Happy New Year!

Brrrrr! Hope everyone out there is staying warm and had a wonderful holiday! As we get ready for the new year we're working hard to get some new vintages out. Yesterday we filtered a few of our white wines including Muscat Blanc and Chardonnay. The machine in the picture is how we filter out sediment as the wine finishes it's process. We use pads with different pore sizes during three different filter runs. We pump the wine from it's current tank, into the filter and then out to a new tank. After that we clean the previous tank the wine was in, as larger sediment has already settled at the bottom creating a muck. When cleaning a tank it's really important to be thorough no matter how tedious it may be as bacteria forms in corners and crevices if left unclean and then will cause problems in the next wine that enters the tank. Rain-boots and gloves required, or you'll end up soaking wet after this endeavor. 

Have a safe and happy New Year, come pick up a bottle of our Petit Sirah sold in the tasting room to celebrate with friends and family. 

Blending wine starts with moving it

Before you can start blending wine you need to move all the pieces in the right place. This is almost like a chess game with 600 pound pieces. A forklift helps a great deal. All the barrels with wine to be blended need to be located next to each other. As we are a small winery freeing up the right tank for the blending is also a logistically puzzle. Blending starts with organizing, preparing then blending in the small (glasses) before blending in the big (tanks) and finally bottling. Let's have the fun begin.

BookCliff Vineyards’ Wine and Food Pairing with Local Chefs



Fifth annual spring series of Wine and Food Pairing with Local Chefs at BookCliff Vineyards. Treat yourself to a five course dinner exquisitely prepared by great local chefs and perfectly paired with wines from BookCliff Vineyards. This is an evening for you to relax and enjoy good food and wine with your friends.
Date: Thursday 1/24/13 Eric Skokan with the Black Cat
Date: Thursday 2/21/13 Bradford Heap with Salt
Date: Thursday 3/21/13 John Platt with Q’s
Date: Thursday 4/11/13 Kelly Whitaker with Basta
Time: 6:00pm
Cost: $65.00/dinner
Location: BookCliff Vineyards Winery and Tasting Room, 1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder, CO 80304
Reservations: [Click Here]

Holiday Fun For Everyone

BOOKCLIFF OPEN HOUSE – SUNDAY 12/9/12

What do you do when the Broncos are not playing? Head to BookCliff Vineyards open house, taste some wine, find some locally made Christmas gifts, nibble on cheese and crackers and relax. We have three local artists joining us on Sunday 12/9/12 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm to sell their beautiful jewelry, calendars, greeting cards and paintings. Enjoy a TASTING OF FIVE WINES for FREE. Have a wonderful afternoon with wine and cheese while finding some unique Christmas gifts. Give a gift of Finali port paired with four exquisite chocolate truffles from Concertos in Chocolate in Boulder that's sure to put a smile on someones face!

Date: Sunday December 9th, 2012

Time: 2:00pm -5:00pm

Location: 1501 Lee Hill Road, Unit #17, Boulder, CO 80304

Cost: FREE

More Gift Ideas from BookCliff Vineyards

We thought of you and that you may be looking for a special gift for a wine lover. How's about combining the gift giving with your love for the local. We put some great gift ideas together for you. The Finali port with four exquisite chocolate truffles from Concertos in Chocolate made right here in Boulder. Or how's about this special bottle of wine with the Crystal Pourers and a wine stopper? If you like the Friday's Folly why not surprise someone with a bottle and a BookCliff logo glass. Come on into the tasting room and pick your perfect gift.



Treat yourself or give a gift

BookCliff Vineyards and Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy are collaborating and presenting a Cheese and Wine Pairing classes. The classes will be held  at the BookCliff winery on 1501 Lee Hill Road, Unit #17 starting in January 2013 through March 2013 on Fridays from 5:30pm through 7:30pm. This is an opportunity to hear from the Haystack cheese monger explaining the different types of cheeses and their flavors. And the winemaker will talk about making  wine from 100% Colorado grown grapes. You will be able to taste how the right pairings bring out the best in the wine and cheese. Through December 3rd, sign up for a special price through LivingSocial.

