Pizzeria Basta: Grand Opening!

Pizzeria Basta is a great new restaurant opening up in the Peloton in Boulder. They focus on local ingredients and doing everything as fresh and flavorful as possible. We are honored that they will be carrying our Viognier and Friday's Folly by the glass. So join them tomorrow as they open up for a New Year's Eve Grand Opening celebration from 4pm-11pm. They will feature a fixed price three course menu for $22 per person, excluding drinks, tax, and gratuity. Chef Kelly Whitaker will be preparing selections from our upcoming menu, beginning with your choice of starter, followed by a wood-fire pizza, and finishing with dessert from our Pastry Chef Brad Rossini. They are located right in the middle of the Peloton at 3601 Arapahoe Ave. in Boulder, CO. Call 719-661-3672 to make a reservation and check out http://pizzeriabasta.com for more info.

Have fun this New Years and again thank you for all of your support this past year!

New Winter Hours

We will have new winter hours at the tasting room starting in January. We will be open Friday-Sunday from 1:00pm - 6:00pm. These hours will last until May sometime when we will extend them again for the summer. Please also note that we will also be closed Christmas Day (12/25/09) and New Years Day (1/1/10). We apologize for any inconvenience.

p.s. Don't forget to sign up for the monthly newsletter on the right hand side of this page!

Flagstaff Star

Every year we join the Boulder Chamber of Commerce in their effort to raise money to to help pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the brightly lit star displayed on Flagstaff Mountain. The star, which is now 100 percent wind-powered, is lit in the evenings from Nov. 21 through New Year’s Day. The Chamber commissions a new piece of art from a local artist and this year's artist is Linda Sole Faul. The Chamber sells holiday cards with the image of the art and we release our Flagstaff Star wine that has a label with the image of the art; $1.00 of the sale of each bottle goes to the Flagstaff star fund. This is the 6th year that we have participated in the tradition. The wine is available in our tasting room and many Boulder area liquor stores, including:

Liquor Mart - 15th & Canyon

Bailey's -4800 Baseline Rd # E101

Pettyjohn's Liquor and Wine - 613 South Broadway

Boulder Wine Merchant - 2690 Broadway

Harvest Wine & Spirits - 3075 Arapahoe Ave.

Boulder Wine & Spirits - 3325 28th Street

Ace Wine & Spirits - 2315 30th Street

Superior Liquor - 100 Superior Plaza Way Superior, CO

Santa Clause Day

Meet Santa at the winery who is paying a special visit to BookCliff and is sharing his gifts of wine. This year he is bringing Colorado wine, live music and appetizers to our winery for you. There will also be some great discounts including BookCliff wine for the holidays at 15% off, 20% off a case (12 bottles) of wine and VIP members take an additional 5% off. So join us for a glass of wine and help ring in the holiday season.

Looking forward to seeing you at our annual Santa Clause party on Saturday December 5th from
1:00pm - 6:00 pm at the winery, 1501 Lee Hill Road, Unit #17, Boulder, CO 80304.

Order BookCliff Online

BookCliff Vineyards 100% Colorado wine can now be ordered online! We are now part of Instawine which is a network of licensed retailers, distributors, producers and importers of wine and spirits. Instawine.com allows you to quickly find products that are available for same day delivery, next day delivery, shipping and in-store pickup. Sales on the instawine.com site are between you and the store. They basically provide the website that allows you to place your order directly with the store. It is a safe and secure way to order wine directly from us or from a local store that carries our wine. So check out Instawine.com to start having BookCliff wine brought right to your door (even if you live out of state!).

Fashion and Wine

BookCliff Vineyards is teaming up with Boulder's own Jila Design to bring you something a little different. Join us November 14 & 15 from 1-6 pm at our tasting room and winery for a Trunk Show of this season's collection of delectable clothing & jewelry. Jila has been designing and producing beautiful, unique & timeless clothing & jewelry in Boulder, Colorado since 1977 and now you'll be able to enjoy our Colorado wine while shopping for that great new outfit. So mark your calendars now and don't forget to go to http://www.jiladesign.com/ for pictures of some of the designs or call (303)449-5804 for more info.

