Palisade wines featured on Bordeaux river cruise

By Emily Baker

One might not think that a Bordeaux-style wine could be made outside the French region of the same name. However, three local wineries have gathered enough acclaim for their product to be featured on the new AmaWaterways Taste of Bordeaux River Cruise.

Rooms are still available for the cruise, setting sail March 21-28, 2024. Click here for more information or to book a room.

The cruise is a 7-day experience through the Bordeaux region, including stops at local vineyards and wine cellars, a historic chateaux, and even an exclusive wine festival in Bourg. Aboard the cruise, guests can enjoy food and wine pairings including wine from Bordeaux itself and Colorado’s own Bordeaux-style blends.

What makes a Bordeaux-style blend? The key is a blended red wine including at least three of the four Bordeaux wines: a cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, or cabernet franc. While the term “Bordeaux” is akin to “Champagne” and can only describe a wine produced in the French region, a Bordeaux-style blend can be produced around the world, including Colorado.

Three Colorado wineries chosen

Palisade wineries Vines 79, Red Fox Cellars, and Restoration Vineyards were chosen to be served on the cruise for their highly lauded Bordeaux-style wines. “The goal is for guests to be able to understand the difference between old world and new world wines, and to be able to sample and enjoy both,” says cruise creator and travel specialist Sarah Steele. A native of Palisade, Steele has long been passionate about promoting the region’s beauty and - often overlooked - winemaking prowess.

Vines 79 is known for delicious red blends and Wild West-themed wines, like the Cowboy Cab and Outlaw Red. “I always knew I wanted to create a winery that was a little different from everyone else’s,” says Vines 79 owner Juliann Adams. Having her wines chosen to be compared to French Bordeaux-style blends is very intimidating, she says, but also “a one-in-a-million experience.”

Red Fox Cellars specializes in Italian-style wines, but they are also known for their avant-garde bourbon-barrel-aged wine and their Bordeaux-style blend that was chosen for the cruise. It’s no wonder they were chosen to be included in the cruise: “Our best seller by far is the Bordeaux,” says Red Fox founder Scott Hamilton.

The third Palisade winery to be served on the cruise is Restoration Vineyards, run by owner Linda Brauns. Restoration has a passion for, as the name would suggest, restoration projects, ranging from vintage cars to vineyards that needed replanting after Brauns purchased the property in 2012

Cruise creator Steele says she is looking forward to the trip and representing both Colorado and women in wineries.

“It’s important to me to promote female winemakers, and Linda and Juliann are some of the best,” Steele said. “I love the artisanal feel of Palisade wineries. They’re still run with love and passion and a desire to make a really good product.”

The cruise might begin to put Palisade wine on the international stage.

Wine cruise will have excellent representation

Jenne Baldwin-Eaton will make sure Colorado is well represented as a host of the Bordeaux cruise.

Baldwin-Eaton became rooted in the wine world when she was hired as the chemist for Plum Creek Cellars in Palisade in 1994. She has always seen the beauty of combining science, terroir and art to craft excellent wines.

After more than 20 years of honing her skills on the Western Slope, she took her experience to the classroom in order to help others understand the true art of winemaking.

She developed the first viticulture and enology program at Western Colorado Community College, a division of Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. She spent six years helping young minds understand the industry. Although she is no longer teaching officially, Baldwin-Eaton is a friend and consultant to many grape growers and winemakers.

For the owners at Vines 79, Red Fox Vineyards and Restoration Vineyards, the three wineries represented on the Bordeaux cruise, a champion of the up-and-coming Colorado industry will be pushing their fine products.

Emily Baker is a Denver native and lifelong resident of Colorado. In her spare time you can find her reading, riding horses, hiking with her two dogs, and working on her novel.

This article is in the September-October issue of our print magazine. Click here to read the full magazine online.