We Won a Jefferson Cup!

The Ensembel 2010 has won a Jefferson Cup in the Thirteenth Annual Jefferson Cup Invitational Wine Competition. The Jefferson Cup is basically the equivilent of a double gold medal or "a Sweepstakes Winner" in most competitions and is judged by some of the most experienced judges in the business. Invitations for this competition are offered to 500 wineries throughout America and out of those only 29 individual wines won a cup. Other Jefferson cup winners this year include well-known names like Cakebread Cellars, Michael David Winery and Rodney Strong Vineyards. We are very proud of this Bordeaux blend and would love to share it with you; come in to the tasting room to try it this weekend!

The Flagstaff Star Wine is Available

As our holiday tradition we release the Flagstaff Star wine every year. This year the wine is the 2010 Ensemble, a gold medal winner at the 2012 Governor's Cup and a Jefferson Cup winner at the Thirteenth Annual Jefferson Cup Invitational Wine Competition. The label shows the beautiful oil painting from Sallie Smith, a Boulder artist. We used this image back in 2005, and the wine we chose back then was the 2003 Ensemble. This is our tenth year of supporting the Flagstaff Star fund . This year especially it will be helpful, as for the first time in many years the Flagstaff Star was vandalized again. BookCliff Vineyards donates $1.00 for each bottle of the Flagstaff Star wine sold. The total donation will pay for the utility bill to light the Flagstaff Star for one season. Create your collection of uniquely labelled wine or give it as a holiday gift to a co-worker, friend or relative. The Flagstaff Sar wine is available at our tasting room and also at the following local liquor stores:

Superior Liquor

100 Superior Plaza Way
Superior, CO 80027
303-499-6600

Boulder Wine Merchant

2690 Broadway St  Boulder, CO 80304
(303) 443-6761

Pettyjohn's Liquor and Wine

613 S. Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305,

(303) 499-2337

Harvest Wine & Spirits

3075 Arapahoe Avenue  Boulder, CO 80303
(303) 447-9832

Baileys Wine & Spirits

4800 Baseline Road  Boulder, CO 80303
(303) 494 3685

Liquor Mart

1750 15th Street  Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 449-3374

Going Local....

As a local business we automatically support going local. But why exactly? How does supporting local businesses benefit our community? We know that our livelihood and business depend on people that support us, so in return we try to source as locally as possible, but it's much bigger than that.  Local Food Shift is an organization built on getting the answers to those questions out. Those answers focus on health, the environment and the economy. As far as our health, locally sourced foods need less preservatives and chemicals, creating a better diet for our communities. Although, the drawback is accepting seasonally available items. According to their brochure, Thinking Like a Foodshed, environmentally " the way we currently grow, process, ship, market, and cook our food may be contributing more than 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions." By exporting close to 95% of the food we grow here in Colorado we are using more fossil fuels than would ever be needed to distribute within the state, "less than two percent of our total food production in the county [Boulder] is going to feed the people who actually live there". By keeping some of our food production in county and state we're feeding the communities that grew it, and saving money.  Finally, and probably the most compelling reason is shifting to locally sourced food helps our state economy. The result of shifting local by 25%: 31,022 new jobs, $1.3 Billion per year in additional wages, $2.2 Billion per year in Local GDP, and $198 Million per year in State and Local Tax Revenues. Local Food Shift is asking all of us in colorado to pledge on their website, LocalFoodShift.com, that you will make 10% of your family food budget local. We're going to give it a go, why don't you? Write us on facebook or comment here. Let us know what you think, and if you've pledged, how it's going. Let's keep our community conversation going!

Local Food Shift. Thinking Like a Foodshed. Boulder: Local Food Shift, 2012. Print.