Date: Saturday and Sunday, November 14 & 15
Time: 1:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Place: As always, at the BookCliff Tasting room at 1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder, CO 80304

Ten Year Anniversary

In 1999 BookCliff Vineyards was federally licensed in the basement of our house and we released the 1998 Chardonnay made from our first harvest in our vineyard in Palisade. The past decade has seen us grow in many ways. We planted our first six acres in 1996 and now own and operate over thirty acres. Last September, the winery literally moved out of the basement into a commercial location in North Boulder that is also home to the tasting room. This year will see our largest production of wine with close to 3,000 cases up from 200 in the first couple years.

We couldn't have done this without you. As a thank you we are throwing an Anniversary Party to celebrate with you. On Saturday, November 7, we will have food, live music and 15% off all wine purchases. We will also have a silent auction of our library wine featuring some of the outstanding wine from the past ten vintages. All proceeds from this auction will go to the WAT Business Services whose mission is "To provide a wide array of employment opportunities for chronically mentally ill adults that will give them self esteem, social meaning and self worth". We really hope you can join us to make this fundraiser and anniversary a huge success.

Date: Saturday, November 7
Time: 1:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Place: The winery and Tasting Room at 1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder, CO 80304

Crush is Over

It's been a fun season of crushing and pressing grapes but it has now come to an end. The past few weeks have been filled with long days, purple-stained clothes and sticky floors but now all the 2009 wines are in stainless tanks finishing up the last stages of fermentation. 2009 is turning out to be a great vintage, with all the wines tasting great and having great color in the reds. We are making a few new wines this year as well. From our 33 acres we got our first harvest of Malbec grapes. This is also our first year making Petite Sirah and we increased the amount of Tempranillo and Muscat Blanc that we crushed. These wines have a long road ahead of them before bottling but it looks like they are going to be some great ones. Here is a photo of John explaining our new crusher-destemmer (what a dream machine!) and a load of Viognier grapes waiting to be pressed.

New Place To Find Us In Fort Collins

Jay's Bistro in Fort Collins now serves BookCliff! Head over to Jay's Bistro and Jazz Lounge during happy hour to enjoy BookCliff Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon by the glass. They have an amazing food menu for happy hour and pair that with some live jazz music...can't beat it. Try the Hoisin BBQ Spare Ribs or the Serrano Ham, Gruyere & Spinach Flour Tortilla Pizza with our Cab Sauv and you won't be disappointed. Happy hour at Jay's is Monday thru Friday 4-6:30pm - and all night on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Check out http://www.jaysbistro.net/ for more info and music schedule. Don't forget to go to http://www.bookcliffvineyards.com/ to see a full list of stores in your area. Jay's Bistro is located at 135 W.Oak in Fort Collins, CO 80524, and the phone number is 970.482.1876.

The Touch is Gone

Touch of Red fans, get some NOW! We deliver our last cases til early 2010 to our vendors this week. You can find a few bottles Thursday-Sunday at the Winery and Tasting Room at 1501 Lee Hill Rd. #17. It'll probably all be gone after this weekend though, so hurry! Stores should have some in stock still but those won't last long either. Check our website to find stores near you and their contact info so you can check before you go.

p.s. Boulder Farmers market might have a couple on Sat.

BookCliff at John's Restaurant

You will now be able to enjoy the BookCliff Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Franc at John's Restaurant in Boulder. John's is one of Colorado's premier dining experiences. Owners Chef Corey Buck and sister Ashley Maxwell serve classic and contemporary dishes. John's has a reputation for consistency, quality and an eye for detail. The Cab Franc is a great food wine and dishes like the New Zealand Lamb. You'll be able to get it by the glass as well as the bottle starting tonight! John's is located at 2328 Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado, between 23rd and 24th streets on the south side of Pearl. Please call 303-444-5232 to make a reservation or go to http://www.johnsrestaurantboulder.com/ for more info. Thanks guys and enjoy.

