2017 Colorado Governor's Cup Results

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.

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.

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.

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.

Congratulations, not condescension are in order...

I'll go ahead and say it. Congratulations, Charles Shaw Winery on your three gold medals at the Orange County Fair Wine Competition. I commend the judges for not being influenced by the label and I commend the winery for (mass) producing a drinkable $2.49 wine.  I don't see why so many people in the twitterverse and blogosphere have decided that this is the worst thing since socks with sandals. But if you do wear socks with sandals, please stop!

Sure, wine competitions aren't the best arbiter of wine quality, but neither are Robert Parker, James Laube or Steve Whatshisname. I've had 100-pt Parker wines that tasted like dilly dishwater. I've had wines from Iowa that were pretty damn good. All competitions do is give feedback to a select set of wineries about how their wine fared against a few other wines on a given day as decreed by people that think they know a lot about wine, but don't know as much as they think they do. Yes, I count myself as a member of the illustrious club.

I think a lot of the angst has do do with the obnoxious "triple gold" headlines. It is a bit misleading. All that happened was three Charles Shaw wines earned gold medals. None were chosen as Best in Category or even 4-star gold medals (whatever the hell that means). 70% of the wines entered in this competition received a medal (1765/2521). Only 15.8% of the entries earned gold or better. Not bad for a sub $3 bottle of wine. But no wine competition is as influential as the major publications, and few consumers know what competition medals mean (if they mean anything at all). So lay off the criticism, people.

Now I won't make any claims to the quality of any Two Buck Chuck (as Charles Shaw is affectionately called). The last time I tried one, probably 4 years ago, it didn't impress me, but it wasn't the "beyond dreadful" or the "watery, alcoholic null set" that two respectable personalities claimed on Twitter. If I remember correctly, the glass I had was simplistic and uninteresting, but varietally correct and not flawed. I wonder when the last time any of the naysayers on the Internet actually tasted a bottle of Charles Shaw.

What should be praised, but is overlooked is the fact that this blind tasting showed that a wine can be judged by what's in bottle and not what's on the label. Preconceived notions should not influence what a judge thinks about a wine. Too often in the world of wine criticism, writers judge a wine by the label and not the wine. None of the judges that reviewed these wines knew what they were tasting. It's not like they lined up the wines themselves, put them in bags, moved them around their desk and magically forgot the identities of the bottles. Had the judges known they were tasting Two Buck Chuck, I'd bet gold medals would not have been awarded. But that is the beauty if blind tasting. A $3 wine can stand on equal footing with a $30 wine.

So, I say lets celebrate the idea of a quality cheap wine. It's not like Charles Shaw is going to raise its prices to $850 a bottle because of these accolades. This competition isn't the most important source of consumer information and in fact is open only to "wine produced from grapes grown in California and commercially available for sale in Orange County." Charles Shaw will still be loved by its fans and loathed by most wine snobs...

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.

VinCO comes into its own in 2013

Last week in Grand Junction, CO the Colorado wine industry gathered for the third annual VinCO conference. The Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology (CAVE) hosts the three-day event in concurrently with the Western Colorado Horticultural Society’s Annual Convention. VinCO brings together wine producers, winemakers, winery suppliers, industry leaders and expert speakers for a dynamic three-day wine industry forum that offers information, tools and networking opportunities vital to the success of the Colorado wine industry. In just three short years the conference has shown just much the industry has improved.

Oh yeah, I have a blog... (and notes on the NextGen Wine Competition)

Wow, it has been quite a while since I've written a blog post! The few weeks have been busy, but mostly I've been lazy. I've got a lot to catch up on though! I was in California judging at a competition and made a few winery visits during my free time. I got back to Denver just in time for the Colorado Urban Winefest. And to top it off, I had a couple of great dinners with some impressive wines with friends and acquaintances the past few days.

I'll get to those stories in due time, but this post is about the NextGen Wine Competition. For the second year, I was invited by Vineyard and Winery Management (VWM) to judge at the NextGen Wine Competition. The competition was designed specifically with younger (and increasingly more important) wine consumers in mind, and was judged by qualified and knowledgeable wine industry millennials aged 21-35. Most of the judges were from California, but there were a handful from the likes of Colorado, Wisconsin and Illinois. One of the things that Rob Merletti, CEO/Publisher of VWM, mentioned in his speech at the judges' dinner was that he wanted to use the NextGen (and the other 5 competitions VWM owns) as a way to introduce the rest of the wine industry to the grapes and wines of the other 47 states not named California, Oregon and Washington. Being from the east coast, Rob explained that he was introduced to wine via the likes of Chambourcin, Norton and Baco Noir and he hopes that many of America's new wine consumers will discover wine via a similar path of non-traditional varieties from their local wine regions. I was pleasantly surprised that a few of the Cali judges knew what traminette was, but still too many were not aware of how brianna, muscadine and cayuga should be judged. Nevertheless, I applaud Rob and VWM for being so progressive with their vision of the future of the American wine industry. Oh, and vidal blanc made it to the sweepstakes tasting!