Join us for the Good Life Holiday Market

Mark your calendar: Sunday, November 18th, 2012

Come to THE GOOD LIFE HOLIDAY MARKET at BookCliff Vineyards winery and tasting room where you can find prepared dinners  and fabulous pies to purchase. Eric Skokan from the Black Cat Farm will offer his prepared dinners and My Mom's Pies will have a selection of pies to sample, for purchase and to order. Buy some Colorado fruits and vegetable in a jar from MMLocal; everything from tomatoes to pickles, peaches, cherries and chiles. And not to forget sample and purchase some of the fabulous cheeses from Haystack Goat Cheese made right here in Boulder County. And to add to the fun you can taste five wines for free to find the perfect pairing to go with the food.

Don't forget to bring your shopping bag.

Date: Sunday November 18th, 2012
 Time: 2:00pm -5:00pm

Location: 1501 Lee Hill Road, Unit #17, Boulder, CO 80304

Cost: FREE

Meet Hazel our hardest working vineyard worker

Hazel in her Element

Hazel works from dawn to dusk; she is the first in the vineyard and the last to leave. She makes sure she knows were everyone is and that they are working hard. If a cat is in the vicinity this can be a challenge. Her forte is chasing birds out from under the bird netting. She can jump as high as the fruiting wire. If the work gets too boring she finds a cane to chew on. She is the first to jump into the truck to go off to the next vineyard for some more work.  And at the end of the day she still has energy left to play. Who would not want to have Hazel on their crew.

BookCliff Vineyards supports PBS

Join BookCliff in participating with the 2012 Rocky Mountain PBS online auction. BookCliff donated a dinner for two of our Local Chefs Food and Wine Pairing in the spring of 2013. Choose any one dinner of the series from January through April. I think it is great fun to bid on the items during the online auction and it can hardly be easier. You can buy Christmas gifts, expand your horizon and visit remote areas you have never been at or treat yourself to something fun. And all this for a good cause, great programing from educational to entertaining. I am looking forward to season 3 for Downton Abbey.



2012 Harvest Dinner at the Winery

Celebrate the harvest with good food, wine and friends. Join us for the third annual harvest dinner at the BookCliff Vineyards winery.
Menu:- Gemischter Salat- potatoe salad, field salad, tomatoe salad- Zwiebelkuchen – onion tart with tomato garnish
- Rindsrouladen und Spaetzle – beef rolls, homemade noodles and red cabbage- Zwetschgenkuchen mit Schlagsahne – plum cake with SchlagServed with Neuer Wein and new releases from BookCliff Vineyards
Date: Saturday, October 27th, 2012
Time: 6:30pm
Cost: $55.00
Location: BookCliff Vineyards Winery and Tasting Room, 1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder, CO 80304
Reservations: [Click Here for Reservations] 

Celebration Weekend at Fresh & Wyld

BookCliff Vineyards will be part of the celebration weekend at the Fresh & Wyld Farmhouse. an organic farm offering CSA shares and a bed and breakfast in Paonia, Colorado. We will be serving our wines during the Friday Art Walk About and the Saturday Party with Music at the Farmhouse. Fresh & Wyld is my favorite place to stay in Paonia, a small town located in the West Elks AVA area in Delta County, just over and down McClure Pass. You can also get there via I-70, the Grand Mesa and Cedaredge or drive all the to Grand Junction heading down to Delta and East into the West Elks.
Fresh & Wyld is the ideal getaway for a relaxed afternoon on the farm, great country breakfast and beautiful Colorado views. Quiet and far away from the hub-bub.

Taste Test

Need a good start to your weekend? We will be doing tastings this week at two liquor stores. Oties Wine and Spirits in Windsor Friday from 4-6:30 and Tenacity Wine Shop in Longmont Friday from 5-7. Come join us to check out our new Malbec as well as some other favorites. Who can resist free wine? 

A Great Time to be Had

We had picture perfect weather at the feast in the vineyard doing Palisade wine fest. Guillermo Casarrubias from Trattoria on Pearl brought his pizza oven all the way from Boulder to serve pizza with  Cabernet Franc Reserve 2009. But, the highlight was Lamb Ossobuco served with the best of the fest, our Reserve Syrah 2010. The finish of the evening was quite romantic as twinkle lights illuminated the dark sky. Given the great success there will be a repeat in 2013.  