In-Store Tasting Saturday

If any of you are in the area, we will be pouring some free samples at World Cellars Wine & Spirits this Saturday Aug. 5, from 3pm -6pm. They are located right next to Whole Foods at 9364 S. Colorado Blvd. Highlands Ranch, CO 80126, and the phone number is (303) 346-8552. We will have tastes of Chardonnay, Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon. World Cellars' website is http://www.world-cellars.com/. Come out and support local Colorado wine!

Exploring Colorado Wine Country in Paonia

Here is a pretty cool video (from http://www.savoreachglass.com/) of winemaking at super high altitude around Paonia, CO. It is true that we are still trying to find to perfect grapes for our region. In our neck of the woods over in Palisade; Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Riesling, Syrah and Merlot seem to do pretty well. Only time will tell...

Meet the Makers - Colorado Wine in the North Fork Valley from High Country News from Tynan Szvetecz on Vimeo.

Photo Contest Winners

Thank you to all of you who submitted pictures and to those of you who voted for your favorites in our "BookCliff - Perfect Anywhere" photo contest. All of the pictures are great and we really appreciate all of your effort to make this contest a success. Congratulations to Tirzah Mills, her picture entitled "Sundrenched Desires" received the most votes and is the winner of the first place prize (8 bottles of BookCliff wine). The picture titled "Wine at the Royal Arch" took home second place and third place went to "On the Deck" (both winning 4 bottles). Thanks again to everyone who participated.

Highlands WineSeller 5th Anniversary Party!

Come on down to the Highlands WineSeller 5th Anniversary Party! It's happening this Saturday, August 29th from 1-5pm. It is a free tasting featuring Colorado wines and meads.
They will have prize giveaways, tasty beverages and "tantalizing treats"! Plus Jack FM will be here from 3-4pm. It's a great opportunity to try some Colorado wine and to maybe find your next favorite. Highlands WineSeller is located at 6668 Timberline Road Highlands Ranch, CO 80130 and the phone number is (720) 889-WINE. Link over to their website at http://www.highlandswineseller.com/. Stop and say hi and as always let us know that you found out about this event here.

Ensemble

Note: This is a post from the blog "Life in the Vines". Thanks for the kind words!

Two weekends ago Kenny and I went to the recently opened Palisade Grill, aptly named because it is a grill in Palisade, CO. I highly recommend it. Now we have two restaurants that are worth their salt in Palisade, thank goodness.
One of the wines they are serving is the Book Cliff Vineyard 2006 "Ensemble". Marvelously named because it is a symphonic collection of Cabernet Sav, Cab Franc, and Merlot. It is a well put together wine and is quite drinkable.
This is what their website http://www.bookcliffvineyards.com/ had to say about the wine:
"The Merlot makes this wine approachable, the Cabernet Sauvignon adds body and structure, and the Cabernet Franc gives it a light fruity finish. This wine is easy and friendly, good with a fancy dinner and enjoyable on its own. Light tannins and a smooth finish."
I completely agree with their review of how it travels down your palate. In addition, I'd like to add that the color is pleasingly rich with hints of Cab Sav's deep, luxurious purple, and it lays well in the glass. You want to swirl it in your Cab Sav shaped vessel forever. If I was do a blind tasting and someone asked me what type of wine this was, I'd say it was a Cab Sav. Thus, it can hold its own with a hearty meal.
Ensemble's varietal blend is: Merlot - 46%; Cabernet Sauvignon - 31%; Cabernet Franc - 23%The great part about this wine is that the vineyard where these grapes were harvested is just east of the peach orchard right across our street. Hopefully, our grapes can produce some quality wine as well next year.
It's still tough to compete with those California reds, but I believe this is one of the best Colorado wines around this season.Find you a bottle and pick it up.
Remember Imbibe and Enjoy!

BookCliff Vineyards Photo Contest

Join us for a fun event and help us choose the winner of the people's choice award of the "BookCliff - Perfect Anywhere" photo contest. Enter one or two photos with one or more bottles of BookCliff Vineyards' wine taken at a special place or on a special occasion. Win either wines of your choice or tickets to our spring barrel tasting. Download the submission form to view the prizes/rules and to enter your special photos. *We are extending the deadline until Friday, Aug 21st*. On Saturday 8/22/09 come to the winery and help us select the winner. We will have wine specials all day and live music from 4:00pm - 6:00pm for your entertainment.

