West Elks Wine Trail

West Elks Wine Trail

Pairing the Best of Colorado Wine with the Best of Colorado Cuisine

August 3-5, 2018

The Wineries of the West Elks Wine Country invite you to a special weekend of touring, premium wine tasting and winemakers’ dinners during the Annual West Elks Wine Trail. Set your own route for a fun and relaxing day or weekend and come home with delicious wine and memories.

The wineries are ready to introduce you to the Colorado wine and cuisine grown from this unique region.

Start your West Elks Wine Trail tour by stopping by any of the West Elk Wineries in the Paonia/Hotchkiss area to pick up your trail map for the weekend. Each winery will feature food and wine pairings, with a focus on local foods. The winemakers have selected two favorite foods to complement their wines, and will give you the recipes just for stopping by. The wine tasting rooms will offer a wide variety of activities from vineyard tours, art displays, barrel tastings, winemakers’ dinners, food pairings, mountain views and more. Complimentary wine glasses will be given to those who travel along the wine trail and collect recipes from at least 5 wineries.

We invite and encourage you to purchase wines from the winemakers. Many of the vintages from this region are only available at the wineries and are extremely limited. There are several events and dinners associated with the West Elks Wine Trail.

August 3

SkyHawk Winery: Winemaker’s Dinner. 6:30pm. $55. Reservations required – 970-527-3236. Limited seating.
– Pissaladiere
– Gazpacho
– Grilled Watermelon with Mozzarella and Crispy Prosciutto
– Grilled Kale Salad
– Chicken and Vegetable Terrine
– Opera Cake and Peach Charlotte

Leroux Creek Inn & Winery: Hommage à Paul Bocuse. 6:30pm. Reservations required SOLD OUT – 970-872-4746. Limited seating.

August 4

Alfred Eames: 5 Course West Elks Wine Trail Dinner. 6pm. Reservations required SOLD OUT – 970-527-3269.
Appetizers: We will be serving a variety of Greek appetizers on the pond deck, including Spanokopita. Wine Suggestion: Your choice.

Soup Choices: We will be serving Avgolemono Soup, the chicken version or with meat. We will also have a Cold Cucumber-Mint Soup. Wine Suggestion: Alfred Eames Cellars Pinot Noir

Salad: Jammin’ Greek Salad served on the table with a variety of goodies to top it with and some Jammin’ Greek Dressings to spice it up. Wine Suggestion: Alfred Eames Cellars Collage

The Main Course Choices:
– Lamb Roast: We will be roasting whole lamb and serving the meat tzatziki and other Greek sauces
– Elk Moussaka: Local elk, hopefully Pam’s Eggplant in a Greek Sauce topped with a Nutmeg Bechamel.
– Vegetarian: A plate of Falafel and Dolmades.

Dessert Choices: Baklava Cheesecake or Yiaourtopita (Greek Lemon Pound Cake) with Lemon Ice Cream and Cherries Jubilee Syrup. Wine Suggestion: Alfred Eames Cellars Noche Port Style Dessert Wine

The cost is $75/plate. This includes the wine. There is limited space for the event so please reserve by emailing Pam or calling 970-527-6290.

If you have special dietary needs or have further questions, feel free to call Pam at 970-527-6290 or email her, or Eames at 970-527-3269 or visit pams-jammin.com

Azura Cellars: Tapas at Twilight. 7pm. $85. Reservations required SOLD OUT – 970-390-4251.

Black Bridge: Complimentary samples of wood-fired pizza, wine wagon tours, barrel tasting.

Stone Cottage Cellars: Farm to Table Winemaker’s Dinner. 6:30pm. $80. Reservations required SOLD OUT – 970-527-3444. Limited seating.
Antipasti
2016 Rosé of Pinot Noir
Herbed Grilled Vegetables, Tarragon Marinated Artichoke Hearts, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Ham, Lemon Ginger Crawfish, Greek Olives, Parmigiano drizzled with Chive Pesto

Salad
2016 Pinot Gris
Salad Trio: Karen’s Smoked Vineyard Caesar Salad with Roasted Sweet Corn and Peppers, Spicy Rye Croutons with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese

Pizza a Legna
2016 Syrah
– Fresh Local Basil Pesto, Alfredo Shrimp Scampi with Lemon Gremolata- “The Vineyard”
– Local Organic Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, Feta, Greek Olives, Fresh Herbs, and Local Roasted Garlic Chips, drizzled with EVOO

Entrees
2015 Merlot
Vodka Tomato Cream Sauce and Italian Parsley Pesto over Manicotti stuffed with Basil, Sun-Dried Tomato, Chicken Sausage, Herbs, Roasted Garlic, Ricotta Cheese and Spinach

2016 Gewurztraminer
Slow Roasted Porchetta with Caramelized Fennel, Lemon and Orange Zest, Parsley, Garlic Shallots and Fresh Herbs over Mushroom Ragout topped with Yam Hay and Leeks

Dolce
2015 Alpine Dessert Wine
White Wine Poached Peach stuffed with Granola S’Mores covered with Maple Syrup and Crème Fraiche

Delicious Orchards: BBQ and Outdoor Concert with Gabrielle Louise.

August 5

Alfred Eames/Pam’s Jammin’: Morning After Brunch Smorgasbord from 10-2. 970-527-3269

Azura Cellars: Sailing on the Pond. Informal yacht racing on the pond 11am. Loaner boats, informal instruction. All ages welcome.

The West Elks AVA is notably home to vineyards planted at the highest elevation in the Northern Hemisphere. The intense sunlight, warm days and cool nights produce grapes that are ideally suited for creating distinctive Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah, Gamay, Cayuga and Chambourcin. Additionally, local winemakers craft wines from Colorado-grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carmina and Tempranillo. Vintners produce wines in all styles from beautifully dry, crisp whites, to robust, meaty reds, sweet and delicious port-style dessert wines and hard apple cider.

Just a stone’s throw from Grand Junction (1.5 hours) and Montrose (1 hour) a beautiful drive over Kebler Pass from Crested Butte (1.25 hours) or a foray over McClure pass from Aspen (2.25 hours), Carbondale (1.5 hours) Glenwood Springs (2 hours), and Redstone (45 minutes), the West Elks Wine Trail offers a refreshing food and wine getaway with plenty of additional diversions to leave you relaxed and yet rejuvenated to enjoy summer. Join us the first weekend in August and savor our wine and food pairings along with lovely North Fork Valley scenery.

For lodging check paoniachamber.com.