Colorado wine: world class or just a novelty? State vintners are working hard to put an end to that question and have the medals to show for it.

• Author: Criswell, Bryan
• Position: COLORADOBIZ A&E [criswell on wine]

If you haven't tasted a Colorado wine lately, you're missing out. The state now boasts nearly 100 commercial wineries producing various styles and types of wines.

But has the state industry successfully transformed itself into one that compares favorably to giants like California, or do our wines rate as a collective novelty?

In May, I participated in a media tour of Colorado's wine regions to get a firsthand look. The trip was hosted by Doug Caskey, director of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board.

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RAISING THE BAR

Colorado wineries have been bringing home gold medals and top awards at the international and national levels, including the Double Gold at the 2008 and 2009 Tasters Guild International Wine Competition; Best of Class at the 2008 Jerry Mead International Wine Competition; and several gold medals at the 2008 International Eastern Competition and Finger Lakes International wine tasting.

Colorado Rieslings have gone as far as being awarded the Best in Style in 2006 at the International Eastern Competition, and Top Honor at the 2004 World Riesling Championship--proof that Colorado wines are arriving on the international scene.

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I tasted several fantastic wines on the tour:

Woody Creek Cellars' Tempranillo was filled with ample fig and red fruits that finished with a touch of sweet cedar wood and ginger.

Whitewater Hill's newest release, the 2009 Viognier, is a classic dry Rhone style with amplified fruit characteristics--apricot, nectarine and white peach--tied together with just a hint of pineapple to give a refreshing quality, making this a definite summer patio sipper.

Garfield Estates' 2007 Estate Syrah resembles the sophisticated and complex flavors of Syrah grown in the Rhone region of France, with a rich white pepper quality laced around luscious blackberry flavors.

In fact, many of the growers and winemakers in Colorado recognize the similarities of the "Terroir" here with that of Bordeaux, France. Canyon Wind,

Grand River Vineyards, Plum Creek Winery and DeBeque Canyon Winery have all sought to grow the same varieties that are legally allowed to be grown within the Bordeaux region of France: the red "noble" varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Merlot, Carmenere, Gros Verdot and St. Macaire; and white Bordeaux nobles alike: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Sauvignon Vert.

It's clear that Colorado wineries are taking a more professional...