Boulder is downright teeming with breweries, but wineries? Not so much. And a winery that uses the best grapes from America’s most elite grape growing regions to make the wine here in Boulder? That’s even more rare. But that’s what Vinnie Fera winery — Latin for iron vine — has been doing for the past three years, and now, with a brand-new tasting room, they’re ready to invite you in.
“People are surprised when they taste a world-class wine made in Boulder,” says Vinnie Fera founder Tim Moley. “I can have that luxury of a Boulder lifestyle with the ability to make world-class wine here.”
Moley uses the same approach for his wine as he does for his chocolate. He created Chocolove 25 years ago with the vision of bringing the best ingredients from around the world to Boulder to make the product here at home. For the wine, he, along with winemaker Eric Wilson, sources the best grapes from California, Oregon, and our own Colorado western slope, rush delivering the grapes to Boulder via refrigerated trucks. They then press the juice, ferment it, barrel age the wine, and bottle it all right here in Boulder.
“We can pull grapes from some of the best grape growing regions in the U.S. and we can bring them to Boulder without any loss of quality,” he says. “And once our wines are made, we have very few food miles between the winery and the consumer. Most people don’t consider the stress and damage on a wine as it travels. If you’re buying a wine from Spain or France, it’s been through a lot to get here, so it’s not quite the same wine as where it was made.”
Vinnie Fera excels at crafting sparkling pinot noir and chardonnay, as well as a stellar still chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and Malbec. Vinnie Fera also offers pinot noir and chardonnay under their Hogback label, in honor of our local rock formations. This year they’ll introduce a Bordeaux style blend made with Colorado grapes.
The best place to try the wines is, of course, at the winery itself, in the tasting room that debuted in June. The tastings are akin to the French model, where it’s more about the wine and less about over-the-top décor and food. Translation? Go thirsty, not hungry. While the wines are made to be enjoyed with meals at home, the winery isn’t licensed to serve food and so the menu is limited to the wine. Tastings are via appointment only and for now are available for groups of eight or fewer.
“People will taste the wine, look at me, and be like, ‘This wine was made in Boulder?’” Moley says. “’This is so good.’”
SIDEBAR:
Have a Taste!
Visit Vinnie Fera winery’s new tasting room at 3012 Sterling Circle.
Call 720-287-1252 to make an appointment, or visit vinnieferawine.com for more information.