Many of the Front Range wineries source their grapes from growers in the Grand Valley. Palisade is within this Grand Valley AVA and has several wineries. There are a variety of wines produced from dry whites and reds to the sweeter wines, ports, meads and fruit wines.

For the dry red enthusiasts try the DeBeque Canyon’s Claret. It is a blend of 49 percent Merlot, 40 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 4 percent Malbec, 4 percent Cabernet Franc and 3 percent Petit Verdot. The color is a deep reddish purple. The taste is fruity and the fruit lingers on the finish. The tannins are mild. I enjoyed this wine in a local restaurant with swordfish.

Varaison Vineyards and Winery only handcrafts a few wines that are all dry. The first thing you’ll notice about their estate Chardonnay is its golden color. There are apples and butter nuances on the nose and the taste and aftertaste are layered with apples, citrus, vanilla and butter.

Garfield Estates’ Syrah is an excellent wine offering blackberries, black cherries and slight earthiness on the aroma and taste. It has mild smooth tannins. This food friendly wine can be paired with many foods including steak as well as stews, pastas and many more.

In Grand Junction, Two Rivers Winery and Chateau makes a Cabernet Sauvignon with a black fruit nose and taste with good tannins. I enjoyed this wine at a local restaurant with Italian pasta. It also would be a great match with steaks and mushrooms.

As we traveled through Colorado, we kept hearing of the best port in Colorado made by Graystone. Graystone winery is just outside Palisade in Clifton. They produce two ports made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and a port made from Pinot Gris. This one caught my eye because of its tawny color. The aroma was port-like with a hint of grapefruit. The port has a dried fruit taste and the finish was crisp and fruity.

Possibly the largest selling wine is a sweet red called Road Kill Red.  It offers a red berry aroma and taste and the taste lingers. This sweet wine is ideal for white wine drinkers who aren’t use to red wines as well as people who prefer a sweeter wine. However it is versatile enough to be enjoyed by dry wine drinkers when paired with food such as fried chicken or chili.

Carlson Vineyards make a fruit wine out of Montmorency cherries. The cherries are grown in Colorado and this wine is sweet and tart. I sampled it in a glass dipped in dark chocolate. When you drink the wine you also get the taste of chocolate and have a chocolate rim on your face. Because of the wine’s sweetness and tartness it can be paired with smoked meats.

Temperatures in the Grand Valley seldom freeze when grapes are on the vine. Making an ice wine is difficult, however Grand River Vineyards did have a chance to do so in 2005. The ice wine has a tropical fruit aroma and taste and the sweetness is cut by the crispness of the finish. There is a long mango, strawberry and melon aftertaste.

The Meadery of the Rockies produces several meads. Their King Arthur has a wildflower and orange blossom aroma. It is sweet but then dries and offers an orange blossom and honey suckle aftertaste.

Colorado is fortunate to have the climate, soil and intense interest of winemakers and grape growers.

Over the weekend I’ll post some photos of the Grand Valley area. On Monday I’ll write about some of the wineries in the mountain region of Colorado.