Is Colorado wine really too expensive?

Last year, a Westword blogger posted about why Colorado wine still sucks. One of her statements was that Colorado wine is too expensive. Yet in her next statement about marketing issues (with which I agree), she picked the winery with the most expensive bottles as getting it. A few weeks ago, Wine Spectator posted a blog about Long Island wines being expensive relative to other wine regions. The attack on the price of regional wines seems to a common theme whenever someone is trying to rationalize why these wines aren't as popular as mass-produced wines. The one thing I don't get is how people can compare boutique wineries with industrial wine factories. Colorado wineries are not going to be able to produce hundreds of thousands of cases of $6 wine with cute animals on the label, but compared to Napa Valley and Walla Walla, Colorado produces some reasonably priced wine. I can count on one hand the number of bottles of Colorado wine that sell for over $50. Sure, across the board the quality may not be equivalent, but neither is the product when you compare Colorado to California's Central Valley or Australia's Riverina and Riverland regions. So, is Colorado wine really too expensive?

Ben's Bubbly: Mumm Napa 2006 Blanc de Blancs

Wow. What a game last night. I'm not a Broncos fan, but this year certainly has been an exciting season for football fans in Denver. I'm hoping to raise little Ben as a Packers fan, but if he also wants to cheer for the Broncos, I guess I'll let him. Currently, though, his interest lies with our humidifier. Anytime he sees it, he makes a beeline straight for it. He loves how the buttons glow either blue or red when it is on, and he has figured out how to get it to turn on (sometimes by using his finger to press the button, but when that fails he just starts smacking the general area with his whole hand). The unit itself if about as tall as the little guy, so he has to stand on his tiptoes to get his mouth to the vapor, which in and of itself is adorable. Usually he turns to look at us with a face full of condensation. Again, quite cute. Unfortunately, all of his leaning and pulling on it has caused it to start to leak. This just means he can't be left unattended with it (as with most things...). I'm hoping that he'll take a break from the humidifier next weekend and watch both the Broncos' and Packers' games with me. He'll definitely being sporting a green and gold outfit! Maybe in few weeks the Packers can exact revenge for Super Bowl XXXII.

2006 Mumm Napa Blanc de Blancs

A few years ago, we spent a lovely afternoon on the patio at Mumm Napa. As I worked in the industry, I was lucky enough to get to try most of their lineup. I was quite impressed with many of their wines. However, I remember enjoying the blanc de blancs a little bit more then. Perhaps it was a different vintage; I don't remember. The 2006 pours a very pale yellow color and offers a subtle nose of lemons, limes and white flowers. The palate definitely packs a punch that is not suggested on the nose and it tastes like a laserbeam of acidity. Now, I like acid, but this thing was Warheads tart. Behind the excessive tartness there were pleasant flavors of sea shells, salt, and tart lemons and apples. The finish was a bit short and the wine was, overall, a bit too tart; not terrible, but just not balanced right now. Maybe with time it will mellow. 12.5% abv Purchased $14. Average