BookCliff Vineyards

Valentine's at BookCliff Vineyards

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:49:00 +0000

Saturday 11th, 2012, 1:00pm - 6:00pm
Sunday 12th, 12012, 1:00pm - 6:00pm

Why wait until Valentine's Day? Come and visit the tasting room on Saturday the 11th, 2012 and Sunday the 12th, 2012 for wine, chocolate and music. You have our permission to indulge yourself and enjoy a flight of three wines perfectly paired with three chocolates from Concertos in Chocolates while listening to live music from 2pm - 5pm. Light snacks will be served. Receive a complimentary rose while it lasts.
The Saturday attraction is Molly Greacen and the Sweet Brazilian Jazz Band and Sunday will feature Phil Robinson.

Super Bowl Sunday at BookCliff Vineyards

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:22:00 +0000

Not a football fan? No worries. Come and visit the BookCliff Vineyards' tasting room and have a great time tasting more than 15 different wines. Tastes are complimentary (FREE) on Super Bowl Sunday 2/5/12. And we are open from 1:00pm - 6:00pm. Bring a friend, as sharing wine is always more fun.

Wine and Food Pairing with Local Chefs

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:29:00 +0000

This is the third annual "Wine and Food Pairing with Local Chefs" dinner series. This year are including two new chefs, Bradford Heap from Salt Bistro in Boulder and Hunter Pritchett from Luca. The next dinner is on Thursday February 23rd, 2012 when Bradford Heap will be the chef. During this dinner guests will get a chance to taste one of the special beers from Avery Brewery where grapes from BookCliff Vineyards were used to co-ferment with the beer. This will be a great adventure and a one of a kind opportunity. Stay tuned to learn more about the menu of the night. [Click here for reservations]

BookCliff and Avery Team Up

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:48:00 +0000

Mark your calendars, because on Sat, February 11, 4pm – 11pm, Avery Brewing Company will be releasing of #10 and #11 of their Barrel-Aged Series. Bottles of Muscat d'Amour & Recolte Sauvage will go on sale at 4pm for $8 each, and purchases will be limited to 6 bottles of each.
"What does this have to do with BookCliff" you ask? Well, these are beers made with grapes! Avery purchased Muscat Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from BookCliff and added the skins and juice to some of their beer. They aged this beer/wine for about a year in barrels and this release is the final product. You've gotta try this stuff. There won't be much available so get there early to get in line. Don't forget, we open at 1:00 pm, so stop by for a taste of our Cab Sauv and Muscat Blanc wine before you try the beers.

Touch of Red

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:10:00 +0000

Many of you have tasted and fallen in love with our wine called Touch of Red. The Touch of Red is a sweet red wine that is slightly darker in color than the typical rosé. In order to make this wine we utilize all of our red grapes and the juice from them. The color, tannins, flavors, etc. in red wine come from the skins of the grapes. In order to make our dry reds deeper and to get more extraction from the skins, we remove juice from the fermentation bins but leave behind the skins. This increases the proportion of skins to juice and in turn makes a more flavorful wine. That juice that is removed goes into two separate tanks. Into one of these tanks we add yeast to start fermentation. This will be made into a completely dry (no sweetness!) rosé. The other tank will be kept as straight juice, super-sweet and delicious. Now because we removed the juice from the skins quickly, they only gave a little color to the juice; this is why you have pink wine. Once the tank with the wine is done fermenting, we do some tasting trials and finally add the juice into the wine. It usually is around 25% juice going into the final blend. This gives you a sweet rosé that is delicious on its own but also great for sangria or add Prosecco for a nice sparkling treat. We recommend it served chilled and it is great with spicy food or with desserts. Chocolate dipped strawberries are my favorite!

Red Blends for the New Year

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:40:00 +0000

Red Blends have become more and more popular over the past two to three years. My first introduction to a red blend that you can enjoy every day with your dinner was the Tractor Shed Red. It was an intriguing blend of Sangiovese, Zinfandel and Merlot. And I liked the label of a red tractor on a black background. On the other end of the spectrum is Insignia from Joseph Phelps, a red blend of Bordeaux varieties. Insignia is actually the wine we fell in love with and aspire to. A wine for special occasions and to lay up. Both of these wines are a unique blend of red wines with every release. All the grapes used for the Insignia come from the same vintage which is not necessarily the case for Tractor Shed Red. BookCliff Vineyards makes a non-vintage and a vintage red blend. The Friday's Folly is our everyday red blend and the Ensemble is our vintage blend made from Bordeaux varieties. Enjoy both for different occasions. Cheers!!