What: Winery party and people's choice award
When: Saturday 8/22/09
Where: BookCliff Vineyard's tasting room, 1501 Lee Hill Road Unit #17, Boulder, CO 80304

Westminster Total Beverage Tasting

Who wants to try some free wine? I know you do. Come to Westminster Total Beverage this weekend for the Colorado Wine Festival. This Saturday August 8 12-6pm and Sunday August 9 10-2pm stop by to taste Colorado wine and Mead all for free! It's located at 9359 Sheridan Blvd.Westminster, CO. 80031 and the phone number is (303) 426-4800. Call with any questions. Can't wait to see you there.

Here is a list of participating wineries:
Two Rivers
Colorado Cellars
Garfield Estates
Olathe Winery
Cottonwood Cellars
Turquoise Mesa
Carlson Vineyards
Redstone Meadery
Spero Vineyards
Bookcliff Vineyards
Plum Creek Cellars

BookCliff Vineyards comes to Red Rocks Ampitheater

Yes, it is true, as of July 29th you will be able to enjoy four BookCliff Vineyards Fine Wines at the Ship Rock Grill, located in the Visitor Center at Red Rocks Ampitheater in Morrison, Colorado. Red Rocks Ampitheater, perhaps the best outdoor music venue in the United States will now feature BookCliff Vineyard fine wines. The Ship Rock Grill will feature our Lucky 20 blend of Chardonnay, Viogner, and Muscat Blanc; our 2008 Reisling, the 2006 Reserve Cabernet Franc, and our 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon featuring the fine art lable created at Red Rocks by Keith "Scramble" Campbell. So when visiting Red Rocks for a show, or just lunch, be sure to stop by the Ship Rock Grill and enjoy a glass of BookCliff Vineyards Fine Wine. Or celebrate your visit and meal with a bottle of the 05' Cab featuring beautiful Red Rocks lable art by Scramble and take it home as a momento.

Corks & Forks Presented by Superior Liquor

We will be pouring our wine at the annual Corks & Forks event on August 9 from 3-7 pm. This event will be held at the Omni Hotel in Broomfield, CO and is presented by Superior Liquor. This is a benefit for the National Sports Center for the Disabled and will feature gourmet food, along with fine wine and beers. Come out to support this great organization and stop by to try some fine Colorado wine! Click here for more information about the event.

Store Update

Just a quick update on stores for you. Want a great summer wine for $10? Pick up a bottle of the Lucky Twenty at Extreme Wine & Spirits. They are located at 7986 W Alameda Ave #A, Lakewood, CO 80226. You will also be able to find the Friday's Folly, Ensemble and Touch of Red at this location. It's a great shop, give them a call for pricing and directions at (303) 989-7663.

Also we are in a new store in Boulder. Sun Deli & Liquor is now carrying a few of our wines. They are located at 2299 Pearl St., Boulder CO 80303, right across the street from John's Restaurant. Stop in for lunch and pick up a bottle of locally produced Colorado wine.

BookCliff Vineyards on Facebook

Gold at INDY!!

This just in from the INDY International Wine Competition....

We have won a few medals at the 2nd largest Wine Competition in the US, second only to San Franciscos' Wine Fest. This is a pretty big accomplishment for us and we are very proud. Stop by for some Colorado wine tasting in Boulder and you can be the judge. Here are the results:

Gold - Cabernet Franc 2007

Silver - Late Harvest Muscat Blanc 2008

Bronze - Lucky Twenty

Summerfest!

Come join us next Friday in Loveland for SummerFest in the Rockies. SummerFest kicks off on Friday evening with a wine tasting and entertainment on the plaza at Civic Center Park/Foote Lagoon, 500 E. Third Street, Downtown Loveland. Participants will enjoy live entertainment from a local/regional band and taste Colorado’s finest wines. Events are planned Fri., Sat. and Sun., but you can visit us at the wine tasting on Friday starting at 6:30 pm. This should be a great event and we hope to see you there. More info can be found here.