First North Boulder Scavenger Hunt

Sign up for the first ever North Boulder Scavenger Hunt on September 22, 2012 from 1-4:30pm.   Learn about all the amazing businesses located in North Boulder near the BookCliff Vineyards tasting room and compete for prizes and glory while you do it.

Ticket price is $15 per person and includes a beer, $1 off pints in the Upslope taproom all day, 50% off all wine by the glass at BookCliff, an event t-shirt and raffle prizes.  So grab a few friends, build your team of four to six people and get registered.  Space is very limited, however, so register  by clicking here.

Feast in the Vineyard at BookCliff Farms in Palisade

BookCliff Vineyards welcomes you at our vineyards in Palisade during the Palisade Winefest. This is a unique opportunity to spend an evening in the vineyard while enjoying a five course dinner paired with wines from BookCliff.

Date: Friday, September 14th, 2012

Time: 6:00pm

Cost: $90.00/person including tax

Location: BookCliff Farms, 3844 G Road (Highway 6 & 24), Palisade, CO 81526

Reservations: [Click Here for Reservations]  

Menu

First Course

     Chilled peach-cucumber Gazpacho soup

     -Bookcliff Vineyards Viognier 2011

Second Course

     Duck confit and Colorado wild mushrooms pizza

     -Bookcliff Vineyards Cabernet Franc Reserve 2010

Third Course

     Argentine meat empanada with tricolore beat salad

     -Bookcliff Vineyards Malbec 2011

Fourth Course

     Lamb Ossobucco, slow cooked lamb shank served with broccoli and roasted potatoes

     -Bookcliff Vineyards Reserve Syrah 2010

Dessert

     Peach tart with apricot glaze topped with peach whipped cream

     -BookCliff Vineyards Late Harvest Muscat Blanc 2011

The 2012 harvest is in Progress



2012 Chardonnay grapes



The 2012 spring was early and warm resulting in the vines butting out much earlier especially compared to 2011 which was a cool  and late spring. 2012 and 2011 could not be more different. In addition to the cool temperatures the spring run off was plentiful in 2011 thanks to the snow pack in the mountains. 2012 hardly saw a run off and the Colorado river was low for the entire spring season. As a result we find ourselves harvesting the grapes in August which has never happened before in our relatively short history of owning vineyards for 16 years. We picked Chardonnay on August 20th for sale to Plum Creek Winery in Palisade. Right after Labor Day we will pick some more Chardonnay and the Tempranillo and Muscat Blanc as well. We usually did not start harvest until the third weekend of September. The good news is we will be done sooner and won't have to crush and press in November when the days are shorter and it is dark earlier.

Tasting grapes for ripeness

Reserve Syrah 2010 wins Best Red of Show

The Colorado Mountain Winefest is coming next month. The festivities start on Thursday September 13th culminating with the grand tasting in the park on Saturday 9/15/12. During the grand tasting the winners of this year's Best of the Fest wine competition will be awarded. Only wineries attending the grand tasting in the park are invited to submit wines for consideration. This year the BookCliff Vineyards Reserve Syrah 2010 received a gold medal and was awarded the best red of show. This is quite an honor and we appreciate the recognition. The wine is available for purchase in the tasting room, farmers markets (Boulder, Longmont and Vail) and at select liquor stores, Liquor Mart in Boulder, Chambers Wine and Liquor in Denver and Bubbles Liquor World in Castle Rock. Enjoy!!!

Release Party with West Water Outlaws

If you missed last year's release party, don't make it a repeat. Bring some friends and have a good time tasting our new releases (Malbec and Zinfandel) as well as the white blends we made for Salt, Pizzeria Basta, Jonesy's Eat Bar and Paris on the Platte. The Heirloom Food Truck will be parked in front where you can pick a delicious meal.

Date: Thursday, August 23rd, 2012

Time: 5:00pm - 8:00pm

Cost: Free tasting, $6.00/glass of wine

Location: 1501 Lee Hill Road Unit #17, Boulder, CO 80304 - the winery

RSVP: [Click Here]
The Westwater Outlaws, which played the Fox Theater for their opening night, will show off their music at the party.