The Flagstaff Star - A perfect present from Boulder

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:18:00 +0000

Every year the Chamber of Commerce in Boulder commissions a piece of art with the Flagstaff Star. The Chamber sells holiday cards that have an image of the art and we sell the Flagstaff Star wine that has the image of the art on the label. $1.00 of each bottle goes to the Flagstaff Star fund to keep the star on the mountain lit throughout the holiday season. For many it has become a tradition to pick up a bottle for themselves or as a gift from Boulder. You can find the Flagstaff Star wine at the following liquor stores, Alfalfa's wine store, Bailey's Wine & Spirit, Boulder Wine Merchant, Harvest Wine & Spirit, Liquor Mart, Petty John's Liquor and Wine and Superior Liquor. We also sell the Flagstaff Star at our tasting room.

Great Events at BookCliff

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:03:00 +0000

There is always something going on at BookCliff. We have Farmers Markets, wine dinners, barrel tastings, chocolate and wine pairing and music at times. Come on over with your friends for an entertaining afternoon or a delicious evening at the BookCliff Vineyards' winery. How do you find out what is going on? Sign up for our newsletter on our website our check out www.bookcliffvineyards.com/events to find out what is going at BookCliff. Our winery is also available for private parties, clubs or business groups that enjoy a glass of wine.

The 2010 Ensemble is in the Bottle

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:11:00 +0000

We, you and the liquor stores have been without Ensemble for over a month. We worked on the blend for over a month, tasting different percentages of Merlot and Cabernet Franc and re-tasting to make sure the blend represents the best red blend we can produce from the 2010 vintage. Finally we bottled the 2010 Ensemble last week and now we are waiting for the labels to arrive. If everything works out we will have the new release for the Good Life Holiday Market on Sunday December 18th, 2011. The 2010 release has 56% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec. A lot of dark fruit, smooth tannins with promise for long aging in the bottle.

Annual Santa Claus Party at BookCliff

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:48:00 +0000

FREE wine tasting of five wines, free appetizers, and stocking stuffers from Santa! Live Music.
Join us, Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 at the winery.

Please join us on December 3rd from 1:00pm - 6:00pm at the winery, 1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder, CO 80304.
Special of the day: 20% off a case (12 bottles) of wine. VIP members take an additional 5% off.
Please RSVP.

Two GOLD Medals for BookCliff Vineyards

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:01:00 +0000

BookCliff Vineyards received two gold medals at the Jefferson Cup Invitational Wine Competiton held every year in Kansas City. The 2009 Cabernet Franc and the 2010 Petite Sirah received a GOLD medal. If you want to taste the wines come into the tasting room at 1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder, CO 80304. Both wines make great Christmas gifts or treat yourself.

Great Fun at the Holiday Market

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:27:00 +0000

If you missed the Good Life Holiday Market at BookCliff there are three things you can do

Find out what it was like. Here is what one person said: "The mood of the event was similar to a casual party, which made everyone feel comfortable and as a result some people stayed for the whole event and enjoyed themselves. "

Read the article Toni wrote about the market. She was so impressed about getting to try fresh spinach from the Black Cat Farm and taste some local wine. http://www.boulderlocavore.com/2011/11/bookcliff-vineyards-and-black-cat.html

Check out our events page at www.bookcliffvineyards.com/events to see whether there is another opportunity for you to experience the Good Life Holiday market.

We may do this again on December 18th, so people who missed it get another chance and for people who ate all the cheese. pork, ducks, vegetables and pies to come and restock for the holiday meal.

See you then.

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:20:00 +0000

The holidays are coming and so may be family or friends for a visit. Wouldn't it be more fun to spend more time outdoors with your holiday guests than in the kitchen? Ideally you serve home-style cooking prepared by others. Come to THE GOOD LIFE HOLIDAY MARKET at BookCliff Vineyards Winery and Tasting room where you can find prepared dinners and fabulous pies to purchase. Eric Skokan from the Black Cat Farm will offer his prepared dinners and My Mom's Pies will have a selection of pies to sample, for purchase and to order. Buy some Colorado fruits and vegetable in a jar from MMLocal; everything from tomatoes to pickles, peaches, cherries and chiles. And not to forget sample and purchase some of the fabulous cheeses from Haystack Goat Cheese made right here in Boulder County. And to add to the fun you can taste five wines for free to find the perfect pairing to go with the food.
Don't forget to bring your shopping bag.
Date: Sunday November 20th, 2011
Time: 2:00pm -5:00pm
Location: 1501 Lee Hill Road, Unit #17, Boulder, CO 80304
Cost: FREE

