Traveling Colorado's wine Trails.

• Author: Alta
• Position: [summer] WINE PLANNER

As you read this magazine, chances arc good you are near a Colorado winery. Surprised?

Colorado has one of the fastest-growing wine industries in the nation, with nearly 100 wineries covering most areas of the state. And discovering Colorado wine can satisfy the adventurous spirit as well as the palate, taking you to areas you may not have visited while tasting an array of different wines and styles.

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The modern Colorado wine industry began in the Grand Valley east of Grand Junction. That's still the heart of the industry, but there's been an explosion of wineries along the Front Range. You can find about three-dozen wineries stretching from Fort Collins and Fort Morgan in the north to Canon City in the south. Wineries are also in the mountains, in southwest Colorado and in the Delta-Hotchkiss-Paonia area on the Western Slope.

Visiting these wineries, which can be as easy as a day trip or as involved as a Colorado "staycation," is always the best tasting experience, enhanced by the opportunity to learn more about the wine and winery from someone who knows it intimately. Nearly all of Colorado's wineries are in the small, boutique category, so there is a good chance you'll run into the winemaker at many of them.

You could find yourself at a winery in a 100-year-old renovated Sears catalog ranch house south of Sedalia (the All is Ranch Winery), a "winery row" with four tasting rooms in Denver (4640 Pecos St.), a French chateau in the Redlands area near Colorado National Monument (Two Rivers Winery) or a Victorian Mansion (Varaison Vineyards and Winery at Palisade). You could taste the products of many wineries at one of the several wine festivals around the state (see list).

Put together your own itinerary if you like to be in charge, or use a tour operator if you want someone else to drive and make the decisions. In the latter case, Rudi Hellvig, co-owner with his wife, Chris, of Colorado Wine Country Tours (coloradowinecountrytours.com), offers tours to Front Range and Western Slope wineries.

If you want to do your own thing, a good place to start is with a brochure listing the state's wineries. The Colorado Wine Industry Development Board has a complete list on its website (coloradowine.com), including links to individual wineries and downloadable brochures and maps. You can get a map showing all the wineries or by six different regions, called Wine Trails. The latter includes The Grand Valley, Delta/West Elks...