Looking forward to seeing you.
Until then, cheers!!

Sangria Recipe

For years now, we have described Touch of Red as similar to sangria and recommended it in sangria recipes. We thought it was about time to share a recipe with you. One of our great customers shared with us her recipe that reminds her of sangria that she had in Spain and will be a wonderfully easy summer refreshment.

2 green apples
8-10 clementine oranges
1c cherries (or cherry juice)
1 bottle (750 ml) Touch of Red

Chop the fruit into pieces no larger than 1/2 inch. Mix into the wine and place mixture into the refridgerator for a minimum of 2 days. To serve, just pour over ice and enjoy. Decorate glass with a thin slice of orange or apple.

Thank you to the provider of the recipe!

2011 Zinfandel

Wow! A Zinfandel from Colorado! We recently bottled 251 cases of our first ever Zin and we are really excited about it. Our vineyard manager, Prescott, has some Zin vines and we thought why not try a CO Zin. It turned out to be really nice with everything you would expect from a great Zinfandel. Boldly fruit-forward with jammy dark cherry, blackberry, anise and pepper flavors. This is a great wine for burgers and barbeque.

Terroir at the BookCliff Winery

Terroir, a Longmont restaurant, that uses locally sourced ingredients as much as possible is taking its dinners on a road trip visiting farms and wineries. Chef Tim Payne and Melissa Newell will be stopping at BookCliff Vineyards' winery on August 22nd 2012 to delight you with a five course dinner paired with wines from BookCliff Vineyards.

Date: Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012

Time: 5:00pm

Location: BookCliff winery and tasting room
Cost: $75.00
Reservations:  Call Melissa at 303-651-0630  

Releasing our first 100% Malbec

The wine is in the bottle. And as the saying goes "The check is in the mail", we are just waiting for the labels to be printed. And a little rest in the bottle won't hurt. Last year we started to lease a two acre vineyard all planted in Malbec. The first harvest was good and made some excellent Malbec that we decided to bottle by itself. Malbec is one of the six grapes included in Bordeaux reds. The wine has a dark, inky color and its masculine tannins give it good structure. In Argentina they also make 100% Malbec rather than blending it with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Malbec is coming soon to the tasting room.

More great Food at BookCliff

For the month of July the Friday menu has changed. Cheese Louise will dazzle you with creative sandwiches. You may want to try "The Brie's Knees", Brie, Apples, Seasonal Fruit Preserve, Arugula, and wash it down with some Muscat Blanc or have some Ensemble to go with "Here's the Beef", Cheddar, Roast Beef, Pickles, Carmalized Onions, Yellow Mustard. You will find the familiar menu from the Heirloom Food truck which will stop by on Thursdays instead.

A Refreshing Drink for Hot Summer Days

When we backpacked in Utah in May this year, it got really hot in the middle of the day and I started to have these thoughts of refreshing drinks I would like to have right now. Where I come from in Germany we have two refreshing summer drinks, one made with beer and one with wine. The beer drink is called Raddler and is half beer (Hefeweizen) and have sparkling lemonade. The wine drink is called Schorle and is half wine (mostly white) and half sparkling water. I went to the store and tested different sparkling waters and found Perrier to work the best. Get yourself a bottle of Lucky Twenty and then blend in a glass, half Lucky Twenty and half Perrier. Enjoy the LUCKY SPRITZER!!

It's Summer Time - It's the Vail Farmers Market

Starting on Father's Day in June head to the hills and visit us at the Vail Farmers Market. We have a beautiful spot on East Meadow Drive, across from the Alpenrose restaurant and near three galleries with fabulous art. I also like the bronze sculptures that you can find near the live music performance. We are so lucky that for the past five or six years we have had the same neighbors at the market - Avon Bakery with the best bread in the valley and bagels and croissants as well. Mountain Man nuts and candy on the other side with pasta and flavored olive oils nearby. The market is open from 10:00am through 3:30pm. We are tasting 12 different wines every Sunday.

