A busy fall for Colorado wine lovers

It's been a busy fall and I've been somewhat relaxed in my approach to writing about wines. From sampling as many as possible of the 80-some Colorado wineries at Winefest to several distributor-level fall tastings and the early arrival of cold weather, there hasn't been much break in the realm of local wine news. I'm not complaining, mind you, because there's nothing bad about researching and writing about wines (except not having enough time to do everything). *Wine enthusiasts at the Colorado Mountain Winefest surge toward the booth for Denver-based Balestreri Vineyards. Julie Balestreri's hand-crafted, unfilterd wines are a perennial hit at the Winefest.* The 18th annual Colorado Mountain Winefest fell on three lovely days in mid-September and a record number of wine lovers (roughly 6,800 according to some figures) spent a day tasting and drinking Colorado wines. I'd love to say I found all the wines great (heck, I'd love to say I thought all the wines were good) but my palate says otherwise. While there are many enjoyable and thoughtful wines, some winemakers prefer over-extracted, too-fruity and high alcohol wines. I listened during a seminar by Maximilian Riedel while one winemaker bragged about making this type of wine. While these fruit bombs with 16-percent alcohol aren't what I look for, they enjoyed a large following at Winefest. For the large part, the state's wine industry still is at the stage were it's important to sell out each year to pay for next year's vintage. It's like any small business that relies on product turnover to guarantee there will be a product next year. Some winemakers - Parker Carlson of Carlson Vineyards comes to mind - have discovered a niche wine that pays for "more serious" winemaking. In Carlson's case, his magnificent cherry wine sells so well he can afford to experiment with his "serious" (his words) red wine. I don't begrudge wine makers from making a product that sells, every business owner should be so fortunate to find that product. The lines of people edging toward each booth at Winefest, and the happy crowds lounging under the massive cottonwoods and enjoying a bottle of Colorado wine, was evidence enough Colorado winemakers are doing something right.