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 learning about keeping a vineyard and winemaking. The content begins at square one—we all have to start somewhere. While the content is written for new learners, it takes deeper dives as warranted and is relevant to those desiring a refresher.
The site’s Vineyard and Winemaker pages provide an overview of growing wine grapes and winemaking. After the topic summaries, there is a series of curated topic blocks from 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!
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.
Is Your Wine Natural?
You may have encountered the term “natural” when looking for wines at your local shop or restaurant. Initially, I thought natural was used as a play on organic. Come to find out, my initial reaction was not wrong but also not entirely correct.
Colorado Wine Country According to AI
Can AI write an blog post discussing Colorado’s Wine Country? Of course it can. I asked ChatGTP to write four versions of a blog comparing Colorado’s two wine-growing regions, Grand Valley and West Elks. AI was also used to generate associated images. The results were surprising good, and fast. There were takeaways.
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
A Guide to Colorado’s Extremely Underrated Wine Regions (Thrillist)
Colorado may not be the first state you think of when you think about wine regions in the U.S. It might not have the name recognition of Napa, or Temecula, but the Centennial State was in fact once a respected
Colorado Wine Getting Better With Age (Thirst Colorado)
Colorado may not have the reputation (yet) of California’s viticultural industry, but wine grapes have been grown in the Centennial State for more than a century. Prohibition essentially halted the state’s wine production but after a revival in the 1960s,
Colorado Wineries Bring Ingenuity to Conservation (Thirst Colorado)
Colorado wine is climbing, rising in production and quality, and gaining national attention for doing what the state does best – pulling off elevated feats. Deeply drawn to this terrain, producers across the state join the broader industry’s conscientious drive
Uncorking Colorado’s Wine Country (Vail Daily)
Colorado is renowned for its Rocky Mountains, world-class ski resorts, and vibrant craft beer scene that’s home to 400 breweries. Colorado is also home to two designated wine regions, American Viticultural Areas and more than 170 licensed wineries to explore.