Colorado Cellars is Colorado's oldest winery. Founded in 1978, they have gone by several different names.

As one of the more recognizable Colorado wines, you can usually find Colorado Cellars wines in any good wine store. Always one of my favorites at wine tastings, I picked up this bottle at Wines of Colorado when I was there for dinner. Slightly more expensive than some at around $18 a bottle, I believe it's well worth it. The White Riesling is light and sweet. A very refreshing summer afternoon wine, or well paired with a fish dinner (it went very well with sushi).

Vinewords Rating: 8 out of 10

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29 Cosmetics is a grapeseed-based makeup line launched by Lydia Mondavi, the wife of Robert Mondavi's grandson Rob. The line was named after Highway 29, the main road going through Napa Valley. The cosmetics line has already been featured in a variety of magazines, including Food & Wine and Women's Wear Daily.

All of the products in the 29 Cosmetics line contain anti-oxidant enriching grape seed extract that protects your skin from environmental pollutants and harmful effects of of free radicals.

Lydia hopes to share her knowledge of beauty with women around the world, starting with her hints and tips for makeup on the go, regardless of how much time you have!

For an on-the-go 5 minute makeup application: 

1.   Start with a cleansed, moisturized face
2.   With 29's Line Maker Eye Pencil in Terroir, apply to the outer corners of the lids to make eyes appear larger.
3.   A quick swipe of 29's Conditioning, Volumizing, Lengthening and Curling all-in-one formula D'Vine Mascara in Vine Noir gives you an instant look of long and perfectly defined lashes.
4.   Then apply an overall sweep of 29's grape seed enriched Press Finishing Powder SPF 12 to give your face a beautiful, brightening effect while minimizing the look of any fine lines.
5.   With an angled brush, apply 29's Cheek Blush in Berries to define your cheekbones with a natural, illuminating glow.
6.   Finish off your flawless look with 29's Lip Therapy in Hint of Honey to give your lips a pouty, dewy finish, and you are ready for your day

For a quick 10 minute makeup application:
1.   Start with a cleansed, moisturized face
2.   Sweep a quick, easy application of 29's great, lightweight Hydrating Foundation with SPF 15. This foundation smooths over any fine lines for a youthful, luminous glow.
3.   Apply 29's Line Maker Eye Pencil in Napa Nights, a rich dark navy, along both the top and bottom lash lines to enhance the whites of your eyes and give them an instant pick me up!
4.   Sweep on 29's D'Vine Mascara in Vine Noir for the perfect, well-conditioned lashes. An extra bonus is its smell of Napa grapes and fresh rose petals .
5.   Continue the look with a sweep of the cheeks in 29's Blush Rose' for a healthy glow and well-defined cheekbones.
6.   Last but not least, the perfect lips - apply 29's Line Maker Lip Pencil in Malbec, filling in the entire lip with its moisturizing grape-seed enriched formula for great staying power.
7.   Top off your completed look with Reserves Moisturizing lipstick color, Berry Stain SPF 20. The benefits of this line will stay with you all day.