Colorado winery wins Jefferson Cup for third year in a row!

Two weeks ago, Doug Frost (one of only three people in the world to hold both the Master of Wine and Master Sommelier credentials) gathered a group of wine experts to taste "the best of the best among wineries from all of America’s wine regions." This year, Frost selected (wineries need to be selected and not just submit wine and an entry fee) wine from twenty-two states and award the Jefferson Cup to wines made from both Vitis vinifera and non-vinifera grapevines. For the third year in a row, a Colorado winery walked away with top honors. Congratulations to Canyon Wind Cellars for winning a 2011 Jefferson Cup and joining the ranks of Colorado's previous Cup winners: Boulder Creek Winery and Bookcliff Vineyards.

While Canyon Wind Cellars was the only winery to earn a Jefferson Cup, all of the other Colorado wineries that were invited earned an impressive array of awards. Below is the list of Colorado winners. To view the complete list of awards, please visit Doug Frost's website here.

Anemoi Wines
Medal of Excellence, 2009 Boreas

Bookcliff Vineyards
Medal of Excellence, 2009 Cabernet Franc Reserve
Medal of Excellence, 2010 Petite Sirah
Medal of Merit, 2010 Syrah Reserve

Boulder Creek Vineyards
Medal of Excellence, NV Consensus
Medal of Merit, 2008 Merlot
Medal of Merit, 2009 Syrah

Canyon Wind Cellars
Jefferson Cup Winner, 2009 Petit Verdot
Medal of Excellence, 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
Medal of Merit, 2009 47-Ten Red

Reeder Mesa Vineyards
Medal of Excellence, 2009 Petit Verdot
Medal of Merit, 2009 Land's End Red
Medal of Merit, 2009 CabSyrah
Medal of Merit, 2009 Petite Sirah

The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey
Jefferson Cup Nominee, 2009 Merlot
Medal of Excellence, 2009 Cabernet Franc Reserve
Medal of Excellence, 2009 Cabernet Franc
Medal of Excellence, 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon
Medal of Merit, 2008 Syrah
Medal of Merit, 2009 Merlot Reserve
Medal of Merit, 2009 Revelation

The NextGeneration: How Millenials do Wine Competitions

 Wine: the final frontier. These are the voyages of a group of Millenials. Our continuing mission: to explore, seek out and declare our tastes in wine. To go boldly where no one has gone before. Ok, well maybe it's not totally unexplored territory. Last week, I judged in the NextGeneration Wine Competition at the beautiful Santa Rosa Junior College's Shone Farm in Santa Rosa. The competition was marketed as a way for wineries to gain exposure through the various social channels that we younguns use. And guess what, it is working. Somewhat. I'll mention the few wines that impressed me from the sweepstakes tasting.

Colorado Wine Week: Highlights and Lessons Learned

The 2011 Colorado Cup Winemaking Competition and the events of the first-ever Colorado Wine Week are now in the rearview mirror. Both were undeniably successful in raising the bar of the wine industry in the the Centennial State, but both could be room for improvement. The Colorado Winefest at Northfield Stapleton was without a doubt a great first-time event, and almost all of the guests and winery representatives that I spoke with were pleased with the outcome. Even though there were a few hiccups, the event should only get better as the organizers learn from experience. The most notable adjustment needs to be a better location for the winery booths. Some were stuck at the ends and did not get as many visitors as they should have and others were next to popular food vendors and were difficult to access. Also, a map, list of the attendees and schedule of events would be helpful for finding booths and seminars. Overall, good, but small improvements will make it great.

The competition also provided well-deserved recognition for our hard-working winemakers despite a few issues. For starters, not really a complaint of this competition per se, but when panels of people judge wines most of the wines stay stuck in the middle. When Robert Parker, Jr. likes a wine he gives it a 95-point score and proclaims it so. He doesn't have four other people's opinions changing his proclamation. On a judging panel, it only takes one or two judges to make a gold-medal wine into a silver or even a bronze. If a bronze medal is 11-14, silver 14-17 and gold 17-20, these hypothetical scores show how a wine could get gypped out of its rightful hardware. Judge 1 = 17.5, Judge 2 = 17, Judge 3 = 17, Judge 4 = 16.5 and Judge 5 = 13.5. The mean score is 16.3, or silver, but the median is 17, or gold. This distributions of scores is quite common at competitions and most outcomes land in the bronze and silver categories. Just as with pundit proclamations, take competition results with a grain of salt. Taste the wines for yourself and drink what you like!

Also, only 33 of the approximate 100 wineries entered the Colorado Cup, which means some pretty big names in the world of Colorado Wine were notably absent. To me, competitions are not much more than a measuring stick, but if the wineries of our great square state really want to measure up against each other, every single winery needs to be a part of the process. Perhaps like cult Napa Valley wineries that do not allow critic tastings outside the confines of their ivory towers, some wineries may be afraid of being compared on a level playing field. Sometimes there are other reasons for not entering wine (like a new baby!), but media and consumer darlings like The Infinite Monkey Theorem, Sutcliffe Vineyards, Jack Rabbit Hill, Colterris, Alfred Eames Cellars and Settembre Cellars need to enter every year for this event to accurately reflect the state of Colorado wine.

