Fine European grapes, the species Vitis Vinifera, thrive only in a narrow band of latitude running from North Central California right across the middle of Colorado. In fact, our vineyard is the exact latitude of Healdsburg, California, in the heart of the Napa Valley.

But great grapes require more than latitude. They need big temperature swings to develop body, complexity and a deep, rich color. Hot summer days and cool summer nights bring out the best in grapes, and produce the best of wines.  

In California’s wine country, hot summer days are cooled at night by the ocean air flowing up the coastal valleys. There are few other places like that.

Tucked into a unique Rocky Mountain cul-de-sac, Canon City is the rarest of places. From 14,110-foot Pikes Peak, the mountains run straight west for 40 miles then curl around our city and head off southeast. Canon City is protected from severe weather by that arc of high mountains. It is tempered by the rapid and historic Arkansas River. It is home to peaches, pears, cherries, apples and all kinds of grapes. Summer days will often exceed 100 degrees, but at night the cool air flows down out of the mountain valleys. Our exceedingly dry atmosphere and 5400 foot altitude release heat very quickly, creating daily temperature swings of 40 and 50 degrees. No grapes anywhere in the world develop deeper, richer color than Colorado grapes.

Fur trappers used to rendevous each winter around the many springs and ponds in what is now the little town of Brookside, a Canon City suburb where we have our vineyard. The town was settled around the turn of the century by Italian immigrants who brought with them vines from Europe. Grapes have thrived here for more than 100 years. One of our neighbors, Joe Brunetto, is a third generation winemaker, still growing grapes in the vineyard his grandfather planted.

Our vineyard was terraced and planted to grapes more than 90 years ago by Charles Vezzetti and Battista Rocci.. A neighbor used to help with the harvest when she was only a little girl.
 
After many years the Vezzetti vineyard was allowed to fall into ruin. The land was later replanted to orchards, nursery stock and organic row crops. But in 2006 we purchased the farm, winery, greenhouse and other buildings and began to rebuild the vineyards. Today, almost 2,000 vines - on nearly three miles of trellis strung with 90,000 feet of wire - spill down our rocky hillside toward Spring Creek at the bottom. The soil varies from clay-loam to gravely loam to just gravel. Mica, flint and granite are scattered through the upper layers.

Water from a mountain lake is carried down Grape Creek and then piped to our irrigation system, capable of storing 32,000 gallons of water. The high, dry climate suppresses mildews and other pests, so we don’t apply gallons of chemicals. We use no fertilizers at all. Instead, we compost pruning and other organic wastes, even the skins and stems left over from winemaking, and return them to the soil.