A Tale of Three Wine Days

    Good friends are hard to come by, so I consider myself blessed to have a handful of truly amazing friends. With chaotic lives, it is not always easy to find the time to get together, so I was incredibly excited when three of these friends reached out around my birthday, wanting to take me out to catch up and celebrate. And, knowing me as well as they do, each one wanted wine to be the theme of the day.

    My first birthday outing was with my friend who I consider a sister. Friends for over a decade, we have built a lot of traditions and reoccurring adventures over the years. One of our favorite reoccurring adventures is to stop by Sweet Heart Winery in Loveland, CO, typically after a hike in the Devil’s Backbone area. With reports of muddy trails, we decided to forgo the hike this time around and meet up for a wine flight and cheese platter lunch. As always, it was a wonderful treat.

    Located practically across Highway 34 from the road leading to the Devil’s Backbone trail area, Sweet Heart Winery has a beautiful seating area located along the river that is the perfect setting for a warm and sunny day, especially in the fall. They also have a lovely inside tasting room, which is what we opted for on a breezy early March day. Known for their wines made primarily from California grapes, my friend and I always love trying new varieties that pop up on the list, or new vintages of an old favorite. And, though they have fabulous, curated flights, a little-known secret about Sweet Heart is if it is a slower day, many of the incredibly friendly staff will let you make your own tasting flight. This is what I chose to do.

    As I have never once met a Zinfandel from here that I did not like, I started with their 2018 Zinfandel Yolo County, followed by their 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County, then the 2019 Bourbon Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon Lodi CA, and finished with the 2018 Petite Sirah. The winner for me this time around was the Bourbon Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon, as its mixture of caramel and fruit notes blew me away, and I was forced to not only purchase a bottle for myself, but a bottle for each of my brothers. The really interesting one for me, though, was the Petite Sirah. Having tried this particular vintage the last few times I have been out there, I have absolutely loved its unique lilac and red fruit notes one time, but then find myself not as infatuated the next time around, and then once again find myself head over heels for it. It’s a puzzle I hope to crack one of these days, but until then, the one thing I do know for certain is that the wines at Sweet Heart are delicious, and I always look forward to my time out there and the wonderful company and conversation that accompanies these trips.

    My next day of wine adventures was the following weekend with my newest friend, though newest is a bit of a stretch since we have been hiking and drinking wine together throughout the last five years. Both wanting to try to some of the tasting rooms located in Boulder, CO, though never being in the right mindset – sorry Boulder, but one has to be in a calming state and willing to take on the crazy to visit your beautiful city – my friend planned a wonderful day where we would visit two of these wineries after brunch.

    Our first stop was to BookCliff Vineyards, which has been on my radar for years. Sourcing out a portion of the grapes they grow in the Palisade area to other wineries, I have fallen in love with many bottles listing the BookCliff Vineyards as their grape source, but never had the pleasure of trying the wines they have personally created. I was not disappointed.

    Pulling up to their tasting room was cause for a bit of skepticism, as it looked like we were driving up to a storage unit, but once we entered we were in wine heaven. Having the place to ourselves for a good portion of the tasting, we enjoyed our seats at the bar looking at the various bottles currently on release. Our pourer, Suz, was knowledgeable, friendly, and even gave us a small tour of their production area. She really made the tasting come alive.

    One of my favorite things is when a winery lets you make your own wine flight. Everyone has such different palates and grape loves, that it’s a real bonus getting to select what will make you the happiest. This is exactly what BookCliff lets you do. The only problem was narrowing down which wines to choose, causing both of us to purchase a couple of extra individual tasters.

