Colorado's wine industry continues to excite the man who helped pioneer it. Celebrated winemaker Warren Winiarski worked for Ivancie Cellars, one of Colorado's early post-Prohibition commercial wineries, in the late 1960s.
Winiarski later headed California's famed Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, producing the award-winning 1973 Stag's Leap Cabernet Sauvignon that helped establish the Napa Valley as a major international growing region.
He returned to Colorado recently to judge the Colorado Wine Governor's Cup competition. “This is the third year I’ve judged at this competition and the quality of the Colorado wines continue to improve and impress me immensely,” Winiarski said at the Governor's Cup.
Winiarski, who also toured Colorado wineries during his visit, spoke with Colorado Matters host Nathan Heffel.
The Colorado Wine Industry Development Board, an arm of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, announced the 18 winners of the 2016 Governor's Cup statewide wine competition. The winning wines will be celebrated at the History Colorado Center in Denver Thursday. Here are some of those top bottles:
- Whitewater Hill Vineyards' 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
- Snow Peaks Winery's 2013 Petit Verdot
- Plum Creek Cellars' 2015 Dry Riesling
- Bookcliff Vineyards' 2013 Ensemble won "Best in Show"
See more winners here.
More:
- "Remembering Gerald Ivancie, Amazing Vintner" via ColoradoWine.com
- Viticulture and Enology programs for the Colorado Wine Industry, Annual Report for July 2014 - June 2015
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