Release Party of Hand-painted Bottles by Keith Campbell

Once again Scramble and BookCliff Vineyards are teaming up to present another very special limited edition blend of art and wine. This 2nd in a continuing series will feature another of the 100s of paintings Scramble has created at Red Rocks Ampitheater and Park in Morrison Colorado paired with the 2005 BookCliff Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. Join us for the release party on Sunday July 12th. We will have live music and food for your refreshment and of course the artist will be on hand from 5:00pm - 7:00pm. It is a long way to Christmas, but a hand-painted bottle (BookCliff Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2005) makes a great gift for your special wine lover.

Date: Sunday, July 12, 2009
Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Place: BookCliff Vineyards Tasting Room, 1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder, Colorado 80304

We're Official

Yay, we have a sign! We got our new sign today, I think it looks great. We are now a little easier to find so come by some time to taste some Colorado wine in Boulder. Hopefully the rest of the weekend is as nice as today is, it's great wine tasting weather.
Oh yeah, we will be at Boulder Wine & Spirits this weekend for an in-store tasting. Friday and Saturday until 7pm. Stop by and say hi to John. They are located at 3325 28th Street in Boulder.

Another Busy Weekend

You have many choices this weekend of where you can visit us. Total Beverage in Thornton is having it's 10th Annual Colorado Wine & Mead Festival Saturday and Sunday from 11-4. They are located 2 blocks east of I-25 at the corner of 104th and Washington in Thornton, Colorado. This is a free event so come on out and taste some wine.

Of course we can be found at the Boulder Farmer's Market every Saturday as well from 8am-2pm. The market is located next to Central Park on 13th Street between Canyon Boulevard and Arapahoe Avenue.

Last but not least is our tasting room at 1501 Lee Hill Road #17 in north Boulder. Stop in to taste our wines and get a tour of the winery. Our new hours are Thursday-Sunday from 1-6pm. Don't forget that Upslope Brewery is only 3 doors down from us so you can taste some beer after visiting us.

Early Season in the Vineyard

The Bookcliff vineyards escaped winter damage yet again in 2009. Every spring, Colorado grape farmers cross their fingers, and hope that the vines did not suffer during the sometimes cold, sometimes dry winters. Despite a few vines succumbing to the cold we came out on top, and are looking forward to an ideal growing season. So far we've had early hot weather, good for early shoot growth, followed by abnormal cool weather, good for slowing down excessive growth during the plants flowering stage. We've passed the flowering stage and just this week can see the berries that will eventually be ripened, and processed into wine. We are now entering the pre-bunch closure stage, the berries will expand, and the cluster will tighten, until Verasion in August when they stop growing and develop their flavor and color. In the meantime, we are mowing, irrigating, and keeping mildew out of the vineyard. We are also continuing our compost treatment. In our third year, we are building our soils with local materials, composted during the winter, and in the spring spread in vineyard areas with nutrient deficiencies. This is a longer and slower process than traditional chemical fertilizers, but will have a long term benefit on the health of the vineyard soils and the quality of the wine. We look forward to a beautiful summer in the valley.

We're Tweeting?!?

BookCliff Vineyards is now on Twitter. Thats right we are up on all of the technology out there. ;) In case you haven't heard of Twitter click your way over to www.twitter.com/BookCliff to find out what were doing, literally. It's just another great way to find out about new wine releases, special dinners and parties that we're throwing and of course just to find out what we're doing at the moment. Like right now we are tasting different blends that will be the next version of the Friday's Folly.

New Tasting Room Hours

We've extended our Boulder tasting room hours for the season. Now you can come in and try local Colorado wines Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 1pm until 6pm. Come in to take a tour of the winery while you sample the 100% Colorado Grown wine. We also offer more than 15 wines by the glass and by the bottle. We look forward to seeing you!