    During our wonderful time in this gem of a winery, I enjoyed their NV Friday’s White Folly, 2021 Chardonnay, 2019 Ensemble, 2020 Cabernet Franc, 2020 Malbec, 2020 Crescendo, and the 2019 Petit Verdot. Out of these seven wines, I went home with four bottles – the White Folly, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot – though I would have happily purchased a bottle of each, as not a single one scored less than an eight on my personal one to ten scoring I do when trying wines. Quality was definitely the name of the game here, which was very apparent in what I think are the top two Colorado grape varieties, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. I was also very impressed with the Ensemble, their Bordeaux style red blend, as it had the wonderful pencil shaving notes I don’t see outside of the actual Bordeaux region very often. Now, you may be wondering why I didn’t get every bottle they offer, and that is simply because I will certainly be coming back. This wonderful winery is worth the hour trip any day.

    Our final destination was to Vinnie Fera Winery, just up the road from BookCliff. An airy and beautiful tasting room, I particularly loved the tables with the grape patterns. Here, there were more difficult decisions to be had, as choosing a wine flight with their variety of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir options, along with other grape varieties, made for some difficulty. Opting to each do our own flight and split a second, we soon found ourselves immersed in delicious wine.

    My wine flight looked like this: 2019 Vinnie Fera Chardonnay Reserve, 2018 Hogback Chardonnay, 2018 Vinnie Fera Brut Rosé Sparkling Wine, 2018 Vinnie Fera Pinot Noir BRG, 2018 Vinnie Fera Pinot Noir Reserve BRG, 2019 Hogback Syrah, 2019 Hogback Cabernet Franc, 2019 Hogback Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2019 Hogback Malbec. Each of these wines were unique and just sang with flavor. For example, the notes I jotted down when trying the Malbec was that “it tasted like Colorado in a glass” with its dusty notes that made me think of the rolling red terrain outside of Palisade and the rich fruits grown there. When it came time to choose my four bottles, the limit I gave myself since I had four more spots available in Mini-Winnie (my eight-bottle wine suitcase), the struggle was real and I confused both myself and our pourer with my constant mind changing. I finally settled on the Hogback Chardonnay, Pinot Noir Reserve, sparkling rosé, and Syrah, and I couldn’t be happier with my choices. It was the perfect day.

    My final wine weekend was with my big sis from the sorority I briefly joined in college. Though the sorority life was just not for me, this wonderful friend has stayed my big sis these almost 20 years.

    We started our Saturday with brunch, then headed over to Spero Winery in Denver, CO. As we pulled into the parking lot, there were a couple of buildings in front of us, one that looked like a large metal shed, the other a house that looked like it belonged in Italy. A little unsure of which building we were heading towards, we noticed a sign over a door on the shed-like building that said “Winery.” We walked in, not knowing what to expect, and were greeted by a large tasting room leading into the barrel room with the most eclectic decorations imaginable, a lovely spread of snacks for any to enjoy, and the most unique wine bottles I have ever seen. During the course of our tasting, I learned that they import their bottles from Italy and have a deal where if a person brings back their empty bottle, they get a $1 off their next. 

    With over 20 wines on their list, and the ability to try as many as we would like, we were excited to start our Spero Winery experience. We spent the next couple of hours enjoying a sampling of seven of their wines as we caught up on life.

    For my wine flight, I chose their Gewürztraminer 2019, Dry Muscat 2015, Pinot Noir 2019, Barbera 2014, Sangiovese 2018, Malbec 2012, Merlot 2013, and Cabernet Franc 2015. The Malbec completely stole the show for me with its coffee bean and espresso notes, and the Barbera, with its tomato nose and lovely palate notes of strawberry and vanilla, also had me swooning. I, of course, went home with a bottle of each. And, though I really enjoyed the wines, my favorite part was the relaxed and friendly environment the Spero team has created. It was one of the most comfortable and inviting wine locals I have been to, and it was the perfect place to spend some time with a friend I don’t see nearly as often as I would like.

    At the end of my birthday wine celebrations, I couldn’t help but see just how lucky I am to have such amazing people in my life. A taste of a wine first consumed during a happy experience will jog the memory back to those special moments, and I can’t wait to enjoy the wines I collected from these adventures and reflect back on these wonderful friends I have, and the wonderful wine adventures we had together. It was a truly special three weeks.