Exploring hybrid grapes

Rist Canyon Vineyards

In recent years Colorado wineries experimented with growing hybrid grapes and making wine from them. Merlot and Chardonnay, grape varieties you may be familiar with, are called vinefera grapes, traditionally used for making wine. Vinefera grapes grow well in areas where fruit trees, such as peaches and cherries, grow. In many parts of Colorado the growing season is too short and the temperatures dip too low in the winter. There are French and American Hybrids, such as Foch (red grape) and Chambourcin or Norton the premier American hybrid grape grown in Missouri. Along the Front Range some people have been busy planting vineyards and educating others to do the same. North of here there is Rist Canyon Vineyards, who recommends Foch at the elevation of 7,300 feet. Stonebridge Farms in Lyons grows Esprit, a white grape, amongst others. And Leistikow Farms in East Boulder County grows hybrid grapes and sells them to local wineries.

Try the new release of "A Touch of Red"

Two weeks ago we bottled the new release of the Touch of Red or (TOR) for insiders. I really enjoy this release, as it has a crisp finish and a very fruity nose. Just great for this hot weather we have been having. John calls it Kool-Aid with a kick when people ask what it is like. Maybe a fruit punch with a kick. The reason the TOR tastes so fruity is that 25% are held back as grape juice and 75% are fermented dry  and then both parts are blended together. I enjoy the TOR with dark chocolate or Mexican food. Make sure to chill it before you treat yourself to a glass while sitting on the porch. Enjoy!!

Jazz with your Ensemble - Saturday 6/16/12

Enjoy a five course dinner prepared by Guillermo Cassarubias from Trattoria on Pearl while listening to light jazz and drinking some fabulous wines from BookCliff Vineyards.
Date: Saturday June 16th, 2012
Time: 6:30pm
Cost: $65.00/dinner
Location: BookCliff Vineyards winery and tasting room, 1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder, CO 80304
Reservations: [Click Here for Reservations] 
 Menu
1. Assortment of imported and domestic cheeses and Italian thinly sliced meats served with focaccia toast, berries and apples – Viognier 2011
2. Cioppino – Italian fisherman stew with monk fish, clams, mussels and calamari in pernod-saffron broth – Ensemble 20043. Venison stuffed home-made ravioli, seasoned with herbs de Provence, ricotta cheese and spinach in sage butter-Parmesan sauce – Ensemble 2008
4. Filet Mignon – Baked, wrapped in Italian pacetta, served with basil-mashed potatoes, asparagus and black pepper-cognac sauce – Ensemble 2010
5. Chocolate lover’s dream! rich creamy chocolate cake and Chianti raspberry sauce – Finali

Wine and Food Specials @ East Meets West on Thursday 6/7/12

Here is the fabulous menu.
Each food special is $10.00 and includes a fabulous dish from the Heirloom Food Truck and a glass of wine. The regular menu will also be available and you can buy your choice of a glass of wine for $6.00.
RSVP: [Click Here]

GRIDDLED LAMB SLIDER, MUENSTER CHEESE, RED ONION JAM

SWEET POTATO threads  $5 or 2 for

BookCliff Vineyards Reserve Syrah 2010

Spring market salad, mixed baby greens, haystack goat cheese, carrots, radish, balsamic vinaigrette

Whitewater Hill Vineyards Unoaked Chardonnay 2009

Banh mi sandwich, braised pork belly, cucumber, pickled daikon-carrots, sweet chili mayo

BookCliff Vineyards Muscat Blanc 2010

Sautéed mushrooms, leeks, spinach, arugula,  baby red Russian kale, haystack goat cheese, pasta

Whitewater Hill Vineyards Merlot 2008

East Meets West - Celebrate Colorado Wine Week

Join BookCliff Vineyards and Whitewater Hill for a fun wine and food event at the BookCliff Vineyards winery.

