeaux. The Drink Local Wine conference is a small baby step in proving this to the rest of the world. I encourage all of my readers (my mom and my wife...) to raise a glass and celebrate local wine where ever you might be. And if you're in Colorado, I'd better see you at the Drink Local Wine conference this weekend and at the Colorado Urban Winefest June 9!
Cheers!
In fact, one of the DLW media guests, Joe Roberts of 1WineDude.com and Playboy.com, penned a prologue to his experience at DLW. His main thesis was that he has low expectations for Colorado wine, but that he is not going to let his preconceived notion get in the way of fairly judging the local juice in the same way that he does wine from the world's major wine regions. He "firmly believe[s] that part of that encouragement is being brutally honest about the quality of each individual wine that crosses [his] lips when [he's] in critic mode." I commend him on this and hope that our local wineries are not offended if/when he pans some of their wines. Constructive criticism is something that I think some local vintners have a hard time accepting. All wineries, not just Colorado wineries, need to always seek ways to improve their wines, especially if they think that their wines are already great. As I've said before, there is no such thing as a perfect wine. If you're not always striving to improve, your beginning to fail.
That being said, I think Joe is going to be awesomely and pleasantly surprised. I think that the best of Colorado wine deserves to be in the same conversation with the best wines of the world. I've shown over and over again that when people have their preconceived notions about regional wine hidden by a brown bag they can see that Colorado's wineries can produce wine that is on the same quality level of wineries in Napa and Bordeaux. The Drink Local Wine conference is a small baby step in proving this to the rest of the world. I encourage all of my readers (my mom and my wife...) to raise a glass and celebrate local wine where ever you might be. And if you're in Colorado, I'd better see you at the Drink Local Wine conference this weekend and at the Colorado Urban Winefest June 9!
Cheers!
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