This is just the eighth year of existence for the Denver International Wine Festival and the kudos keep dolling in.
Folks who never associated the Front Range of the Rockies with wine now look to this venue as a place to connect with fellow vinophiles, check out the best vintages and put a bit of distance between themselves and the workaday world.
This year’s festival is set for Nov. 7, through Nov. 10. The epicenter of it all is the Grand Hyatt Downtown Denver, an upscale enclave that overlooks downtown and the snow-capped Front Range.
If the setting is inspiring, the food and drink are meant to measure up too. The festival highlights vintages from more than 18 countries.
The show begins for real tonight at the Pairsine Chefs Food & Wine Pairing Competition. There’s more to it than merely cracking open a bottle of red and laying out some cheese and crackers. Good food and wine compliment one another, and there’s a bit of an art to it. This event gets serious, with 10 Master Chefs conjuring up their favorite food and drink couplings.
Friday, Nov. 9 it’s time for the grand tasting. Regional and international wines vie for a favored place on your palate. Take it easy and sip, don’t gulp. There’s an art to imbibing fine wines too. You want to make the flavor last, not blast it away.
The festival winds up Saturday, Nov. 10 with a VIP tour of three Front Range wineries and a distillery. For any lingering doubters, this trip should disabuse them of the notion that Colorado can’t more than hold its own in the production of fine wines.
(Image: Emery Co Photo)
