by Georgia McClellan
The 25th annual Colorado Mountain Winefest, presented by Alpine Bank, took place this weekend in Palisade, Colo. More than 50 wineries made an appearance this year and provided thousands of wine lovers with a variety of samples as well as a selection of food.
The festival was held over four days with wine and painting on Thursday, a scenic wine country bus tour on Friday, the 25 Anniversary Colorado Mountain Winefest presented by Alpine Bank on Saturday, and self-guided winery tours on Sunday. Patrons could partake in any event, however, a majority just stuck around for the main Winefest on Saturday.
Preparing for such an event takes a lot of time and energy from over 350 volunteers and the wineries that participate.
“We struggle for a week to get enough inventory to bring up here,” Adam Gorove of Wild Cider said. “That’s our biggest challenge. Remembering everything, weights, tents and all the stuff we need. We drive over five hours to get here.”
While it is sometimes stressful to get everything together and prepared, Gorove says there is a definite payoff to being a part of the annual event.
“Typically, all we do is clean tanks and clean the floors and get a very little bit of recognition but this is an opportunity to see people enjoy the product we make. The people make this fun,” Gorove said.
There were certainly a lot of people out in the Saturday heat enjoying the products and wines of the valley. For Rick and Kristen Duskey, who drove down from Denver specifically for the event, it was their first time at the festival.
“We are here to stomp grapes, drink some good, enjoy the beautiful weather, the beautiful crowd and we’re very happy,” Kristen Duskey said.
The event is always a huge success with tickets almost always selling out. Those planning on going next year are encouraged to purchase their tickets early as tickets sell fast.