1501 Lee Hill Rd. unit #17

Boulder, Co 80304

DaveCo Tasting This Saturday

DaveCo Liquors "The Largest Liquor Store in the World" is having it's annual Colorado Wine parking lot tasting this Saturday, May 30. From 12pm - 4pm come out to DaveCo to try Colorado wine for free! We will be there in addition to multiple other wineries from around the state of Colorado. They do have some great deals so if you find something you like just run inside and pick it up (aisle 24 is the Colorado section). DaveCo is located at 16434 N Washington St, Thornton, CO 80023 and the website is http://www.davecoliquors.com/. Come say hi and let us know if you heard about it here.

New Wine Release Party

Join us in celebrating the release of our brand new wine, Lucky Twenty. This is our new white blend that is just perfect for those summer get-togethers or even just sitting on the porch enjoying a beautiful Colorado sunset. On Friday May 29th, starting at 4:30 pm we will be offering $3.00 glasses of Lucky Twenty along with free food and music at our Boulder wine tasting room. Jerry Weiss and Peneplain will perform live jazz from 5:00pm - 7:00pm. We will also have a raffle to win a free case of wine! It's free to get in so come and join us at the winery/tasting room to help us start the summer off right.

BookCliff Vineyards is located at 1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder, CO 80304.

Try Our Great Meeting Venue For Free

We are proud to announce that BookCliff Vineyards' North Boulder location is now available for your meetings and group functions. We are offering both our tasting room, which can comfortably hold about 20 people, and our winery, which can comfortably hold about 60 people, for your group to meet or have networking events. These venues are offered for you to try with no cost or obligation to you and we are even offering discounts on our wine at $6.00 a glass.

The space is available Monday through Wednesday in the afternoons and evenings, on a first come - first served basis and must be reserved in advance.

This is a great opportunity for your group to meet at a fun and unique location and for us...we get the chance to showcase our new location and maybe even sell a little wine!

Call (303) 499-7301 or email winery@bookcliffvineyards.com with any inquiries.

We are located at 1501 Lee Hill Rd. #17, Boulder, CO 80304. Click here for a map to our location.

Free Tastes for Mom!

Mothers Day is this Sunday and BookCliff Vineyards wants to help mom celebrate this special day. This Sunday we are offering one free flight of 5 tastes for any mother that comes in. We are waving the $4 tasting fee for mothers because this is your time to relax, kick back and enjoy some Colorado wine, on us! We will be open from 1pm until 6pm, so stop in explore some of our new releases. Happy Mother's Day.

Medal Winners

We recently submitted two of our wines to the "Finger Lakes International Wine Competition" and both of them won medals! We are very excited to share the news that our 2008 Riesling took home a bronze and our 2006 Cabernet Franc Reserve brought home a gold medal. This competition had more than 2500 wines submitted from all over the world. 100% of proceeds from this competition went to Camp Good Days and Special Times, which is a non-profit camp for children and adults battling cancer and HIV. A great event for a great cause.

Of course if you haven't tried our award winning Colorado wines, come visit us at our Boulder tasting room. We are open Fri., Sat. and Sun. 1-6pm and located at 1501 Lee Hill Rd. #17, Boulder, CO 80304.

Lucky 20!!

Yes, we have a brand new wine that was just bottled. We spent most of the day yesterday bottling our newest blend called Lucky 20. This slightly sweet white-blend, will be released in the next few weeks just in time to help cool off this summer. The blend is about one third each of Muscat Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier which gives it a nice crisp body with a hint of sweet fruitiness. We did just over 300 cases of it and it will be released shortly in our tasting room and at the Boulder Farmer's Market (did I mention that the market opened a couple weeks ago?). So keep an eye out for it and stay up to date by receiving our monthly newsletter, sign up on the right side of the page.

2009 Barrel Tasting

Please join us for the annual BookCliff Vineyards Barrel Tasting Dinner. This will be a sit-down dinner at the winery and each course will be paired with wine that is still in the barrel. Eric Skokan, head chef at The Black Cat restaurant in Boulder, will prepare a delicious meal while you sample wines from the great 2008 vintage.

