Colorado wineries earn two prestigious Jefferson Cup awards (yet again...)

For the sixth year in a row, a Colorado wine earned a Jefferson Cup. The Jefferson Cup Invitational competition honors the best of the best among wineries from all of America’s wine regions. Each year Doug Frost, one of only four people on the planet to hold both the Master Sommelier and Master of Wine credentials, invites wines from across America to enter, whereas most other wine competitions are dominated by entries from California. Jefferson Cups were awarded to wines made from both Vitis vinifera grapes (a European species responsible for most famous wines such as Chardonnay and Cabernet) and non-vinifera varieties, which flourish in the more extreme climates in the center portion of the U.S. I am hopeful that the frontenac and vignoles (non-vinifera hybrids) vines in my backyard survive the record cold temperatures we experienced, yet again, a few weeks ago along the Front Range of Colorado! I actually had a crop of frontenac this past fall, but waited one day too long to harvest because the birds got to them before I did.

This year, seven Colorado wineries earned a total of 28 medals from the fifteenth annual competition. Bookcliff Vineyards took home their fourth Jefferson Cup for their 2013 Malbec and repeated the honor they earned the previous two years! The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey's 2012 Merlot Reserve was also a Jefferson Cup Winner for the first time. Other Colorado wineries that were invited and garnered awards in 2014 were Anemoi Wines, Boulder Creek Winery, Canyon Wind Cellars, and Grande River Vineyards. Colorado's past Jefferson Cup winning wines include Boulder Creek Winery's VIP Reserve (2010), Bookcliff Vineyards' 2009 Petite Sirah (2010), Canyon Wind Cellars' 2009 Petit Verdot (2011), Bookcliff Vineyards' 2010 Ensemble (2012), and Bookcliff Vineyards' 2011 Cabernet Franc Reserve (2013).

In total, thirty-eight prestigious Jefferson Cups were awarded. The competition had representation of the best of what every quality wine producing region in the country is offering right now, including representation from California, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Washington. States that won Jefferson Cups included Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota (yes, North Dakota makes wine...), Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

Kind of a big deal... (Colorado wins fifth Jefferson Cup)

For the fifth year in a row, a Colorado wine earned a Jefferson Cup. The Jefferson Cup Invitational competition honors the best of the best among wineries from all of America’s wine regions. Each year Doug Frost, one of only four people on the planet to hold both the Master Sommelier and Master of Wine credentials, invites wines from across America to enter; the 2013 competition included wines from twenty-two states, whereas most other wine competitions are dominated by entries from California. Jefferson Cups were awarded to wines made from both Vitis vinifera grapes (a European species responsible for most famous wines such as Chardonnay and Cabernet) and non-vinifera varieties, which flourish in the more extreme climates in the center portion of the U.S. I am hopeful that the frontenac and vignoles (non-vinifera hybrids) vines in my backyard survive the record cold temperatures we're experiencing along the Front Range of Colorado!

This year, six Colorado wineries earned a total of 20 medals from the fourteenth annual competition. Bookcliff Vineyards took home their third Jefferson Cup for their 2011 Cabernet Franc Reserve and repeated the honor they earned the previous year with their 2010 Ensemble. Bookcliff’s 2012 Petit Verdot was also a Jefferson Cup Nominee. You can read my interview with Bookcliff owner and winemaker John Garlich from two years ago, here. Other Colorado wineries that were invited and garnered awards in 2013 were Anemoi Wines, Boulder Creek Winery, Canyon Wind Cellars, Grande River Vineyards and The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey. Colorado's past Jefferson Cup winning wines include Boulder Creek Winery's VIP Reserve (2010), Bookcliff Vineyard's 2009 Petite Sirah (2010), Canyon Wind Cellar's 2009 Petit Verdot (2011), and Bookcliff Vineyard's 2010 Ensemble (2012).

In total, twenty-five prestigious Jefferson Cups were awarded to seven white wines, ten red wines, one rosé, three sparklers and four dessert wines from eight different states. The competition had representation of the best of what every quality wine producing region in the country is offering right now, including representation from California, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Washington. States that won Jefferson Cups included California, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New York and Virginia.

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.

Made with Conviction: The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey

In 1886, two Benedictine monks from Pennsylvania moved to Breckenridge, Colorado. Other monks followed and in the ensuing years they moved to the Arkansas River Valley near the town of Cañon City.  They founded the Holy Cross Abbey in 1924 as a summer home for the Pope. Well, that didn’t exactly work out and the monks instead operated a boy’s boarding school until 1985. The Abbey was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Despite the school’s closing, the Abbey remained in operation as offices and housing for the monks until 2006.


Continue reading at Palate Press: the online wine magazine.

Another Jefferson Cup win for Colorado!

A Colorado winery took home a coveted Jefferson Cup award only one year after the state won its first at the Jefferson Cup Invitational Wine Competition. Doug Frost, one of only three people in the world to earn both the titles Master Sommelier and Master of Wine, hosts the competition in Missouri. The competition honors "the best of the best among wineries from all of America’s wine regions." Over six hundred wines, from twenty-one states, were invited to take part in the 11th annual competition. Seventy of these award-winning wines were nominated for the top honors of which only twenty were finally awarded.

A year after Boulder Creek Winery won Colorado's very first Jefferson Cup, Bookcliff Vineyards took home top honors in 2010 for their 2009 Petite Sirah. In addition to Bookcliff Vineyards, four other Colorado wineries were honored at the competition. The results of Colorado's winners are:

Bookcliff Vineyards
Jefferson Cup Winner, 2009 Petite Sirah
Jefferson Cup Nominee, 2008 Ensemble
Great, 2009 Reserve Syrah
Great, 2008 Reserve Cabernet Franc
Merit, 2009 Tempranillo

Boulder Creek Winery
Great, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Canyon Wind Cellars
Great, 2007 Petit Verdot
Merit, 2007 IV
Merit, 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

Reeder Mesa Vineyards
Merit, 2008 Land's End Red
Merit, 2008 Merlot
Merit, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey
Jefferson Cup Nominee, 2008 Divinity
Jefferson Cup Nominee, 2008 Syrah
Jefferson Cup Nominee, NV Riesling
Great, 2008 Reserve Merlot
Great, 2007 Revelation
Merit, 2009 Sauvignon Blanc
Merit, 2008 Reserve Syrah
Merit, 2008 Merlot
Merit, 2008 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Merit, 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
Merit, NV Vineyard Sunset