The Feb. 10 episode featured a good, early morning Colorado wine drinking session. ”Now we are going into the hotbed of winemaking in Colorado, Boulder,” Harkins said.

The surprised panel of hosts agreed after tasting Consensus and a selection from our good neighbors over at Bookcliff Vineyards (we pop in around the 36-minute mark and the Colorado wine talk comes in around 16 minutes).

“This is a really nice, well-balanced wine, and  if you want to talk about a cool looking label,” Harkins said of the Consensus. We couldn’t agree more.

More:

• Buy a bottle of Consensus ($36)
• See us in the news
• Join the wine club and help make Consensus  III

(It's generally a good sign when there's a little dust on a bottle in the Boulder Creek Winery library. Photo by Ray Rushing)

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Getting winery owners Jackie and Mike Thompson to pick their all-time favorite Boulder Creek wine is probably as easy as asking them to pick their favorite child. It’s not a question they could answer, but at least with the wine, the couple can take a stab, picking five of the most notable offerings since the winery’s first vintage in 2003:

2003 Chardonnay: The wine that proved Boulder Creek belonged

Barrel fermented and aged in new French oak this perfectly balanced buttery Chardonnay style would become winemaker Jackie’s hallmark in the following vintages. More than anything, however, it was the first bottle that received kudos from the outside world. “We didn’t really know if our wines were that great; we just liked them.” Well, this bottle received a double gold at the International Eastern Wine Competition in 2004 and won best of show at Colorado Mountain Winefest that year. The most ringing endorsement, however, came from fellow Colorado winemaker Bill Donahue of Creekside Cellars. He came in, saw it listed on the chalk board for $13 a bottle, sipped some, then edited the price. “Bill tasted it, he got the chalk out and crossed out $13 and put $18,” Mike recalls. “Bill’s always been a big supporter, and getting that from him was as important as the double gold.”

2004 Cooper’s Reserve: Getting sentimental

This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah was packaged as a reserve wine with a silk-screened label and served as a homage to the Thompson’s grandson, Cooper. “We just thought it was a cool name,” Mike says. “It had this story on the back about our daughter, her husband, their family. It’s got this typically sappy story that all the ladies love and the guys groan over.” This top-shelf wine served as the predecessor for the VIP Reserve (now Consensus). Oh, and the name helped sell a few extra cases that vintage, too. “Plus, my next door neighbor’s named Cooper — he bought a couple of cases,” Mike says.

2005 Syrah: The first library release (almost)

Mike and Jackie were too consumed with the process the first two vintages to harbor the thought of actually holding some wine back to fill their library. That changed with the 2005 Syrah. This rich, velvety, vanilla-flavored Syrah that won best of show at 2008 Colorado Mountain Winefest was just so good and ageable they finally decided to save some. “The fully extracted tannins will give it longevity,” Jackie says. “It’s just my nature to want to extract everything out of the skins.” The family opened a bottle last month over the holidays and served it with some Colorado lamb. It was a hit at the table. With about six cases left, the Thompsons plan to re-release some of this perfectly aged wine in the next month or so to wine club members. “This one is drinking at its prime right now,” Mike says. “If I had to make a Wine Spectator drink or hold recommendation, I would call this drink. “

2006 VIP Reserve: The one

Where to start with this 50/50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. How about from the top? This wine won a prestigious Jefferson Cup (the first ever from Colorado) as one of the best red wines in the country. It also got Mike and Jackie an invite to a tasting in Paris, where they served it to French wine snobs who were enamored with it. Perhaps more important than all the accolades, it marked Mike’s entrance into the business full time. He decided to package this as a wine for the wine club members and came up with the idea of having them vote on the final blend. Turned out, Boulder Creek drinkers know their wine. “It was the first endeavor he took on by himself,” Jackie says. “It was neat to see his first real endeavor just really blossom.” … “Sometimes you get lucky,” Mike chimes in. With about six cases left, this wine will likely be a library release in a few years, although it might not hit its prime until 2015.

