Western Wine

A lot of people think the only wines worth drinking from the U.S. come from California.  But I must say, I've had some darn good ones from several other states including colorful Colorado.

I spent last weekend in Napa and I really do love that place.  There's just something about the laid back lifestyle, the vines growing anywhere there's a patch of land to speak of, the pure gold fields that remind you of a Steinbeck novel, the amazing roses everywhere - along fences, at the ends of rows of grapes - and of course, the wines themselves.

However, I spent the weekend before Napa prepping in Colorado's own wine valley - Grand Junction.  The Unintentional Camper and I hopped from one tasting room to the next sampling wines I thought were quite good.

Though the UC and I discovered we have quite different tastes when it comes to wine, we compromised on a nice red (I suspect he was humoring me) that we sat outside and enjoyed with some bread and cheese.  It was a perfect, warm Napa-esq day.  And while the area might be lacking the fields drenched in gold, the mesas and rock walls are a nice backdrop too.

Overall, I was really impressed with the Colorado wines (which was evident in how many bottles I bought), and think the day was a good one.  I don't know that I'd fly to Grand Junction just for some wine, but I'd highly recommend a stop at a winery (or two).