Tuna sashimi, house cured salmon, bruschetta with caprini & arugula
-Paired with 2008 Lucky 20

Roasted diver scallop with Asian greens, sesame, citrus -Paired with 2008 Viognier

Saute of Arctic char with toasted hazelnuts, raisins poached in Cabernet Franc

-Paired with 2008 Cabernet Franc

Slow-cooked lamb shoulder with creamy polenta, figs, bay laurel

-Paired with 2007 Cabernet Franc

Roasted beef strip loin with a sauce of exotic spices & cocoa

-Paired with 2008 Merlot

Roaring 40's blue cheese with apricots poached in red wine

-Paired with 2008 Tempranillo

Spiced pear cake with caramel sauce and ginger

-Paired with 2008 Late Harvest Muscat Blanc

When: Friday, May 1 & Saturday, May 2 at 6:00 pm
Where: BookCliff Vineyards winery/tasting room at 1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder, 80305
Cost: $55

Please call (303) 499-7301 to make reservations for this event.

2008 Chardonnay Deconstructed Dinner

At this dinner you will get to compare unoaked vs. oaked 2008 Chardonnay. Try samples from three different and distinct barrels as well as the final version which is a blend of all the types. This will be a sit-down dinner at The Black Cat restaurant in Boulder, with food prepared by head chef Eric Skokan. In addition to the Chardonnay you will get a chance to taste a couple of the outstanding wines from the 2008 vintage and the never before tasted Black Cat House red blend, only available at The Black Cat. Please RSVP with the Black Cat (303) 444-5500.

Crostini with Colorado cheeses and dried fruits
-Paired with 2008 Viognier

Crisp potato latke with cured brook trout, poached quail egg and peppercress

-Paired with 2008 Chardonnay from three different barrels & unoaked Chardonnay

Roasted diver scallop with smoked bacon risotto, thyme butter
-Paired with 2008 Chardonnay Final Blend

Roasted beef tenderloin with Cabernet Franc sauce, dried figs, celery root gratin

-Paired with 2007 Black Cat Cuvee & 2008 Cabernet Franc

Rustic apple tart with gold raisins poached in spices and Muscat anglaise

-Paired with 2008 Late Harvest Muscat Blanc dessert wine

When: Tuesday April 14th, 6:00 pm
Where: The Black Cat restaurant at 1964 13th St., Boulder

Cost: $55

You've got to try this with Finali

We were recently invited to present our wines at the Boulder Country Club for the "Western American Wine and Cuisine Pairing" dinner which showcased California, Washington and Oregon wines plus Colorado wine from BookCliff Vineyards. The executive chef of the Boulder Country Club was so gracious to let me share with you this recipe from that dinner. The Plum-Potato Dumplings made for a perfect pairing with our port style dessert wine, Finali.


Plums Potatoes Dumplings
5 large russet potatoes boiled with skin on until done
1.5 cup of flour
2 large eggs
salt and nutmeg

After cooking the potatoes peel and mash after slightly cool down. Next make a volcano adding mashed potato, flour, eggs, salt and nutmeg put together without over working and set a side.

Plum Stuffing
10 ripe plums cut into quarters
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup of sherry wine
half cup of honey

Start your sauce pan with all the ingredients and let cook for 15 to 20 minutes until soft but not too soft.

Sweet Bread Crumbing
1.5 cup of bread crumbs
1.5 stick of butter
1 tea spoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 cup of sugar

On a sauté pan melt your butter, bread crumbs and cinnamon until gold and brown and add the sugar. With the potatoes dough take a little piece and form a 2.5 inch disc. Put in the center a quarter of plum and make a ball. Put a large pot of water onto stove and bring to boil and reduce to a light simmer. When finished rolling the balls set 8-10 balls into simmering water keep balls separated in pot. Cook for 2 minutes until balls rise to top of the water and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from water onto a towel then roll into crumb mixture completely covering the outside. Serve with a glass of Finali dessert wine from BookCliff Vineyards.