• Taste six wines (three from Whitewater Hill Vineyards and three from BookCliff Vineyards) for $5.00 (tasting fee is refunded on purchase of two bottles)
• Food and wine pairing specials (a glass of wine paired with a dish from the Heirloom Food Truck) for $10.00
• All wines by the glass $6.00

Chat with the winemakers (Nancy Janes from Whitewater Hill Vineyards and John Garlich from BookCliff Vineyards) and enjoy the great food from the Heirloom Food Truck

Thursday June 7th, 2012, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
RSVP: [Click Here]

BookCliff at the Colorado Wine Week

Join us at the Colorado Farmers Market at Highland Tap & Burger on June 6th from 4:00pm - 8:30pm.

Join six Colorado wineries and Highland Tap & Burger for an afternoon party next door fashioned after a farmers’ market. This means you’ll be able to buy $5 glasses of wine from the vendors and take a few bottles home with you — along with some charcuterie from the Pig & Block. The grill will be out, serving tasting Highland Tab burgers, with live music throughout the afternoon. 4–8 p.m. June 6 at Highland Tap & Burger, 2219 W. 32nd Ave., Denver.
RSVP on Facebook

Join six Colorado wineries and Highland Tap & Burger for an afternoon party next door fashioned after a farmers’ market. This means you’ll be able to buy $5 glasses of wine from the vendors and take a few bottles home with you — along with some charcuterie from the Pig & Block. The grill will be out, serving tasting Highland Tab burgers, with live music throughout the afternoon. 4–8 p.m. June 6 at Highland Tap & Burger, 2219 W. 32nd Ave., Denver.
RSVP on Facebook

Join six Colorado wineries and Highland Tap & Burger for an afternoon party next door fashioned after a farmers’ market. This means you’ll be able to buy $5 glasses of wine from the vendors and take a few bottles home with you — along with some charcuterie from the Pig & Block. The grill will be out, serving tasting Highland Tab burgers, with live music throughout the afternoon. 4–8 p.m. June 6 at Highland Tap & Burger, 2219 W. 32nd Ave., Denver.
RSVP on Facebook

Gold Medal for Ensemble 2010

BookCliff Vineyards' Ensemble 2010 received a Gold Medal in the 2012 Governor's Cup to be celebrated at the Governor's Mansion Thursday June 7th starting at 5:30pm. This is a lovely event held in the gardens of the Governor's mansion. Stroll amongst the flowers and sip on award winning Colorado wine. All award winners are invited to present and offer their wines for taste. Last year John Salazar was attended and presented the awards. Light appetizers are passed. If you are interested in joining us, you can sign up and purchase a ticket for $25.00 by clicking on this link and enter code: AWS67

Late Harvest Muscat Blanc

It's back! The Late Harvest Muscat Blanc is finally bottled and available at the tasting room. This dessert wine is just bursting with fruit and floral aromas and flavors but is delicate with a crisp finish. You'll taste apples, peaches and pears with just a hint of spice. Because of this wonderful fruitiness, it pairs well with any kind of fruit dessert; like apple pie or pear tarts.
The term "late harvest" indicates that the grapes were left on the vine longer than normal. By remaining on the vine, the grapes become sweeter and riper which in turn leads to a rich, fruity wine. It is similar to an ice wine but the grapes are not left on the vine to freeze like with a true ice wine. We hand pick the grapes, crush them, add yeast; and when it gets to a level of sweetness that we like, we filter it to stop fermentation.
Many of you who have driven through Palisade in the late summer may have noticed that the vines are covered with nets. Those nets protect the grapes from all those hungry birds. Birds (as well as other animals) love those yummy grapes, especially as they stay on the vine and get sweeter. Without the nets we could lose a whole crop. Come in this weekend to try it!

2012 Spring Barrel Tasting - Menu

If you have not signed up yet, we still have some seats left for Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th of May. This will be an adventure tasting our first year ever Zinfandel and a fabulous, promising 2011 Malbec. Be ready for a great experience. The menu is fabulous as well. Eric Skokan from the Black Farm Bistro is preparing the six course dinner.
Menu
First Course
Pea soup, ginger apple chip – 2011 Viognier Barrel Sample
Second Course
Seared Diver Scallop, vanilla parsnip flan, bacon butter – 2011 Chardonnay Barrel Sample
Third Course
Genoa salami, caramelized cabbage, braised mustard seed – 2010 Cabernet Franc Barrel Sample
Fourth Course
Duck breast, carrot tart, cherry jus – 2011 Zinfandel Tank Sample
Fifth Course
Braised shoulder of Heritage Pork, farro and celery salad, ancho sauce - 2011 Malbec Barrel Sample
Sixth Course
Sorrel cheesecake, orange sable cookie, citrus segments -  2011 Late Harvest Muscat Blanc
Click here for reservations
Looking forward to seeing you.

