The Go-To

 

I consider myself a wine explorer. As I have discussed before, there are almost as many varieties of wine drinkers as there are wine types. Unlike my fellow wine lovers who tend to drink only wines from one particular grape, or for those who devour everything from one location, I tend to hop around from one varietal to the next, from country to country. I want to experience everything the world of wine has to offer, making me more of a vino jack of all trades. However, as most wine enthusiasts do, I have my go-to bottle.

               What is a go-to wine? This is a single wine, from a single winery, that you always have on-hand. This is the wine you go back to year after year, as every vintage is amazing to you. This is the wine you want to introduce everyone to. This is the wine that is the definition of your ideal wine style and price.

               I always knew I had a go-to, but I never put much thought into it until the other day. As that so-called wine explorer I define myself as, I’m constantly popping open something new. Some of these are wines I tried during an outing to a winery, some are bottles I read about and simply wanted to try, and others are gifts from my loved ones. I never know what I am going to get. Which can be a blessing and a curse. Recently, it has been a curse.

After drinking the fourth wine in a row that simply underwhelmed me, I was jonesing for a glass of something that I could really enjoy. It wasn’t that some of these other bottles were bad, they just weren’t the wines for me. All I wanted was a glass of something that could be labeled, “Kacia’s Happy Juice.” As I perused my wine collection, taken in by all of the lovely bottles I have accumulated over the years, my eye caught a label. The perfect label. I reached in and grabbed my Ten Bears Winery Grand Valley Merlot 2018.

               My first experience with Ten Bears Winery located in Laport, CO was with my best friend in 2020. After a trip we had planned fell through, we decided to make the best out of a crappy situation, keep our vacation days, and see and explore some of the places around us that we had talked about forever. One of these adventures included a hike in the Red Feather Lakes area, followed by a tasting at Ten Bears Winery.

               After our beautiful hike to Disappointment Falls, we took the short drive over to the winery, selected a table overlooking a field of grazing goats, and got down to trying some new Colorado wines. We each found a couple bottles we couldn’t live without, but the one that truly amazed me was their 2016 Merlot. Bold and smooth with delectable berries, orange, vanilla, and a touch of oak spice, I was forever hooked.

               Since that day, I have visited the winery numerous times, either at the tasting room or their booth at a wine festival. I always leave with a bottle of Merlot, sometimes a vintage I already have and sometimes a new one. Each vintage has its own notes and style, but I can always count on it being a dark, broody and smooth wine with bold fruit, a vanilla essence, and a nod to some sort of oak spice. It is a wine I know I love, and at only twenty dollars a bottle, it’s the perfect one to have around at all times. It’s my go-to.  

               My recent opening of this favored bottle has helped to reinvigorate my wine love. Upon that first sip, I was reminded of all the things that drew me into this wonderous beverage in the first place. With its classic fruit notes that speak of Colorado Merlot, I could picture the Grand Valley where the grapes came from. With the dripping vanilla notes, I could imagine the winemaking process that obviously included a barrel. And, most importantly, I could imagine all of my great times that have revolved around this wine including grabbing sandwiches from The Forks Mercantile and Saloon after a morning hike with my best friend and heading to the tasting room for a flight or glass, and the time my husband took me on a small hike and to the winery when I was feeling down. It reminded me of my favorite thing about wine, that every bottle has a story to tell.

               Life is full of adventures, and it is always fun to try something new, but there is something to be said about the tried and true, the reliable, the thing you know you can constantly count on. When it comes to wine, for me, that is the Ten Bears Winery Merlot. All wine lovers need a wine security blanket, and I raise a glass to mine. Cheers to all of those go-to wines out there.