Salida wine pairs nicely with local-food movement, agritourism

It’s kind of romantic, sipping wine made locally with Colorado-grown grapes, imagining the brilliant sunshine, deep blue skies and cool evenings that helped create the beverage. It’s as if the wine is telling a story about a certain summer.

Smeltertown vintner Steve Flynn offers another taste of the fragrant, dry drink, hand-picked and grape-stomped by locals. “I want the taste of Colorado in my wine,” Flynn explained. “I want to taste where these wines came from.”

Maddie Porter, 6, stomps merlot grapes in Smeltertown. Photo credit: Ann Marie Swan.

Flynn says his community supported winery, Vino Salida Wine Cellars, is inspired by the local tradition of Italian winemaking. His fermentation process is as natural and “hands off” as possible. He allows his batch of Palisade-grown merlot grapes to ferment on its own yeast, then adds minimal yeast near the end of the process.

“My job as a vintner is to gently steer the decomposition,” he said. “Wine is made in the vineyard. I want to express what my grower has done.”

Currently, there are about 84 wineries in Colorado, as applicants apply for licenses all the time. “We haven’t seen too many close,” said Doug Caskey, executive director of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board.

The industry has grown by 1,084 percent since 1992, Caskey said. This figure is from Department of Revenue excise tax reports, based on the volume of wine produced. Last year’s figures were flat, however, because of a short 2007 harvest affected by extreme weather.

Colorado’s climate produces thick-skinned grapes, most coming from the Western Slope’s Grand Valley, the heart of the state’s viticulture. When grapes are stressed by cold weather, they often do better. “We have some really good grapes here,” Caskey said.

It’s all about getting grapes that “come in lively on my tongue,” Flynn said. “I’ve yet to taste unbalanced grapes from Palisade.”

Locals stomp merlot grapes in Smeltertown. Photo credit: Ann Marie Swan.

Locally made wine is paired nicely with amazingly fresh, local food. This connection between Colorado wine markets and the local-food movement is “absolutely huge,” said Caskey.

As consumers become conscious of where their food and beverages come from, it’s natural for them to be intrigued by local wines. Increasingly, Colorado wines at farmers markets are doing well, and restaurants that feature local foods are also having a lot of success with them, Caskey said.

Flynn sees community members consuming his table wine, Vino Rosso di Salida, and his high-end, more elegant Vintner’s Reserve. Yet Colorado winemaking is a boutique industry within the larger picture of agritourism, which lures affluent visitors to sample fine local food and drink. For this crowd, eating and drinking are sensual experiences, and they drive from the Front Range to visit wineries around the state.

According to a 2006 Colorado State University economic impact study, the total contribution of the Colorado wine industry was $41.7 million in 2005. About 50 percent of this figure came from agritourism, according to Caskey.

Beyond recreation, tourists indulging in alluring wine and food are finding nirvana on the Western Slope. Mesa County wineries produce almost 60 percent of the wine made in Colorado. The 2006 CSU study also shows 62 percent of Palisade Winefest visitors in 2005 drove more than 100 miles to attend the event.

Couldn’t this happen here? It’s easy to imagine Salida wine with goat cheese made in Buena Vista, a little elk, succulent veggies and fruity desserts. Lunch downtown would be a nice start before a short, scenic bike ride to a local winery. It fits Salida’s style. And, who could resist the bumper sticker, “Napa, Sonoma . . . Smeltertown.”

Locals de-stem grapes in Smeltertown. Photo credit: Ann Marie Swan.

Back when Flynn was only making wine for friends, they all pitched in for grapes, bottles and corks. Flynn then rolled up his sleeves and went to work.

These days, Flynn is realizing his dream in a 1,200-square-foot industrial-zoned building in Smeltertown, making wine to sell to the public. He also makes blended wines with some grapes from California. His wine is unfiltered and aged in barrels. His starting capital was $100,000.00, with the cost of the grapes about half the amount.

This eventual fine wine, often referred to in literature as the only god-given beverage or the drink of the gods, has involved Upper Arkansas Valley residents at every stage in the process. Many of them turned out on a glorious autumn weekend to de-stem three tons of grapes. Workers took the stems outside, building a purple berm along the property line.

Grape-stompers then stepped into a bleach solution before getting into the bins of whole grapes. The solution is enough to disinfect stompers’ feet but “isn’t enough to flavor the wine,” Flynn said. Potential participants with cuts on their feet or ankles are not allowed to enter the bins.

Moms naturally remind barefoot children to wipe off the grit after playing in the dirt and pass through the bleach solution. “As a community, we police this,” Flynn said.

