Strolling down Larimer street, there are plenty of open doors waiting for eager customers to pop in. What you might not have had the pleasure of experiencing yet is the casual/fashionable tasting room right under your nose and above The Banshee house. The Green Room is Aquila Cellars latest venture, championing their honest, raw, and yet couture level approach to wine making.
Welcomed by the stylish and relaxing atmosphere, a colleague of mine and I dove into a midday wine tasting hosted by Aquila’s very own Courtney Gayer, winemaker extraordinaire with an abundance of experience and knowledge on all things soil and wine.
“I have a degree in soil and hydrology science. Is that useful?” says Courtney. Her degree, coupled with many years working on various vineyards across the country became her foot in the door to winemaking here in Colorado. Sold on a winemaking partner in COVID after approving of his Pinot-producing skills, they worked out of a little cellar till they could expand to the operation running today. As they scale, they’re keeping true to their guiding principles.
A “Natural Winery” best described as “farmed organically and biodynamically,” Courtney laid out how Aquila’s wines are “made without filtration or additional chemicals, so it’s very rustic and hands-on.” Techniques like cold crashing and aging take care of the sediments and impurities, allowing them to process their products differently.
They have their process dialed in, yet they don’t cling to any ideology other than diligently working towards bringing their visions to life and adapting to the resources available to them.
Vespa, a co-fermented wine, was one of our trials for the day. Co-fermenting allows the wine to ferment together rather than blending after maturity, a practice they began out of space necessity, but that has allowed them a distinct success in creating a unique wine. “We do a lot of conferments, and it feels like it’s fated to be this thing,” says Courtney. This allows them to continually source from various local farms in addition to their main grapes, strengthening their community bonds and giving them an edge with the unique produce at their disposal.
Apricari, a cider made from heirloom apples, is processed the same way they’d make wine to produce a crisp and unique flavor. “The western slope is really known for apples and peaches,” says Courtney, and blending their drive to cultivate their products from Colorado’s own resources has led them to continually produce bright flavors in each and every bottle that transcend the norm. Though they absolutely nail the classic tastes one might be more accustomed to. Our tasting exemplified how the team caters to all palates and people open to the experience.
“It’s my first harvest off in ten years,” remarks Courtney, now that focusing on The Green Room, hosting events, and filling out the schedule is her latest undertaking. If her prowess for winemaking is transferred into this role, The Green Room is going to have quite the waitlist.