Although the beautiful countryside is often a setting for wineries and vineyards, don’t cast out cities as a site for urban wineries. We visited two Denver wineries and enjoyed the labors of local winemakers.

We met Paul Bonacquisti owner and winemaker for Bonacquisti Winery in the Denver community of Sunnyside. Paul lives in Sunnyside and creates a wine he labels Sunnyside. The 2007 Sunnyside was a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Muscat Canelli. The aroma and taste was citrus especially grapefruit. It was crisp and had a long grapefruit aftertaste. This refreshing wine is supported by the community. In addition to wine, local artists display the work at the winery. In a short time the winery has become a fixture in the community.

Reaching out to the community is second nature to John and daughter Julie Balistreri of Balistreri a winery only a ten minute drive from Bonacquisti. Both John and Julie make wine in a somewhat unique way. All their wines are made with natural yeasts, no sulphites added, and there is no racking, fining or filtering. The results are excellent wines. One in particular is the 2007 Colorado Little Feet Merlot. Grapes for this wine were stomped by children aged three to twelve. Over 1427 children stomped on 8000 pounds of grapes. The children had a great time, so much so that their parents wanted to also help crush the grapes, but the stomp was limited to little feet. Some of the parents buy futures of the wine for themselves and sometimes they’ll buy the wine for their children and let it age until they reach 21.

Some may cringe at the thought of wine crushed by so many children’s’ feet. However this is an excellent wine that if you happen to be at the Denver International Airport, you should make the 25-minute drive to Balistreri to purchase it. The dark purple Merlot had a black fruit aroma with a creamy fruity taste. The big fruit and big tannin finish was delightful and well balanced. Although the alcohol was 15 percent it wasn’t hot.

A few surprises about Colorado wines is their ability to have high brix levels in the grapes. Many wines are 15 percent alcohol or greater and many we’ve tasted we balanced and you don’t notice the alcohol levels.