2009 Gen Y Riesling: Will’s wine

Son Will, a University of Colorado student, got the chance to make his own wine with the 2009 vintage. Turns out he can hang with his mom pretty well. The Gen Y won a Double Gold at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition, which generally features some of the best Rieslings in the world. Will has since made the 2010 Riesling and has both the 2011 Viognier and Syrah in tank and barrel, respectively. Jackie says it’s been incredible working with Will. “We work great together,” she says. “I’m extremely proud of him. He’s my favorite Thompson to work with.”

Consensus (nonvintage, 2011 release): The wine for the people 

What started as Cooper’s Reserve then the VIP Reserve has now morphed into the chic packaged Consensus, a new name that reflects the importance of the Boulder Creek wine club members. In its first release, the club voted on a mix of 2008 and 2009 wines with Merlot (50 percent) taking the lead over Syrah, Cabernet Sauvingon and Cabernet Franc. The new branding further engaged the loyal Boulder Creek wine drinkers with the process. Jackie and Mike just wish they’d pick a blend of grapes from the same year so they could put a vintage on it. “It was kind of a mongrel,” Mike says. Well, this mongrel won a Medal of Excellence at the Jefferson Cup. The Consensus is so popular, the next release is already 20 percent sold out on futures purchases.

More:

• Meet the winemaker
• Visit the wine shop
• Check out all the awards Boulder Creek has won

Question: Have you had any of these wines? Please tell us about your experience with them below.

(David Schneider is trying to always be at the center of the Denver wine scene at Row 14 Bistro. Photo courtesy of Row 14)

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David Schneider’s restaurant career was firing high on all cylinders. The successful partner in the esteemed Bin 36 (renowned for its wine program) in Chicago also struck culinary gold with a seafood/sushi concept in the chic Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland.

He then had a money guy and all-star celebrity chef inked to a Denver location, but a day before lease signing, the financier got cold feet. “Refresh. Zero. Zero. Zero,” he recalls of the day he kept checking the bank account for a money transfer. “I haven’t spoken to him since.”

So Schneider, new to the city (his soon-to-be wife was the main reason for his upheaval from the Midwest) found himself in need of a job. He took to waiting tables at Rioja, his first time back to that side of the industry in 15-plus years. Four years later, we can safely say it’s a good thing.

Now the restaurateur with a notable Chicago pedigree is the owner of Row 14 Bistro & Wine Bar (891 14th St., Denver), a tasty and casual bistro across from the Denver Center for the Performing Arts that features the best little wine list in the city. Maybe 40-deep at any given time, it’s fun, playful and inventive (including a new Colorado wine flight that features Boulder Creek’s 2010 Viognier) enough to have had it deemed the top wine list in Denver by 5280 magazine.

“Everything happens for a reason,” he says.

The kitchen is headed by youthful chef Jensen Cummings who isn’t afraid to mince Asian highlights into his seasonal menu. The Row 14 interior is stylish and comforting, perfect for a happy hour, pre-theater meal or lavish culinary experience.

It took two failed attempts (or more accurately, two investors overcome by cold feet) at landing a Denver space before Schneider was able to ditch serving and team up with a principal in the Spire building to create Row 14 in 2010.

Oenophiles have been pleased ever since, for good reason. Schneider has spent his entire career as a student of wine. Not formally trained, he’s learned a lifetime’s worth of wine geekery throughout years of tasting and undergone more than a few epiphanies.

His first being while working as general manager in Cleveland, where he was invited to a 20-year vertical industry tasting of Chateau de Beaucastel. “I just developed this passion,” he says. A position in Chicago later sent him to Napa. “Oh my god, a place so beautiful exists in this country? And a half-hour, 45 minutes from San Francisco?” Then, of course, Oregon Pinot Camp cemented his love of wine.

“Wine’s always been my passion,” he says. “Besides my wife and kids and Widespread Panic, it’s wine.”

To give you an idea of his obsession, you just need to hear him talk about one of his favorites, Williams Selyem Pinot Noir: “I just wanted to pour it on the ground and roll around in it naked.”

This intense love led to a whole lot of studying on his own: “I just started to read everything,” he says. “Whether it was Wine Spectator or Jancis Robinson’s books, I couldn’t read enough about it. You just paint a picture of all the different stuff that’s out there in the world.”