The 15 minute makeup application:
1.   Start with a cleansed moisturized face
2.   For an all day glow and the skin nourishing benefits of grape seed extract, apply 29's Hydrating Foundation. This lightweight formula evens out skin tone while fighting free radicals, plus it includes SPF 15.
3.   Using 29's super blendable and creamy Concealer-Corrector palette of 4 shades, apply to problem areas to eradicate redness and dark circles. Its added benefit of grape-seed extract works all day to gradually reduce any under-eye puffiness. Remember, a little goes a long way.
4.   For eyes, 29's Line Maker Eye Pencils are easy to use and won't drag or tug at the delicate tissue around eyes. Line both top and bottom lashes for the perfect eye, and pencils come with a smudger on one end to create the perfect look.
5.   Next apply 29's Late Harvest Eye Shadow palette, which comes with all four shades in one palette for easy and quick application. Begin with the Toasted Champagne lightly applied all over the upper and lower lid, Vibrant Tobacco in the crease, Earthy Peach on the inner portion of the crease, and then blend over the entire lower lid and crease with Touch of Nutmeg, and finish with Toasted Champagne to highlight right under the brow arch.
6.   Follow with 29's D'Vine Conditioning Mascara, it is like a vitamin bomb for your lashes! The grape seed infused mascara is moisturizing, curling, volumizing and lengthening all in one.
7.   Then with an angled brush, sweep the cheekbones with 29's Cheek Blusher in Tuscany for a natural and truly healthy glow.
8.   Follow with a light dusting of 29's Press Finishing Powder. It is milled so finely that the finish feels just like silk and it leaves an illuminating brightness to your skin.
9.   For lips, start with 29's Lip Scrub, First Crush. Apply, rub lips together and tissue off, for extra smooth and soft lips.
10.   Finish off with 29's Line Maker Lip Pencil in Brix, filling in the entire lip with its moisturizing formula. Top with Reserves Moisturizing Lipstick SPF 20 in Fine Whine, and for an extra plumping effect top off with a dot of 29's Dew Lip Gloss SPF 15 in Sparkling Pinot.


Originally posted on PR Web.

The Wines of Colorado is a restaurant and wine shoppe on Highway 24 just west of Colorado Springs in Cascade, Colorado. I've been hearing about this place for some time, and my fiancé surprised me this weekend by taking me there for dinner on Saturday night.

It's a great little location. A small building on the banks of Fountain Creek. The restaurant portion of the building is very small, but in good weather there's also a much larger patio by the creek. The wine and gift shoppe is also very small, but packed full of a variety of Colorado wines and some fun and useful wine accessories.

The menu isn't huge or filled with unknown dishes. In fact, one of the most popular things on their menu are the "wine" burgers. Dan and I started with an appetizer of Whole Smoked Garlic, served with flatbread crackers and a dipping sauce of olive oil and rosemary. For entrees we ordered the Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Buffalo Wine Burger, served with a Colorado Cellars Chardonnay and a Two Rivers Cabernet Sauvignon respectively. For dessert we finished with an Italian Creme Cake with Colorado Cellars Eclipse Red. I enjoyed the food a lot. The roasted garlic was a bit difficult to eat because it's served still inside the clove, but the flavor was fantastic. The Buffalo Burger I had was really excellent (I've never been able to taste a difference between buffalo and beef), and Dan enjoyed his Grilled Chicken as well. The Cabernet Sauvignon paired excellently with the burger, but the Chardonnay lacked any real character. Dessert was excellent as well, and the Eclipse Red is a fantastic sweet wine.

Instead of a wine list the restaurant offers free wine tasting in the gift shoppe. I have to say this bothered me a bit because even after tasting some wines, I still would have liked to look over a list of everything that was offered.

My only real problem with the night was the fact that I felt somewhat ignored by the staff. When Dan and I went to do our complimentary wine tasting the woman behind the counter only paid attention to us until a group of older people came through. After that we seemed to be non-existent to her. The other service problem was that there were only two waitresses for the entire restaurant, and while it wasn't completely packed it was still pretty busy.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
☆☆☆

Carlson Vineyards' Riesling has been celebrated as one of the world's best for years. Located in the Grand Valley, Carlson Vineyards is a family run business with a great deal of heart.

The Laughing Cat Riesling is produced from 100% Colorado grown Riesling grapes and costs about $12 a bottle. It is a light, sweet wine and possibly one of the best Rieslings I've ever tried. Extremely well balanced between acidity and sweetness, this wine is fantastic by itself or paired with light dishes.

If you enjoy Rieslings, I highly recommend this one to you. Absolutely fantastic.

Vinewords Rating: 10 out of 10

And the fan favorite is......
Casey!


I'm happy that Casey was the fan favorite, she was indeed one of my favorites (though I have to admit that I would have rather seen Dale win).

I always love these post-season reunions. It's great to see the people you've grown so attached to in a completely different setting. Sometimes they lighten up a whole lot, like Hung did, or they seem to tense up and become very quiet, like Dale and Howie both did. Either way, it's always very interesting to me.

