Vino Salida – Hand-Picked & Foot Stomped Colorado Wine

Steve at Vino Salida rang us up and wanted to support The Citizen, so we gave him an ad. Meanwhile, back at the ranch Nathan wanted to write something up about the project. Citizen journalism at work. Cheers.

by Nathan Ward

Before even the railroad reached Salida, Italian men came to lay the steel rails with knowledge of the hammer and the spike. But in their hearts and heads, they also carried understanding of an older ritual, wine making. From Europe they brought the tradition of making wines right at home. This tradition continues today in Salida and a local wine maker has taken it a step further by opening the Vino Salida Wine Cellars and tasting room, where everyone of age can now sample fine Colorado wines.

From Salida, drive west on US 50 past Walmart and keep your eyes open for a 4-Plex industrial complex on the right (north) with a Vino Salida sign (8100 W. Hwy. 50, Unit B). Turn in on a dirt road and get ready for a unique experience. From the dull industrial exterior, one would never guess what treasures wait inside. Open the door to the winery and enter a different world, one devoted to local wine and a driven man’s dream.

Artist and vintner, Steve Flynn is the man behind Vino Salida. The winery combines a small tasting bar with a spotless industrial workspace stacked with oak barrels full of handmade wine. The tasting bar offers sips of the six wines Steve currently produces, ranging from a dry Viognier, to a traditional old vine Zinfandel, to a semi-sweet cabernet, all young, beautiful and very drinkable.

I started tasting the wines, ready to invent some obtuse adjectives as one is known to do at a wine tasting, but Steve led me through the tasting in a relaxed way. “We do wine tasting in a casual way here,” explained Steve. “People come in and say ‘I don’t know about wine, but I know what I like.’” Vino Salida tastings aren’t just for wine snobs, but for the everyday person who enjoys wine.

We tasted the wines together and Steve explained each one, how it was crafted, what local foods to pair it with and how he plans to make the next batch even better. It was fun and educational, a great way to step into the world of wine tasting.

Steve saved his best creation for our last taste, a reserve merlot named Smelterstomp. This is the wine that started it all, first made in Steve’s backyard as an after-work hobby. Soon he wanted to make more, ordered 1,500 pounds of grapes from a farmer in Palisade, Colorado and organized a wine making party with his friends.

This first party was held in 2004 when twenty friends gathered in Smeltertown for what was simply known as the “Annual Grape Stomp”. They crushed the grapes in the age-old way, by stomping on them with bare feet. They fermented the mix, let it age for a few months, strained it by hand through salad colanders and bottled their first batch of merlot.

What started as a hobby for Steve evolved into a passion and on June 28, 2009 he went all in, putting his entire savings, and more, into starting Vino Salida Wine Cellars. His first commercial batch of wine was appropriately named Smelterstomp Merlot, the same wine he had been perfecting for years at the Annual Grape Stomp parties. Smelterstomp rose to regional fame quickly and in 2010 it won a silver medal at the Colorado Mountain Winefest.

With Vino Salida’s move out of Smeltertown, they changed the name to the Tenderfoot Stomp Merlot.

However, Vino Salida isn’t just about making good wine. It’s also a philosophy that embraces Colorado farmers, utilizes local ingredients, reflects Salida history and promotes business in a local way.

“Our wine is directly tied to agriculture in this state and our goal is to produce all our wines with at least 75% of all ingredients grown in Colorado,” says Steve. “The grapes for our wines are primarily grown in the Palisade area. To keep the money in Colorado, we need to buy everything as local as we can.”

It’s the right way to do business, but not always simple and Steve spends time developing long-term relationships with grape growers on the Western Slope who can produce a premium product each year. In this way, the money goes directly to the grower and their grapes directly to Salida.

Finally, when the wine is bottled, all the waste products are either composted or used as feed for local backyard chickens. It’s a great example of full circle corporate responsibility.

Like others before me, after I’d tasted all the wines and toured the winery, I wanted to be part of this exciting project and I asked Steve how it was possible. He had the answer ready for me – by personally investing in the winery, by buying wine futures for the 2010 Tenderfoot Stomp Merlot, or simply by joining the new Club Vino.

To get ready for the next seasons, Flynn recently opened another round of investment possibilities. You don’t get ownership, but you do get a decent interest rate on your investment. It’s much more local than the stock market, more environmentally friendly than oil shares, and it’s about the most fun way you can choose to diversify into the local market.

Investment sounded good to me, but I remain on more of a wine future or wine club budget. The futures interested me – pay $180 now and get 12 bottles of the famed merlot in autumn 2011. That is just $15 a bottle, or 40% off its shelf price.

Finally, I opted to join Club Vino. This wine club costs $45 every three months and includes three bottles of wine, a member’s only wine pick-up party and a member’s only 15% discount on all purchases at the winery.

I left Vino Salida excited not only about drinking great wine, but by the chance to support such a worthwhile local business. Steve’s plans for the future swirled in my head – plans to make a sweet honey wine completely from Arkansas River Valley honey, fruit wines made from organic Colorado farms and much more.

As a Salidan guilty of complaining about how difficult it can be to make business happen here, it’s inspiring to meet someone like Steve Flynn who started in his backyard, embraced his dream, worked hard over the years to make it happen and then opened his whole dream up to anyone else who wants to be part of the movement. This is the kind of business and vision we need in our community.

Stop by Vino Salida for a winery tour, tasting, to purchase wine, to learn about their spring wine and food parties or to join the wine club.

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
www.VinoSalida.com
719-539-2674
8100 West Highway 50, Salida, Colorado 81201

Here are suggestions from Steve Flynn about perfect local wine and food pairings

Meat & Potatoes
The meal: San Luis Valley grass-fed beef and potatoes with a local organic green salad.
The wine: Smelterstomp Merlot (only vintner’s reserve left for 2011)

River Bounty
The meal: Arkansas River Brown Trout, SLV quinoa and onions with dried cherries.
The wine: Viognier – a full-bodied white with lots of fruit, herbs and hints of lavender.

Southwestern
The meal: Organic backyard chicken with Mexican mole, fried squash blossoms or deep-fried sage leaves.
The wine: Vino Bianco di Salida – a 50% Chardonnay 50% Viognier blend that pairs well with spicy foods.

Vegetarian
The meal: Tamari roasted tofu with roasted sesame seeds on top, accompanied by roasted Salida garden vegetables.
The wine: Vino Rosso di Salida – a Zinfandel with “notes of jazzy berry and razz-cherry”.

Buy Vino Salida wines at these locations

Shops
Vino Salida Winery
Arlie Dale’s Jug Liquors – 220 N. F Street, Salida
Party Spirits – 348 W. 1st Street, Salida

Restaurants
Amica’s Pizza & Microbrewery – 136 E. 2nd Street, Salida
First Street Café – 137 E. 1st Street, Salida
Café Dawn – 203 W. 1st Street, Salida
Reigning Wine Bar – 130 W. 1st Street, Salida
The Fritz – 113 East Sackett Ave., Salida
Moonlight Pizza – 242 F St., Salida
Grimo’s Italian Restaurant – 146 S. Main, Poncha Springs
The Asian Palate – 328 E. Main St., Buena Vista

Mail Order – should be available by summer of 2011.

Nathan Ward is a professional photographer, writer and sustainable tourism consultant working worldwide. Nathan specializes in adventure, environmental and humanitarian issues.