The 2011 Chardonnay is in the Bottle





You may not have noticed, but we were out of Chardonnay for the past two weeks in the tasting room (and at the Farmers Markets in Longmont and Boulder). Now Chardonnay is back. The 2011 Chardonnay is a blend of 240 gallons aged in French oak barrels and 206 gallons in stainless steel. Not too much and not too little oak, just right. For a Chardonnay it has a lot of fruit; this seems to be the trend at BookCliff. It had it's first "flight" during the Taste of Pearl last Sunday and was well received.

Throw Out the Old, Bring in the New

You can join a hip, new tradition by participating in the fourth DrinkLocal conference held in Denver on Saturday the 28th of April. Here is what is in stock for you

• Three Colorado and regional wine seminars, featuring some of the top names in Colorado and national food and wine.



• The Colorado Blind Challenge, pairing California and Colorado wine in a blind tasting.



• The Colorado Twitter Taste-Off, where you can sip, tweet and repeat wine from two dozen of Colorado’s best producers

Oh, there’s lunch, too. (And if you can’t make a day of it, $35 will buy admission to either the seminars and lunch or the Twitter Taste-Off.)
DLW.com is giving away two round-trip Amtrak tickets from Denver to Grand Junction, through some of the most spectacular scenery in the country. To enter, all you have to do is visit the DrinkLocalWine.com Facebook page and click on the Sweepstakes button. We’d appreciate it if you click the “Like” button while you’re there, too, but that isn’t necessary. The sweepstakes closes April 26.
See you there and we will see whether you can pick out the BookCliff wines.

Cheers

Get Ready for Taste of Pearl

The third annual Taste of Pearl is coming up. We are excited to be at Wenger Swiss Army located at 1122 Pearl Street. We will be paired with Riffs Urban Fare a new restaurant across the street and next to the Boulder Bookstore. On Sunday April 22nd you can stroll the Pearl Street Mall from 2:00pm to 6:00pm and visit 15 stores where you can enjoy marvelous food from local restaurants and enjoy Colorado wine to go with it. We always enjoy seeing familiar faces, so come and stop by and say hello. For ticket information visit: http://www.boulderdowntown.com/events/taste-of-pearl

Wine Dinner with Hunter Pritchett from Luca

Our next dinner is with Hunter Prichett from Luca. Last week we visited the kitchen and the restaurant and tasted our wines with Hunter. We decided to stay for dinner after we read the menu to taste the Striped Bass “En Saor” and the Tasting of Rabbit. We had to try some appetizers and chose Grilled Baby Octopus and Spanish Mackerel Crudo. The staff selected some wonderful wine pairings to go with our dishes.

See the menu for the dinner on Thursday 4/12/12. Hunter chose the dishes and the pairing. I think you will be impressed with the menu.

1st:Spring pea zuppa, buttermilk vinaigrette, housemade proscuitto, young vegetables - Lucky Twenty
2nd: Lardo roasted carrots, ricotta salata, buckwheat, shiso leaf - Cabernet Franc
3rd: Fresh tagliatelle, braised octopus, n'duja, popcorn, tomato sugo - Tempranillo
4th: 45 day dry aged NY strip, charred onion fonduta, bone marrow panzanella, crispy beef tendon - Ensemble
5th: Sformato of young fennel, roasted lady apples, pinenut granola - Riesling

I HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US

Date: April 12th, 2012 – Hunter Pritchett with Luca
Time: 6:00pmCost: $65.00/dinner
Location: BookCliff Vineyards winery and tasting room, 1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder, CO 80304
Reservations: [Click Here for Reservations]