Grand Opening a Grand Success

This past Saturday we celebrated the Grand Opening of our new winery and tasting room facilities located on Lee Hill Rd, just off of Hwy36 in north Boulder. Just like our unofficial soft opening event on Valentines Day, we were packed. It wonderful to see so many old and new faces and share our 100% Coloroado Grown and Produced BookCliff Wines with all of you. We are proud to have served over 300 people over the course of 5 hours.

We did also raffle off 4, three packs of our wines and I'll be posting the names of the winners here in the near future.

Our friends 2 doors down at UpSlope Brewery were also pleased to meet and host so many of you. They now have their 3rd variety available, a brew especially with St Patricks Day in mind. Don't forget to stop by Upslope when you're visiting us on Fridays and Saturdays. Currently UpSlope Brewery is closed on Sundays. Be sure to visit their website at http://www.upslopebrewing.com/ .

Don't forget that our tasting room is open from 1pm to 6 pm Fridays thru Sundays. Our facilities here in Boulder, the BookCliff Vineyards Winery and Tasting Room are also available for YOUR special events. Contact us for more details.

Again many thanks to those of you who made it to our Grand Opening, and all of you, new or returning, our open invitation to come and visit us.

Cheers,

Mark (your Friendly Neighboorhood BookCliff Sommelier)

Grand Opening Event!

A big thanks to everyone who came to our little V-day party! Now, this Saturday, come celebrate our Grand Opening. We and our neighbors at Upslope Brewery are throwing a joint Grand Opening bash. It is free to attend and we will be serving free beer and wine tastes as well as free food and live music,we have booked a double feature with Joao Junqueira and his authentic Brazilian jazz and Phil Robinson who delights with familiar folk music. You can also register to win one of the raffle drawings for some great prizes. So free beer, free wine, free food, free live music. Need I say more? So come on over and celebrate our new location with us. Can't wait to see you!

What: Free Wine, Beer and Music at the Grand Opening
When: Saturday March 7th, 2009, 1:00pm - 6:00pm, Music from 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Where: BookCliff Vineyards Winery & Tasting Room
1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder CO 80304, phone: (303) 449 9463

BookCliff Owners John and Ulla recognized as a Boulder Couple in Business Together!!

Under the headline, "Labor of Love: Boulder Couples in Business Together - Couples Say Key Is Not To 'Step on Each Other's Toes,' Boulder Colorado Daily Reporter Laurie Phillips writes:"Ulla Merz and John Garlich, BookCliff Vineyards"'We have split it right'"Planting vineyards and starting a winery wasn't the first major undertaking Ulla Merz and John Garlich, of Boulder, entered into. In 1992, the couple began building a house together.""The duration of that project -- about six months -- gave each a sense of what doing business together would be like. Merz left the construction end to Garlich, while she handled the approvals needed and the décor.""Although both are engineers by training, Garlich acknowledges he is more process-oriented, while Merz says she focuses more on the goal."

"Merz met Garlich in 1977 shortly after leaving Germany and starting her education at the University of Colorado.""We have complementary skill sets, and that's definitely helpful," Garlich said.""As they built their house -- as with their business -- he has learned that "for Ulla, it's hard to make decisions quickly; she needs a little time to think." But Garlich also has learned to be patient and build in the time she needs, he said, and he appreciates "the planning aspect of what she brings to our business." Establishing an advisory board, for example, was her idea."

"Having worked as a structural engineer for 22 years and studied winemaking at the University of California-Davis, Garlich began making wine at home in their basement in 1981.""The couple bought 10 acres of peaches in 1995 in the Vinelands, a region east of Palisade. They shared a passion for wine -- and had planted vines in their backyard in Boulder -- and learned as they worked the land and connected with others in the wine industry."

"Now, having added another 23½ acres, BookCliff Vineyards is up to about 2,700 cases of 11 different varietals and continues to sell excess grapes to others.""As their business grows, the couple has decided to consolidate their effort by moving their tasting room from Pearl Street to the winery on Lee Hill Road. They hope to have it open by Valentine's Day, with a grand opening planned for March.""The most important part was to find out that we need to stay out of each other's hair in areas that were not our strength, so the other person could take the lead," Merz said. "We have split it right."You can read the rest of the article in the Colorado Daily here.