Finding its Wine Plateau: Colorado 2026 Tasting Report

People outside of Colorado might be surprised to learn that this mountainous state makes wine. A tiny wine industry has grown up in a few river valleys and plateaus away from the towering 14,000-foot peaks of the Rockies, based on 800 acres of wine grapes and some 150 small wineries.

Consumers might be even more astounded at the outstanding quality of some of the state's better offerings. Colorado winemakers make excellent versions of classic types like cabernet franc, syrah, malbec and riesling, along with clean, balanced versions of lesser known blends and varieties from albariño to zweigelt.

We tasted 53 wines from 15 wineries and found 36 deserving of 90-point ratings or higher. Two reds made from Bordeaux varieties earned the highest scores, but there was enough diversity among the other top wines to keep a person happy for weeks uncorking a bottle a day.

The Bookcliff Vineyards Malbec Colorado Hawkridge 2023 was one of the two best among an admittedly small sample set that was organized by the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board. This elegant, super well-balanced wine is alive with fruit acidity and long on the finish.

Malbec has shown to be a winner at high elevations in Argentina, so it makes some sense that it might do well in Colorado, where most of the wine grapes grow well above 4,000 feet (1,220 meters).

The Grand Valley American Viticultural District in the Western Slope region comprises the majority of the state’s vineyard acres. It straddles the Colorado River in a high valley, where the Bookcliff Malbec vines are rooted in volcanic soil at 4,800 feet.

Bookcliff’s co-owner and winemaker, Will Thompson, said that Grand Valley’s elevation, summer heat and intense sunlight are somewhat similar to Mendoza, Argentina. Hard freezes in spring and summer are the main challenge to growing vinifera grapes, he said, yet between bud break in late April and a harvest that finishes in October, the grapes have a long enough growing season to build good sugar ripeness in most years.

Our other highest-rated find was the Colterris Winery Petit Verdot Grand Valley 2023, a sleek, elegant version of Bordeaux’s perhaps most tannic, tight grape variety. It’s full-bodied, ripe and enticing.

Winemaker Bo Felton makes it from grapes grown on Colterris’s 190-acre property. His 2023 malbec and a cabernet franc were also outstanding. Five other cab francs from various wineries showed how well suited this grape is for Colorado's growing conditions.

Several less tannic, less imposing reds were terrific in quality, too. Consider the Continental Divide Pinot Noir Colorado Hawk’s Nest Vineyard 2022, a light-bodied red that’s aromatic in cherry, watermelon and cinnamon, nicely tensioned and charming. For a fresh-tasting red from an Austrian grape variety, there's the Fallen Mountain Zweigelt Grand Valley Cañon Vineyard 2024, which offers great acid balance and vivid berry flavors. And raspberry, black pepper and toasted wood flavors make the medium-bodied Restoration Pinotage Grand Valley Delikaat 2024 one of the best American versions of this South African variety we’ve ever tasted.

The broad range of delicious, mostly elegant and balanced white wines we tried might be the most pleasant surprise in the tasting. Restoration made an elegant Semillon 2024 that’s subtle in guava, melon and mineral flavors, while the Snowy Peaks Winery Marsanne Grand Valley 2024 is light and trim, savory and nutty.

Snowy Peaks also made a gruner veltliner that is well worth drinking in the Snowy Peaks Winery Grüner Veltliner Grand Valley 2023, which shows tasty pear and lemon zest flavors with subtle acidity.

All four of Carboy Winery’s entries scored 90-plus. Not bad at all for the state’s largest winery, which produces more than 30,000 cases per year. Carboy CEO Kevin Webber said they have taken cues from Colorado’s famous craft breweries, offering diverse expressions in novel packaging and selling them as part of the state’s outdoor adventure lifestyle.

Webber said the winery sells about half its wine in steel kegs, and also offers growlers – refillable bottles – that can be used at Carboy’s five locations around the state. Their red wine options alone range from zweigelt, teroldego and cabernet franc to their best-selling non-vintage red blend called Vin ’59. It includes about a third of the French hybrid grape chambourcin.

Check out all the tasting notes below to find dozens of other Colorado wine recommendations from an eclectic range including chardonnay, muscat, gamay noir and more.

– Jim Gordon, Editor-at-Large

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated by the JamesSuckling.com tasting team. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. 

Note: You can sort the wines below by score, vintage and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.