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Wine Tasting 101Chef Wayne – Videos and RecipesColorado Wines: What We’re MakingDid You Know? -- Wine Country
  
  DEBEQUE CANYON WINERY A GRAND VALLEY TREASURE By Nancy Yackel
In the early 1980s Bennett Price and his wife, Davy, were among a small group who pioneered the Colorado wine industry. A geologist by education and profession, Bennett had a long history of making his own wines. "Bennett grew up on a farm and made homemade wine as a teenager," Davy recalls. "He got in a little trouble for that, but it foretold what was to come." Davy says grapes were first grown here at the turn of the 20th century, when European immigrants brought them into the area. The Prices were shareholders in Colorado Mountain Vineyard in the early 1980s and purchased their own land after the Four Corners Agricultural Research Project identified the region as a ripe one for vineyard production. Several years later they moved to Palisade, where they started their own plantings and began experimenting with various varietals. "In an effort to learn more about trellising, we made a couple of trips to California and brought back lots of ideas," Davy recalls. Soon they were providing hardware and expertise to other vineyards. Bennett also worked with other owners to identify the best locations for specific varietals and was contracted to start new vineyards as well. After years of hard work, DeBeque Canyon Winery was licensed and bonded in 1997 and soon started gathering awards at wine competitions for their full-flavored red and white varietals. Davy cites the Claret as their flagship wine. "It's a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petite Verdot. It ages well; Bennett leaves it in the barrel quite a while. It's a complex
Davy describes their popular Gerwürztraminer as: "A spicy German wine, neither in the sweet style nor a traditional Alsace style. We age in oak about one year. There's just a hint of sweet. It's especially wonderful for holiday meals – turkey or ham; also curry dishes." Other award-winning vintages include Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. To increase awareness and appreciation of the unique characteristics of their individual wines, Debeque Canyon and seven other wineries formed the Grand Valley Winery Association. The Grand Valley is the oldest and largest American Viticulture Area (AVA) in Colorado. "We want people to realize the grapes are grown right here," Davy says. "Barrel into Spring" is the association's signature event. The annual spring weekends offer participants an opportunity to discover wines in the making and sample wine and food pairings at eight participating wineries. Armed with a barrel tasting "Passport" and souvenir wine glass, guests visit each winery at their own pace for two days of going behind-the-scenes to learn the complexities of wine making and sipping the first samplings from last fall's harvest. Wineries also offer event participants a 15% discount on wine purchases made during the event. The winery's tasting room welcomes visitors to sample their creations year-round. On warm days a shaded outdoor deck is an ideal location for a picnic lunch, glass of wine and panoramic views of bluffs, mesa, vineyards and valley. The rural setting also entices cyclists to spend a day pedaling along the back roads with frequent winery stops. "After living in cities, what I liked best is that it's not crowded," Davy adds. "I love it. It's a comfortable place to live." DeBeque Canyon Winery is located at 3943 Highway 6, east of Palisade. The tasting room is open daily, except on major holidays. For more information, call 970-464-0550 or visit www.debequecanyonwinery.com. Details and reservation information for the annual Spring Barrel Tastings are available at www.grandvalleywine.com. Learn more about wine in the Grand Valley by watching this Wine Video. |
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