Flynn feels this procedure is hygienic and further health concerns are based on fear. “I don’t want fear in my wine,” Flynn said with a laugh.

Next, just like the classic “I Love Lucy” episode, locals stomped grapes in a macro-sized agricultural bin. Children and adults alike squealed as the grapes squished between their toes, splashing their legs with purple dots.

Flynn’s cash flows from wine futures and, before the wine is made, cases of 2009 Vino Rosso di Salida and 2009 SmelterStomp Merlot cost $180.00. “It’s like a promissary note,” he said. “I promise I’ll deliver.”

The release date is June 2010, and he’s expecting the wine to be “magical.” The wine is then good to drink. However, the wine is expected to taste more refined after aging five to eight years, more like a wine that normally costs $80.00. “You want to drink wine when it’s alive,” Flynn said.

In November those invested in the wine will taste different blends “young and raw.” These wine lovers are truly buying into the dream that what is “smooth now will be smoother later,” Flynn said. “It’s my litmus test. It’s a community sport of winery. Plus, it’s fun.”

Maddie Porter, 6, stomps merlot grapes in Smeltertown. Photo credit: Ann Marie Swan.

Flynn’s Colorado grape grower is Bruce Talbott, who’s had roots in Palisade since 1906. Talbott tried grapes after a few bad years growing apples in the late 1990s. His cousin at Plum Creek Winery persuaded him to try growing grapes and the harvest worked with the timing of his Mountain Gold peach harvest. “I love growing things,” said Talbott, vice president of Talbott Farms, which is a family operation.

Talbott grows “about 12 or 13″ varietals, including chardonnay, merlot, cab sav, syrah, cab franc and riesling grapes. He sees the Colorado wine industry as similar to craft beer, thriving “in relationship with the community.”

Caskey believes Colorado wine culture will be sustainable but it’s “something we have to rebuild.” He’s referring to that dark time in U.S. wine history, Prohibition. Colorado grape vines were ripped out and a lot of farmers switched to peaches. Wine culture in Colorado disappeared for decades, and it takes time to reestablish these traditions. “We are a place that grows exceptional fruit,” he said. “We can make great wine.”

One thing Caskey would like to see is Colorado grape growers diversifying, trying new varietals from Spain and Argentina and fine-tuning the grapes that do best here. When asked if this would be financially risky, considering there is no long, uninterrupted state tradition of growing wine grapes, he said, “Agriculture is financially risky. Not diversitying is more risky.”

In some ways the pressure is off for Colorado wineries because it’s not possible to compete with mass-producing wineries, such as those in California. Wines made here are not in an entry level price category. This means Colorado wines aren’t usually $10 a bottle. Flavor doesn’t have to be designed for commercial tastes and vintners can remain playful. The result is good quality, good value for our region.

Flynn learned to make wine at Mountain Spirit Winery, just outside Salida. Flynn’s individual wine bottles are priced from $25.00 to $50.00. Currently, Mountain Spirit’s most expensive wine is its 2007 Pinot Soleil for $22.95.

Mountain Spirit vintner Terry Barkett wants her wine prices to be “as reasonable as possible,” selling to locals. Mountain Spirit opened in 1995 as the fifteenth winery in the state. Barkett says “the art of blending” separates her wine from others. She and her husband, Michael, sell from their winery on CR 220, Mountain Spirit Gallery and the Twisted Cork Cafe, both on U.S. Highway 50.

Their agribusiness is a huge tourist draw, Barkett says, as she serves many of them at the winery. “It fits in with the valley very nicely,” she said. “It’s just part of the package.”

Doubling the sales of Colorado wine within the state is Caskey’s goal. His strategy is fairly simple – get residents to taste the wine. The strongest sales are out of winery tasting rooms. Maybe a newcomer will try local wine at a friend’s house or a bistro. Flynn has been promoting his wine to local restaurants and finalizing contracts.

The question remains, how does Colorado wine taste? Well, Palisade’s Carlson Vineyards 2003 Riesling was awarded the World Riesling Cup at the 28th International Eastern Wine Competition. The small winery’s competition included 156 rieslings from nine countries, 17 states and two Canadian provinces

Caskey has some advice for new vintners. “Don’t try to be something you can’t be by emulating California,” he offered.

Flynn’s Smeltertown neighbors are curious, popping in to investigate the fruity fragrance. So far, the visits have been friendly. “People love the idea of a winery,” he said.

Flynn, in his boots and bucket at the ready, tends his beloved purple product and adds that wine doesn’t need man. “If you leave it alone, it will make itself,” he said. “That’s my goal. It’s all coming from the earth.”