Hurrah!! The 2011 Harvest is finally over

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:39:00 +0000

Today is the last day of our harvest in 2011, pressing Cabernet Sauvignon. We started late this year with the first truck delivering Chardonnay grapes on September 20th, 2011. It also was a long season, but luckily the weather was sunny and warm for the most part and held until November 1st when we picked the last of our grapes. As we had winter damage in our own vineyards we had to buy grapes from other growers in Palisade. We processed a total of 60 tons of grapes. This is the first year we had a sizable crop of Malbec, thanks to leasing a vineyard planted in 100% Malbec, and the quality was good. 2011 will be our first 100% Malbec in the bottle.

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:52:00 +0000

Second Annual Harvest DinnerCelebrate the harvest with good food, wine and friends. Join us for the second annual harvest dinner at the BookCliff Vineyards winery.
Menu:
- Kartoffelsuppe mit Frankfurter – potato soup with sausage
- Zwiebelkuchen – onion tart with tomato garnish
- Ragout Fin – veal stew with mushrooms in a puff pastry and bib lettuce
- Zwetschgenkuchen mit Schlagsahne – plum cake with Schlag
Served with Neuer Wein and new releases from BookCliff Vineyards
Date: Saturday, November 5th, 2011
Time: 6:00pmCost: $60.00
Location: BookCliff Vineyards winery and tasting room, 1501 Lee Hill Road #17, Boulder, CO 80304
Reservations: [Click Here for Reservations]

Kudos for the Friday's Folly

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:20:00 +0000

The Friday's Folly released in late August also doubles as our red keg wine currently served at Pizzeria Basta, Boulder and the newly opened Russell's Smokehouse in Denver. It is a fun wine that makes for easy drinking with its smooth finish, flavors of raspberries up front that turn into blackberries in the finish. It is an eclectic blend of Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Frontenac, sourced from Eastern Colorado where you can grow French hybrids that are winter hardy. Our 2010 Reserve Syrah also received a mention in a list of Colorado wines that will help you to get over the first snowy day this season. Check out the article in the Cafe Society blog of Westword.

New Release - Petite Sirah 2010

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:19:00 +0000

The last bottles of the 2009 Petite Sirah, which received the Jefferson Cup award, are gone. Onwards to the 2010 Petite Sirah, which has more intense flavors compared to the 2009. We held a preview of the 2010 Petite Sirah during the Feast in Field in Palisade in September. Then we paired the wine with Braised beef short ribs with Ratatouille, Talegio. It is definitely a wine with a lot of grip. Come into the tasting room and let us know what you think and what you would pair with it.

New Release - 2010 Syrah Well Received

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:06:00 +0000

We released our 2010 Reserve Syrah and people love it. This Syrah is very elegant tasting more like a French Syrah. For lovers of our 2009 Reserve Syrah, that tasted more like an Australian Shiraz, I suggest to give the 2010 Syrah a try; you may like this elegant, yet fruity red wine. The 2010 Syrah pairs well with meat dishes, especially beef ribs. Come on into the tasting room and taste the Reserve Syrah yourself.

Harvest Dinner at the Growhaus

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:05:00 +0000

This year BookCliff Vineyards was invited to be part of the Denver Harvest Week put on by EatDenver an association of independent, locally owned restaurants in Denver. The dinner was held at the Growhaus a refurbished green house growing vegetables for sale on premise or providing produce to local restaurants. The Growhaus is a non-profit organization thriving on community involvement providing healthy produce for their neighborhood where healthy food choices are hard to come by. The dinner was a cornucopia of flavors from Italian Salami, to Spanish blood sausage and pork tacos with white beans. Every dish had generous portions of pork including a rolled stuffed pork lion and ice cream with bacon bits. Everybody had a good time. There are still four evenings left to enjoy this fund. You can sign up here.

BookCliff Farms is in the Middle of Harvest

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:34:00 +0000

Right after the Palisade Winefest we started harvesting the grapes on September 20th. Since then we had a semi-truck load of grapes come to Front Range every week. We are still selling grapes to other wineries, but a lot less than in past years. But, if we have room on the truck we take grapes from other vineyards on the truck for their destination on the front range. For us the harvest is behind compared to the past two years. We also had some damage in our vineyards, especially Merlot and Chardonnay. This means fewer grapes than we would like to. This week we are picking Syrah and Viognier that will be crushed in the winery on Thursday 10/6/11. As you can tell Syrah has big berries that are not round but more tear drop shaped.

