I’m embracing a Colorado wine encore, cultivating grapevines, and crafting wine.
I’m sharing my wine encore journey from city life winemaking to country vineyard grower, hoping to inspire those with similar dreams or offer a vicarious escape for others.
Marshall's Wine Encore is Multi-Faceted
Marshall’s Wine Encore is geared toward wine-growing, winemaking, and the world of wine.
While the content is written for casual wine enthusiasts, it dives deep into details on multiple subjects.
For example, the site’s Vineyard and Winemaker pages detail growing wine grapes and winemaking. After the topic summaries and highlights, there is a series of curated topic blocks by subject matter experts who make it happen.
If you’d like to learn “with a side of humor” from my personal experiences, immerse yourself in my blogs, which cover rural valley living, planting and maintaining a vineyard, and my musings on current events in the world of wine.
You can also keep up-to-date on the Colorado wine scene, news, and seasonal festival pages.
I've Enjoyed this Journey—So Can You!
Three Years of Vineyard Weather Data on Sunshine Mesa
As of the end of this year, I have three years of vineyard weather data. Enough data to consider trends. Not enough for making gross pronouncements! Paying attention to daily weather informs human actions. What to wear, your activity for the day, preparations for an upcoming weather event—and in my case, when to engage in specific agricultural pursuits, whether tilling, planting, pruning, spraying, or harvesting.
Land of Beauty, Wine, and Hospitality in Portugal
Janine and I recently returned from a two-week European trip, during which we experienced extraordinary beauty, wine, and hospitality in Portugal. It was a whirlwind of adventure spanning four locations: Porto and Lisbon, and the Alentejo and Algarve regions. While the trip began with Port “front and center”, it was the variety and quality of country wines which made an impression.
2024 Vineyard Lessons Learned – Fall Harvest Edition
Alas, it’s my favorite time of year. An unveiling of my 2024 vineyard lessons learned! This is my second such unveiling, as it is the vineyard’s second season with grapes. In some ways, the year was less dramatic and fraught than last year. Only because I was following last year’s advice.
Come Over October
You can be forgiven if you didn’t know October 15 is National Cheese Curd Day or October 20 is National Chicken and Waffles Day. How about Come Over October, a month to celebrate drinking wine with people? Come Over October is simple: invite people over and enjoy wine with them.
Summer on Sunshine Mesa – 2024 Edition
Summer is an eventful season in the vineyard. While its tribulations can be burdensome, you always come away with new insights. I’ve learned about vine flower shatter, leafhoppers, vine root growth, and how my daily vineyard schedule is not unlike my grandfather’s farm routine.
Vineyard Pests
Whoa, came across one of these in the vineyard… Well, not really. However, I came across an article about Australian vineyard pests and was struck and humored by the uncommonness to North American pests our “down under” friends have to put up with. They may seem cute, but they are still pests, i.e., they cause damage to the vines and grapes.
Colorado’s Hard Cider Squeeze Top-shelf Flavor from Local History (Colorado Sun)
In a state with a 150-year history of apple growing, there’s inevitably going to be 150 years of hard cider. But the good ol’ days? That’s right now. Colorado used to produce some of the best apples in the country,
Dozens of liquor shops shuttered after voters OK wine sales in grocery stores – hundreds more expected (The Gazette)
When Colorado voters were asked in 2022 to allow grocery stores to sell wine — lifting a 107-year restriction the industry repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to beat back legislatively for decades — proponents billed it as a win for consumers’
Metro Wine and Spirits Shops Feeling Grocery Store Pressure after Prop 125 (Sentinel)
On the heels of Election Day 2022, Megan Bennett and Geno Anaya marked their signatures on a five-year lease for Wine and Spirits Boutique, at 10355 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., across from the King Soopers store in Denver’s
15 Best Wine Bars In Denver According To A Local (Tasting Table)
Colorado has long been praised for its thriving craft beer scene. There are currently over 400 breweries operating in Colorado. But how about a thriving wine scene? What are the 15 best wine bars in Denver?
The Best 2024 Wine in Colorado is Made by a Brewery (Denver Post)
Odell Brewing, which was founded in Fort Collins in 1989, has won plenty of beer awards over the decades, but on Friday, the company’s wine operation won a coveted award as well. The OBC Wine Project took home “Best in
Infinite Monkey Theorem Will Close Winery and Tasting Room (Westword)
Innovation defines the sixteen years of the Infinite Monkey Theorem’s existence as a Colorado winery. Founder Ben Parsons bottled his first wines in 2008 and sold them from an old warehouse near West Fifth Avenue and Santa Fe Drive. The