Colorado's wine country at its best: showcase for a young industry that makes our state richer, and more fun.

• Position: The Best

FROM THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF WINE-COUNTRY SCENERY to the snazziest accessory to dress your wine glass in, Colorado VINE brings you 26 "Best of" choices from among all the things your state's wine industry has to offer. We think they represent 26 different doors to an industry that not only produced 181,990 gallons of wine and had a $21.1 million economic impact on Colorado last year, but also makes the state colorful, tasteful and fun. When it comes to the wine itself, our list includes a best grape, a best white wine, a best dessert wine, a best mead, and three recommended best reds. But that's just the wines. Look through the rest of these "bests" for other industry sources of opportunity and entertainment.

--Editors

Best Scenery driving through Colorado wine country

NORTH FORK OF THE GUNNISON

There are a lot of choices in Colorado for scenic drives, and a few of those will get you into wine country. But our choice for drop-dead gorgeous views coupled with vineyards and wineries is a stretch of Colorado Highways 92 and 133 in Delta County. This is Colorado's "second" wine region, complete with its own grape-growing designation (the West Elks American Viticultural Area). And it may be Colorado's best region for Pinot Noir grapes because of the somewhat cooler temperatures.

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The route follows the North Fork of the Gunnison River much of the way, and there are about a dozen wineries along the drive. So, even though you could travel from Paonia on the east to the junction with Highway 65 on the west in less than an hour, leave at least a day or two for stopping and tasting.

Our favorite view? Try the lawn outside the tasting room at one of the world's highest wineries, Terror Creek, about one mile northeast of Paonia on Garvin Mesa. Under the shade of two trees, you sit with your glass of wine looking out at the vineyards stretching toward Lamborn Mountain. You may not want to leave, but owners John and Joan Mathewson close the tasting room (open Memorial Day to October) at 5 p.m.

Best Colorado grape

RIESLING

Finding a grape that is best suited to a given climate, geography and set of soil conditions may seem simple, but it is really a complex process. To begin with, finding the best grape is not the same as producing wines from that grape that have sales potential. Riesling is a cold-climate grape native to Germany. Many experts claim that it is the finest white grape in the world because of its ability to show off its growing environment without losing any varietal character and the ability to produce long-lived wines. Colorado wine makers have produced very good examples of Riesling in a wide range of styles: dry, off-dry and late harvest, even an ice wine. The grape has proven capable of remaining consistent despite extreme variations in winter conditions in Colorado.

Best wine festival

COLORADO MOUNTAIN WINEFEST

Palisade

It's the oldest and the biggest! September 14-17 will mark the 15th annual Colorado Mountain Winefest. There will be winemakers' dinners Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, a Sunday wine brunch, a wine and chocolate tasting Friday, golf with a wine reception, and a bike tour through Palisade's vineyards. Also, the Festival in the Park Saturday in Palisade's Riverbend Park, complete with tastings of 40-plus wineries from around the state and more good food to pair with them.

www.coloradowinefest.com

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Best winery tasting room, Western Slope

TWO RIVERS WINERY & CHATEAU

Arrival at Two Rivers Winery & Chateau feels as if you are approaching an estate in France. The winery is not ostentatious like many chateaus in Bordeaux, but rather more like the lived-in and worked-in feel of the larger domains in Burgundy. The correlation is carried right through into the tasting room. It is a relaxing space whether you sit in the overstuffed sofas and chairs or stand at the wood wine bar to taste. As you relax into the room, it's not hard to realize this is not just the best tasting room on the Western Slope of Colorado, it is actually far better than many in California or Burgundy.

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2087 Broadway, Grand Junction, CO 81503

info@tworiverswinery.com (866) 312-9463 or (970) 255-1471

Hours: 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday; noon-5 p.m., Sunday.

Best winery tasting room, Front Range

THE WINERY AT HOLY CROSS ABBEY

When coming into Canon City on U.S. Highway 50, you might be surprised to see an almost idyllic setting on the right. It's the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey, nestled among its chardonnay and Riesling grapes with the old monastery buildings on the west. The tasting room/gift shop is in a building originally used as a party room, especially after a harvest. Besides 15 wines available for purchase and tasting, there are also numerous wine-related products. One particular wine, Wild Canyon Harvest, is distinctive because near the end of September when the winery has its harvest festival, owners Matt and Sally Cookson welcome anyone from the community to bring in any kind of grape, and all are blended into a community wine. Contributers' names are put on a bottle. It's wildly popular.

3011 East Hwy. 50, Canon City, CO 81212

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