The Abbey Winery in Cañon City has won three international awards from the U.K.-based Decanter World Wine Awards.
The 2022 Merlot, described by the winery as a medium bodied red wine, won a silver award. The 2023 Viognier, a dry white wine, also won a silver award, and the Syrah, a full bodied red wine won a bronze award.
The Abbey, which was originally founded by Catholic monks in 2001, is the first in the state to win a silver award from the Decanter World Wine Awards, according to its database of past winners.
Of the 122 silver awards given to wines made in the United States this year–mostly to wineries in the country's three major wine producing states of California, Oregon, and Washington–the Abbey has two. The winery was one of seven U.S. wineries not in those states to achieve the mark.
Larry Oddo bought the winery in 2005. He said all three wines they submitted for awards received some recognition.
“This is a culmination of everything that we've done, and it's certainly a feather in the cap, and it's certainly a cherry on top of all the accomplishments that we've done,” Oddo said.
The winery announced earlier this year that the 2022 Merlot was on the menu at Yellowstone National Park.
Oddo said hopefully this recognition will help sell some wines. Tourism across the industry is up, but he said the alcohol industry has been tough lately because people are drinking less and have less disposable income.
“I feel as though the economic situation is a little difficult for the alcohol industry right now. And so all this positive news is great. It's helping us to hold our own and continue to be successful and in what I would really consider a really challenging environment right now,” Oddo said.
The grapes used in the wines that won awards are not grown at the wineries vineyards. Instead, they come from the Palisades in Colorado and from Washington state.
Oddo said the Abbey's style of wine-making differentiates it from other wine makers in the state, including those in the Palisades where the Abbey gets its grapes.
“We try to coax the best flavors of the grape out in the wine using traditional oak barrels and traditional wine makings to give it that old-world feel as opposed to a new world heavily extracted fruit bomb,” Oddo said.
This style balances the taste of the oak barrel, and the natural tannins in the wine with the fruit flavor that some wines have.
The winery, located off of Highway 50, is open daily for tastings. Many of the wines, including the award winning ones will be featured at the Harvest Festival at the Royal Gorge bridge and Park in September.
