Colorado Wines - a well-kept secret

Vineyards in Colorado can only be the highest elevation in the United States. And Colorado wines vinified from this altitude of the region reflect. In the Grand Valley AVA region, most vineyards with about 4,500 feet within Delta County in the southeast of Grand Junction, in the West Elks AVA, the vineyards around 1,000 feet are higher, with the highest at a 6400 feet high.

This arid mesa country is not where one would think to findVineyards and wineries. But concentrate on only the winery and the vineyards around it and you could be in California. Turn around and look past the vineyards on the mesas and beyond, you know you're somewhere else.

Colorado wines are not nationally known world, as one of the best kept secrets in the wine. Little known are the two wine-growing region in the U.S. Areas of Colorado, the Grand Valley AVA and the West Elks AVA. The Grand Valley has drawn attention tofor its red wines and the West Elks for its white wines.

Colorado has a variety of terrain, topography and climate. It is in the milder western slope, where the grape has found a home. Wine in the first place in the Grand Valley, west of Grand Junction in Palisades found in Delta and Montrose County in the Four Corners region. The growing season is slightly shorter than in California, but Sun is not a problem at this level and the larger amount ofUV light with the warm days has a positive effect on the wines of the region, when combined with the cool nights in this.

Very few wines you can be found here on less than commercial quality. Most are interesting, if not identical to the same varieties grown in California with Europe or not. And some are award winning and very good by any standard. Some have to cover up strange names like Tyrannosaurus Red, the poorly named Lemberger grape (aka"Blaufrankish in 'Germany). But forget the name, you will find this a good example of the extraordinary diversity.

Find the Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Grand Valley, all good quality, but I'm totally taken by the Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers from the West Elks growing area. You can find these efforts with solid good aromatics. The wines of almost 3% residual sugar were not overly sweet. Pinot Noir, which functions poorly in the Grand Valley,has found a home in the higher elevation of the West Elks.

Colorado wines begin producing area are wine connoisseurs and discovered the secret of this wine is always off. The Colorado wine industry begins to mature and the wines produced here are quality wins every year. Those tourists leave on the western slopes you will find not only the wines that are attractive, but also the beautiful landscapeand landscapes, which they from the various family-owned wineries they may encounter survey.