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.