My favorite quote of the show goes to Dale, "I've always wanted a montage."

My fiancé is a huge port fan, so I picked up this bottle for him while I was down in Grand Junction. Graystone Vineyards has a small tasting room off of the side of the highway in Palisade, Colorado that I stopped at while I was there. Beautiful tasting room, I highly suggest going if you have the chance.

This is a white port made from Pinot Gris grapes, and is by far the sweetest port I have ever tasted. It is a very strong port with caramel and fruit notes to it. I usually love ports and wines to be on the sweeter side, however this port is almost a little too sweet for me. I've read that white port is often used as an ingredient in mixed drinks though, and I would love to try that. I think it would lend well to mix drinks.

Vinewords Rating: 7 out of 10

I was browsing at Total Beverage in Denver a couple weekends ago and decided I had to try this rosé wine. Big House Wines is a winery out of Santa Cruz, California that produces 3 easy to recognize wines: Big House Red, Big House White, and Big House Pink. The winery got it's name from it's extremely close proximity to the Soledad State Correctional Facility in Monterey County, and it's definitely a memorable name.

The Big House Pink is what I tried tonight. It's an excellent light, fruity wine. Made from a blend of Sangiovese, Barbera, Zinfandel, Carignane, and Mourvédre, Big House Pink is a modern, fruity, and very "American" wine. While not the sweetest of rosés it is surprisingly full-bodied.

Vinewords Rating: 7 out of 10

I hadn't ever tried wine from Canyon Wind Cellars until the Colorado Mountain Winefest. It's not a wine that you see often, even locally. It is however, worth the effort to get a bottle.

The Desert Rosé is an excellent wine. As you know, I'm very fond of rosés, and this wine ranks as one of my tops. It has an amazing aroma, sweet and fruity with an obvious undertone of strawberries. And the taste is very well balanced, sweet with just a hint of acidity. If you enjoy White Merlot, I think you'll enjoy this wine as well.

Vinewords Rating: 9 out of 10

(photo courtesy of www.canyonwindcellars.com)

Dr. Vino's Blog had a great posting yesterday that I had to pass along. The Sonoma County Wine Grape Commission is now offering Bonsai Grape Vines for sale. All the vines are 10-12 years old and come from Sonoma County planted in a ceramic container.

Each plant is $49.95 plus $30 shipping (2-day flat rate anywhere in the Continental US). And in case you gasp at the price (and you won't if you've ever had a bonsai before), all the profits are used to help vineyard employee educational programs.

The plants are gorgeous and even produce fruit most years. If you get one and are successful at getting it to grow and produce fruit, please send in a picture and show us!

This was a Top Chef finalé unlike any we've previously seen.

Hosted once again from Colorado, that in itself gave the chefs quite the challenge. Aspen is located at almost 8,000 feet above sea level. Unless you've cooked at this altitude, it's hard to understand the difficulties that arise from it. Living in Colorado Springs at an altitude of just over 6,000 feet above sea level, I understand all too well what these chefs had to deal with.

Unlike the typical finalé where the chefs have to choose from their previous competitors when picking a sous-chef, this year the final three were graced with Rocco DiSpirito (Hung), Michelle Bernstein (Casey), and Todd English(Dale) for their prep time, and also returning competitors CJ (Dale), Howie (Casey), and Sara (Hung) to help plate and prepare a last minute extra dish. The challenge was to create a "mind blowing" meal for the judges consisting of three courses they had planned before, and then a fourth course that they hadn't planned on making.

