Colorado Wine Tour

Surface Creek Winery

By Christie Aschwanden, 3-21-05

Note: Over the next few months, I will be regularly reviewing Colorado wines.

Given that it's just a few miles from my house, Surface Creek Winery in Eckert seemed like a good place to start my tour of Colorado wineries. The winery is run by Jim and Jeanne Durr, and the tasting room shares space with an art gallery in a picturesque stone building. Surface Creek wine is made from grapes grown in western Colorado and Moab, Utah.

Jeanne poured the wine, and I happily sampled them. We began with the Trophy Bull Merlot, which was quite fruity and a bit sweeter than most Merlots. Jeanne explained that while the winery is currently aging some of its Merlot in oak, this particular Merlot had not been "oaked," as she called it. I think I'll hold out for the oaked version. This one was drinkable, but it tasted young and a bit tinny.

Disclaimer: After living in Switzerland's premier Merlot region, I became a bit of a Merlot snob. I had never cared much for Merlot until I tried the ones produced in Switzerland's Italian lake district, and these days my standards in Merlot are high.

From the Merlot, we moved on to a 2001 Cabernet Franc. The Cabernet Franc grape is a parent of cabernet sauvignon, and is often blended with other varietals. This wine had a nice herbal quality with a tannin element reminiscent of, though a bit lighter than, a Cabernet Sauvignon. It had a hint of plum and a pleasant finish.

The Colorado Columbine White was soft and delicate with a light body. It would make a good a white table wine. In the words of a gentleman next to me who had stopped in for some wine to bring to a party, "This will work!"

Chardonnay is the world's most popular white grape, and is apparently doing well in Colorado, judging from the number of wineries producing Chardonnay wine. Surface Creek's 2001 Chardonnay was quite drinkable, sweet—but not too sweet—with hints of apple and honey.

Last, I sampled the winery's Cherry Wine. Jeanne explained that it was made almost entirely from cherry juice, and that's exactly what it tasted like. It tasted less like wine and more like juice that had been left out too long. It had very little body, though it certainly had a bite. If, like me, you are looking for a weighty desert wine (ala Bonnie Doon's delicious Framboise) that you can pour over ice cream or sip as a dessert, you'll be disappointed.



Christie's picks: 2001 Cabernet Franc, 2001 Chardonnay

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