Second Annual Harvest Dinner at BookCliff Vineyards' winery

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:21:00 +0000

We had a great time last year at the harvest dinner where we served authentic German onion tart with new wine (red wine fermented for seven days, still sweet but with a spritz). The menu promises a great experience of rich flavors. To continue the tradition we will be serving Zwiebelkuchen, the onion tart that pairs so well with the new wine. In Germany, during grape harvest season, neighborhood bakeries sell onion tarts to go with the new wine that can be purchased from farmers in the countryside. This is a great way to celebrate this special season.

Menu:
Potato soup with sausage
Onion tart with tomato garnish
Veal stew with mushrooms served in a puff pastry and bib lettuce
Plum cake with whipped cream

Date: Saturday, November 5th, 2011
Time: 6:00pm
Cost: $60.00
Location: 1501 Lee Hill Road Unit #17, Boulder, CO 80303 (BookCliff Vineyards winery
Reservations: [Click Here]

Come join us for a great time and unique experience

An early Harvest Dinner at Spuntino in Denver

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:41:00 +0000

Jacob Harkins from Colorado Wino arranged for an early Harvest Dinner at Spuntino in Denver pairing each course with a Colorado wine. Wines included two whites, the Sunnyside from Bonaquisti Wine Company and a Riesling from Guy Drew Vineyards. The reds served were A Cabernet Sauvignon from Canyon Wind Cellars, a Petit Verdot from Reeder Mesa and BookCliff Vineyards Petite Sirah. Just as the wines hit different notes and flavors exciting the taste buds, so did the dishes which included a pairing of peanut butter and jelly with Cabernet Sauvignon. This sounds intriguing. Not growing up in the United States, the combination of peanut butter and jelly feels very exotic to me, coming from the country that invented Nutella.

Check out the menu and pairings here.

Another great Feast in the Field

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:49:00 +0000

It has become a tradition that on Friday before Winefest in Palisade Thomas Cameron from Rancho Durazno, Eric Skokan from the Black Cat and John and Ulla from BookCliff put together a fabulous dinner on the Thomas's farm in Palisade. This year we moved it to the greenhouse on the farm as rain was in the forecast. People could stroll in the herb garden sipping on Muscat Blanc before sat down at flower decorated tables in the greenhouse. It hardly can be more local as our vineyards are in 5 minute walking distance from Rancho Durazno. We served for the first time our 2010 Petite Sirah, a new release. It paired really well with braised beef short ribs with Ratatouille and Taleggio. It was nice to see some people from last year's dinner and they brought some friends along. The dinner always gets me in a good mood and ready for the hectic tasting in the park on Saturday. Keep an eye out for next year's dinner, the fourth annual.

Farm Dinner - An experience that defies words

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:00:00 +0000

The Colorado Tourism Office arranged a Farm Dinner at Pasture of Plenty to showcase food, wine, beer and spirits produced and sourced in Colorado. BookCliff Vineyards had the honor to provide the wine for the evening; Cabernet Franc 2008, Petite Sirah 2009, Viognier 2009 and Lucky Twenty. Spirits were provided by Peach Street Distillers from Palisade and beer from New Belgium Brewing was offered. The chefs preparing the courses were Mark Fischer from Six89 in Carbondale, Eric Skokan from the Black Cat Farm Bistro, Lyle Davis from Big Bang Catering and Pasture of Plenty, Daniel Asher from Root Down and Seth Bateman from Smith Fork Ranch. A quote from the organizer sums up the experience. "Together you created a true Colorado experience. You presented a spectacular masterpiece of fresh, natural culinary indulgence. 'Thank you' does not even begin to capture my, our appreciation.'"

It was a fabulous evening to be remembered.

The Grapes are Turning Color

noreply@blogger.com (ulla) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:24:00 +0000

The grapes have turned color and are ripening quickly. A couple of weeks the nets were put on to keep the birds from harvesting the grapes before us. Last weekend John and I went out to the vineyard and I was amazed about the progress of the grapes. The Chardonnay and the Merlot on our BookCliff vineyard are pretty tasty already. Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier and Cabernet Franc still have a ways to go. Just like in the Front Range it has been quite hot in Palisade; in the nineties, which is unseasonably hot. And it has not rained, as it usually does in August. Hopefully the weather is going to cool off a little bit and the grapes will wait until after Winefest.