Most importantly, all of the events of Colorado Wine Week garnered unprecedented media coverage for Colorado wines. The Grand Junction press plastered Governor Hickenlooper's face and comments over their airwaves and websites, one Denver television station aired two segments on the Denver events, the Denver Post put Colorado wine on the front page of the food section and countless other blogs posted multiple stories on the festivities. While all of this was just a blip on the radar screen compared to political sexting scandals, it is a start to bigger and better media attention in the years to come. Cheers to Colorado Wine!

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

United Slurps of America: Colorado edition

Happy Halloween! I hope that you are enjoying vinous treats tonight! A friend of mine in Boston is starting a new Halloween tradition by offering beer for parents chaperoning their little monsters. I hope that this tradition is mainstream, and with wine, by the time my little one is making the Halloween rounds. If anyone is looking for wines to offer as Halloween treats next year, I have a few ideas for you!

Colorado wines do quite well for themselves at wine competitions throughout the country. Gold medals and best-in-shows are abundant. However, few other wineries can proclaim the hardware and recognition that Boulder Creek Winery has accumulated over the past few years. Founded in January of 2003 by Mike and Jackie Thompson of Boulder, CO, Boulder Creek Winery has really made a name for itself recently. Winners of 3 Best of Shows at the since 2004, including the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon in 2010, a First Lady’s Choice in the first annual Celebration of Premier Colorado Wines for the 2009 Gen Y Riesling and most impressive of all, Colorado’s first ever Jefferson Cup for their almost sold out 2006 VIP Reserve in 2009. While I am not a huge fan of wine competitions, this is some impressive commendation for Boulder Creek’s wine.

In addition to awards, Boulder Creek Winery was one of two Colorado wineries to travel to Paris, France to pour their VIP Reserve at the Tasting of American Wines at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to France. About 500 members of the French wine industry gathered to sample wines from throughout the United States. Mike and Jackie reported that their 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot blend was well received by the French. Boulder Creek Winery was also featured the January 2010 issue of Wines & Vines because of Jackie’s extraordinary attention to detail. Jackie laboriously removes seeds during délestage for her red wines. She credits seed removal with improving the quality. This level of craftsmanship is also reflected by the medals and plaques on display in the winery.

For a fitting follow-up to DrinkLocalWine.com’s Regional Wine Week, Colorado Wine Press has teamed up with the award-winning blog Swirl, Smell, Slurp and arranged to slurp a couple of Boulder Creek wines for their United Slurps of America. Every state produces wine, so why not taste at least one from each? Thus, the United Slurps of America was born. I am honored to be along on this journey as we cruise the Diagonal Highway north of Boulder, CO to slurp some local wine. The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2009 Gen Y Riesling were graciously provided as samples by the winery.

2009 Gen Y Riesling, Boulder Creek Winery, Colorado

This wine was actually made by Will Thompson, Mike and Jackie’s 20-year old son. Will has been instrumental in winery operations since its inception in 2003. Last year, winemaker and mother, Jackie, decided to give Will a bit more authority in the winery’s operation and allowed him to choose one wine to make from start to finish by himself (with mom closely watching, of course). Will chose Riesling, the winemaking tradition was passed down to the next generation and the 2009 Gen Y was born. This pale yellow Riesling is very aromatic. Citrus, pineapple and ever-so-slight petrol aromas emanate from the glass. The Gen Y is medium sweet with honey and Asian pear on the forepalate. This sweetness is followed by good acidity of citrus and piña colada flavors briefly on the midpalate. Minerality and Riesling’s characteristic petrol rounds out the finish. This first wine by a first-time winemaker provides a good balance of sweetness and acidity. The nose is just fantastic. It is a touch too sweet for my preference, but overall it is a very good wine. 12% abv Sample ($16). Very good (tasted 10/16/10)

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Boulder Creek Winery, Colorado

This award winner is Colorado’s rebuttal to anyone who says good Cabernet Sauvignon cannot be made in the Centennial state. This wine is almost black throughout but with a dark red rim. It smells dark and brooding. The complex nose provides aromas of characteristic black currants, herbs, pencil shavings and black pepper. A hint of tobacco and smokiness is evidence of its time in oak barrels. After just smelling this wine for a few minutes, it fills my mouth with a good amount of smooth yet strong tannins that don’t dry out my mouth like so many over-extracted Cabernets and is balanced by a healthy amount of acidity. Currants and dark plums come to the front of the palate but are quickly replaced by a long finish of mesquite and pepper. Another aromatic wine by Boulder Creek, but I would like the fruit flavors to linger around for a while longer. This wine definitely deserves to be paired with a proper meal. 14.2% abv Sample ($24). Very Good (tasted 10/17/10)