The 19th Annual Colorado Mountain Winefest in Palisade is best known for its sea of Colorado wineries during the Festival in the Park (Sept. 18). But the Colorado Mountain Winefest has something for everyone’s tastes, from cooking demonstrations and seminars to bicycle tours and golf.
Sept. 16-19 – Winemaker Dinners: Meet the winemakers and share an evening starring Colorado wines expertly chosen to enhance the flavors of each course. Ticket prices vary and reservations are essential — seating is limited.
Thursday, Sept. 16 — Golf and Wine with a Spectacular View: Tee-off 1 p.m. / Reception 6 p.m., Redlands Mesa Golf Course Community Clubhouse. Golf and Reception $135, Reception only $50. Come experience one of the finest golf courses in the country. The Winefest Golf Event is a fun four-person scramble. This event is combined with a Wine Reception following play that will give attendees an opportunity to taste local wine paired with food from the Red Canyon Grille at Redlands Mesa.
Friday, Sep. 17 — Re-setting your Taste Buds: How the Components of Food and Wine Interact: 10 a.m.– noon, Wine Country Inn, Palisade, $49. Join Enologist Steve Menke during his seminar and learn how food and wine elements like acidity, fruitiness, sweetness, astringency, bitterness, and dominant flavors and spices can either match or fight each other.
Same grapes different wine: 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., Double Tree Hotel, Grand Junction, $49. Attendees will learn how to appreciate and understand the winemaker’s touch by tasting wines made from the same grapes with different wine making techniques or wines made by different winemakers from the same grapes.
Celebrity Chef Kelly Liken Evening Event: Join Chef Kelly Liken of Restaurant Kelly Liken in Vail, Iron Chef America and Bravo TV’s Top Chef D.C., as she demonstrates how she takes fresh seasonal ingredients and brings out the best flavors for every meal. In addition, Chef Liken will join guests for dinner.
Enstrom’s Chocolate & Wine Tasting: 7:30 – 9:30 p.m., DoubleTree Hotel, Grand Junction, $54. Event attendees savor a bountiful array of Colorado wines and ports paired with Enstrom’s Candies and Guittard Chocolate Company’s super premium chocolates.
Saturday, Sept. 18 — 17th Annual Tour de Vineyards: 7 a.m., $40. Tour de Vineyards is a 25-mile bicycle tour through the wine country and orchards of the Palisade area. Tour de Vineyard tickets do not include admission to the Festival in the Park.
Tasting with Riedel Glass: noon – 1:30 p.m., Riedel Tent at Riverside Park, $94. During this seminar’s guided journey, attendees taste how the flavors and aromas of wines are enhanced when a glass shape is designed according to the character of the wine. Participants take home four Riedel glasses retail valued at $116.
Sunday, Sept. 19
Introduction to Grape Growing: 9 a.m. – noon, CSU Agricultural Station, $43. This is a seminar that gives an overview of growing wine grapes on a commercial scale, economics of the business, market forces, and a tour of the CSU vineyards.
For more info, visit www.ColoradoWinefest.com.
