Colorado Wine Industry Growing

Filed in archive Wine Making on June 27, 2006

Everyone seems to be jumping on the wine growing band wagon, and considering Colorado is generally in the same area as California and Oregon, though a tad over to the right, it doesn't seem that much of stretch.

Besides, there are some areas of Colorado that has some nice, mild climate.

More about wine making in Colorado from The Capital Times:

Statistics for the Colorado wine industry, considered more than 100 years old but with its greatest development coming in the last 15 years, show some impressive growth. Despite its mountainous terrain, Colorado has nearly 50 wineries and half as many tasting rooms, according to the Colorado Wine Board, the state's industry trade group. Most of those wineries are located in the central and western parts of the state.

The western slope of the Colorado Rockies boasts two regions that are federally designated American Viticultural Areas, with microclimates specific enough to impart distinct characteristics to the wines grown there. Roughly 85 percent of the state's vineyards, including those from which Snowy Peaks buys its grapes, are located either in the Grand Valley AVA or the West Elks AVA on the Rockies' western slopes.

Vineyard acreage, still small compared to California, has grown tremendously over the last several decades. In 1983, Colorado vintners had a mere 20 acres of wine grapes under cultivation. Currently, there are more than 650 acres, with 20 percent of that land given over to merlot and another 18 percent to chardonnay.

The remaining acreage is dispersed among other familiar varietals, including cabernet sauvignon, syrah, cabernet franc, pinot noir, riesling, sauvignon blanc and gerwurztraminer.

Photo of Estes Park from TakeMyTrip.