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| John Barbier |
Colorado is home to just over 100 wineries, most which are owned and operated by families that started careers in other fields. Some even see their winery as a retirement endeavor. Last week's winemaker/proprietor is the only winery to be run by the second generation. This week's winemaker comes from a long line of winemakers, but from an ocean away. John Barbier grew up in the Loire Valley of France where his family has been making wine for 150 years. John introduced the first vintages of Maison la Belle Vie (French for "House of the Beautiful Life") in 2006. He also owns and operates Le Rouge restaurant and piano bar in downtown Grand Junction. The food is very good, but I was surprised by the numerous spelling errors on the restaurant's fairly extensive wine list and the staff's apathetic response when I pointed out the misspellings.
John is in the process of selling Le Rouge to his brother-slash-restaurant manager so that he can focus on the winery and vineyards. John's wine philosophy is to produce old-world style food-friendly wines. The winery and vineyard also doubles as a wedding and event site dubbed Amy's Courtyard. If you are looking at hosting a beautiful event outside with food and wine as the main attraction, I highly recommend you inquire about John's services.
