A Day of New

Anyone who claims to know everything there is to know about wine is lying. I’m not being a bitch, that’s just a fact. The wine world is ever evolving, and there is always a new discovery, development, or technique to learn about just around the corner. This is just one of the many amazing things about this fascinating beverage. Recently, I had two new wine experiences of my own.

               During the Manitou Wine Festival, my best friend and I noticed one of the vendors was from Parker, CO. With a very good friend living there, we opted to skip that booth, and instead plan a Parker Girls’ Day where we could check out the tasting room. Upon further research, we found that there was another winery in the same area. It was settled, and a day was planned; brunch and two wineries with two of my favorite people.

               The first winery of the day was Purgatory Cellars. Founded by winemakers from Croatia, they offer a wide variety of wines to be enjoyed in their cozy tasting room that contained a barrel shaped bar. The specialness of this place, however, is shown by the large clay pot they have displayed outside their front entrance. Purgatory Cellars is known for fermentation in Qvevri.

               Qvevris, or Amphorae, are clay pots that wine is fermented and stored in instead of the typical barrel or stainless-steel tank. These vessels were historically used in the country of Georgia at the dawn of winemaking. Burying these pots underground would help the wine maintain a steady temperature during fermentation and allowed for a more stable product. Using Qvevris is still a common practice throughout Georgia, and this trend has recently spread to other wine regions. Creating these pots is an art that can take up to two months, and there are only a handful of certified makers. Any grape variety can be fermented using Qvevris, but the most common method is to create an orange or amber wine from white grapes. This orange style is exactly what I had the pleasure of trying at Purgatory Cellars, my first ever Qvevri wine.

               Having recently read about fermentation in Qvevri, enjoying a wine made using this method has been on my want list, so when I saw the Qvevri White Wine 2017, I knew I had to try it. This white wine was an interesting color that sat somewhere between orange and amber. With a nutty aroma, I got tasting notes of apricot just starting to ripen and almonds. To me, it had more of an alcohol vibe to it than a typical still wine, giving it some similar characteristics to a Sherry. It was an incredibly unique wine that kept me on my toes, and I was so happy I got to try it on such a great day.

               Our second vino stop was at The Wine Barrel, a micro-winery that makes their wines from grape products and juices imported to them from all corners of the world. Set in a warm and inviting tasting room, with equally warm and inviting staff and owners, this winery had an incredibly extensive wine list that covered every wine tasting preference you could think of. The real gem, though, was their smoked wine.

               As I had never heard of smoked wine, I was instantly intrigued by this most unusual of prospects. To get a smoked wine, the Wine Barrel takes a still wine and infuses it with smoke using different woods. Though all of the options looked delicious, I just had to try their Smoked Flat Acres White. This was a combination of their Green Apple Riesling infused with pecan wood. Incredible. I literally wrote “holy moly” in my notes, as the flavors and aromas of this beauty gave me the illusion that I was sitting around a campfire in an apple orchard. This wine was the epitome of all things fall, and I had to have a bottle. This was definitely one of the best new wine styles I have had the pleasure of trying in the past few months.

               With so many wonderful discoveries to be made in this ever-changing wine world, it is always a treat when you can get an entire day of new wine experiences. To all of you out there furthering your wine knowledge, I say cheers to constantly learning about this delicious beverage, and cheers to the friends who travel down this road of wine education with us.