The menus for the finalé were:

Hung Course #1 Hamachi, Potato Chips, Tomato Vinaigrette & Olive Oil Powder Course #2 Prawns, Palm Sugar Coconut Glaze, Cucumber Radish Salad and Ocean Scented Rice Course #3 Duck with Truffle Scented Broth & Mushroom Ragout Course #4 Chocolate Cake with Raspberry and Nougoutine Tuile

Casey Course #1 Cinnamon Scented Scallop, Foie Gras with Green Apple and Celery Course #2 Sake Poached Prawn in Lobster Mushroom Yuzi Broth Course #3 Crispy Pork Belly, Ginger Pea Shoots, Roasted Peach Cardamom Creme Fraiche Course #4 Seared Colorado Sirloin, Chantrelle and Ruby Chard, Crispy Fingerlings, Red Wine and Parsley Puree

Dale Course #1 Foie Gras Mousse with Peaches and Ras El Hanout Course #2 Seared Scallop with Purslane and Marinated Grapes Course #3 French Style Gnocchi, Lobster, Bacon, Corn and Chantrelle Course #4 Colorado Rack of Lamb with Ratatouilee and Sauce Vert

While the judges felt that Hung and Dale did equally well, Hung won the 1st and 3rd course while Dale won the 2nd and 4th. Casey however seemed to simply be off of her game in this final challenge, which was disappointing to me since she had been doing so well, and it would be very nice to see a woman as the Top Chef. In the end it was Hung that came out on top.

I have to be honest, Hung was never one of my favorites in the competition. Dale and Casey have both been among my top picks from the very beginning. I agree that Casey seemed to have caved under the pressure, which is very unfortunate. However, I tend to think that Dale was robbed of his victory in this instance. It appeared to me at least that the judges originally found more at fault with Hung's dishes than with Dale's, so I'm not exactly sure what it was that pushed him to the forefront. I do want to say though that Hung is an excellent chef whose title is not undeserved. I would be honored to try any of his dishes. I believe part of me preferred Dale because of his story. The Top Chef competition really did help him find the chef inside him once again. I hope he continues to create incredible food.

(photos courtesy of Bravotv.com)

Augustina's Winery is a small winery located in Boulder, Colorado. They produce a variety of just under ten wines that I always find enjoyable. Wine Chick White is a blend of Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, and Viognier. The first time I bought this wine I tried it at the Manitou Springs Wine Festival and thought that it would make a great camping wine. It's a light and refreshing wine with just a hint of acidity.




Wine Chick White is also very affordable at only $11 a bottle. I picked up this bottle at their booth at the Colorado Mountain Winefest and having been just dying to pop it open. I enjoyed it tonight after a wonderful sushi dinner from Ai Sushi.

Vinewords Rating: 9 out of 10

This past weekend was the Harvest Festival at the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey. I haven't ever had the chance to get down there before, so it was a great opportunity to get down there. The grounds are absolutely beautiful, and I definitely recommend stopping by if you get the chance.

The festival wasn't huge, it was held in a small field in front of the tasting room. There were four booths for tasting the Abbey's wine, and with $10 admission you were given a commemorative tasting glass and four tickets for tastings. I was able to sample three wines with my tickets, it cost two to try the reserve wines.

I tried the Colorado Merlot Divinity (a port style wine), the Cabernet Franc, and the reserve Sauvignon Blanc. All are good Colorado wines, however my favorite wine of theirs was still being bottled and thus not available. Once it is bottled I highly suggest trying the Wild Cañon Harvest wine. One of my favorite wines of all time.


There was a variety of vendors there with everything from jewelry and ceramics to wine jelly. Speaking of the wine jelly, it is absolutely fantastic. Made by Colorado Mountain Fine Jams & Jellies in Palisade, Colorado the jelly is incredibly sweet and rich. I had the opportunity to taste one of their varieties at the Colorado Mountain Winefest, but they had six or seven different types out to try this time. My favorite is the Fumé Blanc jelly, but the Syrah and Rosé were very good too. They also have a wide selection of other jams and jellies, and they're all fantastic.

Another treat at the festival was that Ed Adamic, the artist who creates the Winery's label, was there to sign posters of his creations. I picked up a beautiful poster of the Abbey in winter. Author Beverly Cox was also there signing her cookbook Eating Cuban. Being a foodie as well as a wine lover I would have loved to pick up a copy of Ms. Cox's book, but unfortunately I had run out of cash by that point!