Exploring Local - Palisade, Colorado
We read that it is important to continue taking small trips even though we have our large trip sitting on the horizon. Recently we took a scenic drive out west to Palisade, Colorado about two hours from our home here in the Vail Valley. We didn't necessarily pick the most beautiful time to visit the area (Canyon Cellars recommend visiting in mid-June to the end of August) but that didn't stop us from driving thru endless Palisade peach patches and stopping at a few highly reviewed vineyards. Our first stop was to - Canyon Wind Cellars
We had a delightful time at Canyon Wind located off I70 when your first coming into Palisade (from the east) we sampled about 3 different wines, one of which included Finley's 2011 Red Paw. Every bottle of Finley's Red Paw purchased they will donate $10 to Animal Rescue of the Rockies - every bottle is also stamped with Finley's paw print. Although Emily decided on the 2012 Merlot to accompany our prosciutto, crackers and cheese packed lunch. We grabbed this $20 bottle and picked a table on their outside patio to enjoy our snacked lunch. Palisade is a quirky little place, with a population of just under 3,000 people they must rely on visitors to their famous peach patches and legendary vineyards. The climate here in Palisade, Colorado is very similar and dry like the climate of Argentina - fantastic elements to make beautiful tasting wine.
Our second stop was in to the town of Palisade as we heard there was a honey-bee festival in town and we also wanted to check out some of the local beer offered out of the Palisade Brewing Co. We toured town which probably took us no more than 45 minutes after sparking our appetites with fresh honey samples we settled down for some BBQ and beers at the brewing company. We sipped on a Laid Back Blonde and sat inside the cool brewing recovering from the sun and wine samples - our last destination was to High Country Orchards and Wines.
The owners of High Country Orchards and Colterris Wines were delightful hosts - its unique and sometimes rare to meet the owners of these beautiful properties but it seems different here, they were heavily involved in all operations across the peaches and the grapes. We sipped on a few samples of wine as I snapped photos of bare-naked peach trees barely beginning to blossom. A favorite wine from this vineyard was their CORAL - a White Cabernet Sauvignon - the color here being rose but what an awesome combination inside this bottle. We will certainly be buying a bottle next time we are out - we spent the rest of the afternoon walking the edges of their plantation as a high school prom group snapped photos from their infamous photo deck. View our entire photo album here - MYT Image Gallery
Questions? Comments? Feel free to ask us anything about our Adventures in Palisade - we would love to point you in the right direction.
Until next time, don't forget to keep Exploring Local!
-MYT
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