Colorado hopes to be next big wine region

By Leslie Gevirtz

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Say Colorado and cowboys, mountains, snow, film festivals and movie stars may come to mind. But about 60 wineries and the Colorado tourist board hope wine will also be on the list.

Wine lovers like to find undiscovered areas and Colorado wants to be that new region.

"We've been growing grapes out here for 100 years or more," said Doug Caskey, executive director of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board.

"The common wisdom is that grapes have to suffer to make good wine and this is a good place for that. The climate sometimes forces you to replace vines every 10 or 20 years. Even 30-year-old vines are exceptional."

The independent spirit associated with the American West combined with mid-life job frustration seems to be powering the state's wine industry. The Colorado wineries are what Caskey called "mom and pop" operations. Annual production is under 10,000 cases.

"We wanted to get out of the rat race," said Guy Drew, explaining why he and his wife, Ruth, started their winery in 1997.

Raised in upstate New York with a passion for the outdoors and fly-fishing, the 50-year-old entrepreneur had his own materials handling business. Denver-native Ruth Drew, 60, worked in interior design before becoming a paralegal. After hunting for just the right spot, they fell in love with a 194-acre (78.5-hectare) property that was half-planted in hay and had a creek running through it.

"I always seemed to miss that memo that said 'You can't do that'. For better or worse I was committed to learning how to make wine. With the help of some consultants, the people who went to (University of California at) Davis, I managed to stay out of trouble and now, I think I got the hang of it," he said.