Today in Guest Experts we are excited to welcome Jennifer Grossheim-Harris to share with us the hottest insider tips about Colorado’s up-and-coming wine country! You may be surprised to learn that Colorado even has a wine country, let alone all the amazing things it has to offer — perfect for a unique honeymoon or romantic getaway! The Colorado wine country offers more than 30 wineries, personal feel, stunning scenery! You can thank us later…Cheers!
Thinking of honeymooning in wine country? There’s Bordeaux, Napa Valley and the Rhine Valley…but those looking for something different can head to the Rockies – to the burgeoning wine country of western Colorado.
West of the Rocky Mountains, amid spectacular red cliffs and winding canyons, lie two adjacent wine trails: the Grand Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA), and the West Elk AVA. With more than 30 wineries, vineyards and tasting rooms, the two areas produce almost all the grapes grown in Colorado. The AVAs are located in and around Grand Junction, Colo., the state’s major city on its western slope.
Once there, it’s easy to see what sets western Colorado’s wine apart from other wineries: the climate.
- Altitude of 4,507 feet
- More than 275 days of sunshine annually
- Warm summers and moderate spring, fall and winter seasons
- Vineyards nestled in temperate, high-elevation river valleys and mesas
- Grape-growing regions among the highest in the world
The “continental climate’ creates typical day-to-night temperature variations of 25-30 degrees during the grape maturation months of August and September. Long, hot daylight hours of intense high-altitude sunlight mature the fruit completely and build the natural sugars. The cool evenings cause the grapes to retain the acids so vital to premium winemaking.
The wineries produce a myriad of wines, including:
- Merlot
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Syrah
- Pinot Noir
- Gewürtztraminer
- Grape, honey and fruit wines
- Hard ciders
- Late-harvest ice wine
Best yet, the up-and-coming Colorado wine country is filled with friendly, small towns. Winery owners and vintners are often on site to visit, and tastings and tours are still free.
Along with grapes, the Grand Valley is famous for its peaches, pears, cherries and apples (famous to the point where people drive hundreds – sometimes thousands – of miles to the harvests). Fruit stands throughout the area make for great stops between wineries, and several orchards offer tours.
What else to do? Beyond wine country, the Grand Junction area is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise.
- Colorado National Monument
- Colorado River
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
- Bookcliff Wild Horse area
- Two national scenic byways
And then there are the dinosaurs! Located in the heart of the Colorado-Utah Dinosaur Diamond, the area is internationally known for its wealth of dinosaur excavation sites, exhibits, fossils and hands-on paleontological activities. At the Museum of Western Colorado’s Dinosaur Journey, visitors can get up close and personal with dinosaur skeletons, a working paleontology lab, and realistic robotic dinosaurs. Amateur paleontologists can join single- and multi-day digs.
The area is filled with romantic bed and breakfast inns, resorts, hotels and motels for every budget. For honeymooners seeking an intimate experience in a gorgeous location, Colorado wine country may be the spot. Cheers!
Jennifer Grossheim-Harris is the marketing and public relations manager for the Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau (www.visitgrandjunction.com) in Grand Junction, Colo. Her more than 15 years of industry experience includes serving as a director for Courtyard by Marriott, and as a public information officer for the Coastal Health District division of Georgia Public Health. A native of New Mexico, Jennifer is an intrepid traveler throughout the country. Jennifer can be reached at 970-256- 4063 or jengh@gicity.org.
