Filtering at BookCliff

Hi all,

Hope you're enjoying this transition into Fall as much as I am. Not only do I love the cooler temperatures and changing colors, but it's harvest and crush time at the vineyards and the wineries. In order to make room in the winery for the new wines, we must bottle some of the wines that are ready to head out. Just a few days ago I filtered our 2006 Chardonnay. We will be bottling it next week so it's time to take the last few steps in the wine making process. We aged our '06 Chardonnay in new French and American oak for about six months. During this process we left the wine on the lees, which are just the dead yeast cells. I know it sounds gross but it really gives the wine a soft creaminess and balance when mixed with the oak flavors. We stirred the wine in the barrels a couple times a week, every week, just to mix up the lees. To remove the lees we filter the wine into a large stainless steel tank. This filtering is what you see in the picture. I can't wait for you all to try this new vintage of BookCliff Vineyards Chardonnay!

It's That Time of Year.

That's right Colorado Mountain Winefest is back. This weekend head up to Palisade to experience the largest Colorado wine festival of the year! What a great time: live music, bike tours through the vineyards, winemaker dinners, and of course wine tasting. Check out the website here for all the info you'll need. As always stop by and say hi. If you can't make it up to Palisade this weekend stop by and see me at the tasting room on 15th St. between Pearl and Walnut.

As for winery stuff we're bottling like crazy to make some room as we will start crush probably next week. Some of the grapes are ready and others are so close to ready that I can taste 'em. The white grapes usually are picked first, that means Chardonnay and Viognier. This year we'll also have our first vintage of Riesling and a couple other varietals, how exciting! What a busy time for us.

Boulder Food & Wine Fest Success!

Hey Everybody!

I appologize for the delay in updating this site, I've been outta town for a while. But here I am.

So the Boulder Food and Wine Fest went off without a hitch. I thought it was a great time (even with the slight showers)! The food was amazing, the wine was fantastic. Thanks to everyone involved for putting on such a great event, all the restaurants and wineries did a great job. Most importantly thanks to everyone who came, we couldn't have done it without you. I'll throw a special shout-out to Jackie, Rickie, and John; good work. I think it was a success so I'm planning on seeing everybody back nest year!

Well, yesterday we bottled our 2005 Cabernet Franc Reserve. We did about one hundred cases, so get it while you can (it's always a hot seller). This is a great vintage with tons of bright red fruit and just a hint of green pepper on the palate and the silky smooth tannins are in perfect balance with the acidity and alcohol. There are aromas that remind you of popping a cherry Jolly Rancher in your mouth while you're sitting next to a campfire in the middle of the forest. Can you tell that I'm a big fan of this wine? So come on by the tasting room so you can tell me your thoughts on this wine. Also check out www.bookcliffvineyards.com to find a liquor store near you. See you soon.

j

ps Don't forget Colorado Wine Fest is coming soon to Palisade!

FREE TASTES!!! (in exchange for your opinion)

How are y'all today. Boy it's a hot one yet again here in Boulder, CO. Great day to go down and sip on some cold refreshing white wine. Speaking of trying wine we will be participating in another parking lot tasting outside of the Westminster Total Beverage. This Friday (8/10) from 4:00 pm-7:00 pm and Saturday (8/11) from 1:00 pm-6:00 pm we and other wineries will be pouring samples of our wines in the parking lot of the Westminster Total Beverage. Come by and say hi and let 'em know you saw it here.

On a different note...Last week we did some more blending trials with that red I had mentioned some time ago. We came up with some fantastic wines with the help of our tasting experts (you!), who assisted us in narrowing it down at the tasting room. Unfortunately it is not that easy. It's a pretty complicated process choosing the blend that will be used in the final product. We were going for an economical bottle, great for everyday consumption. What we found is that the favorite blend would end up being a mid-price bottle (around $18). One problem with this is that it would be a non-vintage wine, meaning the wine consists of a blend of wine from different years. Believe me, I know what a huge role that vintage plays. Besides telling you what year the grapes were picked, it can tell you how rich the wine might be or how long it may last in the wine cellar (or your closet depending on where you choose to store your wine). To me though the quality of the wine is the most important thing and I would prefer a high quality non-vintage wine to a lesser quality vintage wine. And remember that quality of wine is defined by your tastes, it's not what somebody else tells you you should like. Am I wrong? What do you think? Would you buy an $18 bottle of non-vintage wine? Let me know. Stay tuned for more on this.

Rainy Days

Hi all. The past couple days have been rainy here in Boulder. Hopefully the weather is beautiful next Sunday for the Boulder Food & Wine Festival. Come enjoy some Colorado wine and some local grub at Central Park in Downtown Boulder. We'll see y'all tomorrow (every Sunday) at the Vail Farmer's Market. Stop by and say hi!

p.s. I took this picture of Folsom Field on the CU campus after the rain storm yesterday. You can't see it here but there was a triple rainbow!

Boulder Food & Wine Festival

Join us for the 1st Annual Boulder Food and Wine Festival on Sunday, August 12, 2007.
From noon-5 pm you can sample food from the finest restaurants in the area as well as wine from twenty different Colorado Wineries. Just $35 in advance ($40 at the door) allows you to sample good eats from restaurants such as Aji, Flagstaff House, Trattoria on Pearl, Laudisio, and The Greenbriar Inn just to name a few! Also sample some of the amazing wines coming out of Colorado from some very talented winemakers. There will also be some fun activities for all. From noon-2 pm get your swing on with The Swingin' Seven Dance Orchestra and from 3-5pm samba the evening away with Brazilian music courtesy of Ginja. Don't forget to check out the Waiter Races starting at 2pm, that should be a riot. Purchase tickets at the BookCliff Vineyards Tasting Room or at the Boulder Creek Winery, or click here to buy them right now online. You can find more info including complete restaurant and winery information and directions to Downtown Boulder's Central Park at http://www.boulderwinefest.com/. If there are any other questions send me an email at justin@bookcliffvineyards.com.

This is a Hot Deal! Don't miss it.

"Where Can I Find Your Wine?"

Ah, great question! I'm glad you asked. As today was a delivery day to some of our vendors, I got to meet some great new people. One of the best parts of my job here at BookCliff Vineyards is meeting new peeps. Today, down at Applejack, Dennis really helped me out. Thanks Dennis! Anyway, back to your question. There are quite a few stores from Ft. Collins all the way to C. Springs so I can't list 'em all here. Link over bookcliffvineyards.com to see a complete list of stores in your area. Here are just a few...




Ft. Collins

• Aggie's Liquor


• Bullfrog Wine & Spirits


• Supermarket Liquor


• Wilbur's Wine & Spirits

Denver Area

• AppleJack


• Argonaut


• Mondo Vino


• Chambers Wine & Liquor


• Grape Expectations


• Total Beverage (Westminster & Thornton)


• Tony B's Wine List


• Del Sol Liquors

Boulder

• Liqour Mart


• Boulder Wine Merchant


• Meridian Spirits


• PettyJohn Liquor and Wine


• Harvest Wine & Spirits


• Snowy Peaks Winery (Estes Park)


• Farmers Market


• BookCliff Vineyards Tasting Room!!!

Colorado Springs

• The Wine Store


• Wines of Colorado


• Peregrine Liquor


• Springs Liquor Outlet