And all that “stuff” gets filtered by his palate before winding up on Row 14 wine list. The obvious choices aren’t there, because that would be too easy. Instead, Schneider challenges himself and the customers by finding delicious, hidden wines that span the globe. His goal is for Row 14 to be the it place for wine trends in Colorado, whether it be by featuring obscure Spanish whites or leading a charge to showcase more Colorado wines.

“What I want is people to think of this restaurant as their wine resource,” he says. “Whenever there is something cool about wine, I want to be in the middle of it.”

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Order: Boulder Creek Viognier ($4.5/$9/$35) and Alamosa Striped Bass ($23)

This entree features a veggie stir fry, peppered bacon, pea shoots and soy ginger butter. “There are some nice stone fruit notes. It has a nice acid level to it. A lot of what Jensen does is a lot of Asian influence. With the stir fry and the bacon, the Viognier has enough body to stand up to the butter in the dish and everything else, but it has enough acid to cut through the heat,” Schneider says.

More:

• Boulder Creek and Salt in Boulder
• Master Somm Richard Betts’ Boulder Creek tasting notes
• Wine shop

Boulder has an intimate food and beverage culture that is brought together by a passion to produce the best meals and drinks using, quite often, ingredients farmed from within driving distance of the city (our wines, included!). There are so many folks doing so many delicious things around here that it can be overwhelming to keep up with it all. Well, we use these five Boulder food and beverage bloggers to stay in the know. All are best read with a bottle of Boulder Creek 2009 Cabernet Franc open (just don’t spill on the keyboard).

A Little Bit of Everything
Grace Boyle, Grace (full) Plate

Perhaps the most rounded food blogger in the entire Boulder County region, Grace Boyle dazzles with a smattering of delicious content. She authors recipes (Butternut Ricotta Squash Crostini, anyone?), reviews products, hits restaurants and teaches us to drink well. The website is a breeze to use and her playful style is endearing and approachable. It’s worth checking, at the very least, on a weekly basis.

The Gluten Free Source
Elana Amsterdam, Elana’s Pantry

For a variety of reasons — health or general dieting — going gluten free has become a diet of choice for many. It can be difficult, however, to cook healthy meals with gluten-free guidelines that taste, well, good. Elana Amsterdam, a Boulder-based food writer, solves that conundrum with easy-to-follow recipes that will knock your socks off with flavor. She’s been featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Delicious Living, and receives hundreds of thousands of pageviews from foodies around the globe. You don’t even have to live gluten free to enjoy.

A Weekly Dish of Restaurant Buzz
Clay Fong, Boulder Weekly

Clay Fong has been around the Boulder County dining scene for as long as any of us can remember. Seriously. This guy probably has eaten more meals in Boulder restaurants than anyone on the planet. The food writer for the Boulder Weekly has penned a book that focuses on breakfast in Colorado (The Gyros Journey) and continues to entertain us each week with his poignent prose about the restaurants we love (or loathe) to dine at in the county.

Everything Local
Toni Dash, Boulder Locavore

Boulder has been at the forefront of the farm-to-table movement for longer than the concept has been cool, which is why Boulder Locavore is one of our favorite stops on the web. Toni Dash mixes in delightful recipes that the whole world can enjoy; but for the folks who live along the Front Range, she offers a detailed database of many of the great meat, veggie and cheese purveyors who make Boulder so darn tasty. She’s also not afraid to tempt your travel desires, offering tips whenever she leaves the region.

The Beer Guy
Charlie Papazian, Beer Examiner

In town, there are many who purport to be beer experts. Guess what they all have in common: They look up to Charlie Papazian. The author of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing and founder of the Great American Beer Festival is a Boulder guy who is a wealth of beer info. His Beer Examiner page is one of the most well-trafficked out of the thousands who write about food and drink for Examiner.com. There’s good reason. He just geeks out about beer better than just about anyone else. So when you are tired about hearing about wine (is that possible?), click over to his blog.

More:

• Visit the Wine Shop
• Master Somm Richard Betts on Colorado wine 

Boulder has been called a lot of amazing things in the food world as it’s become an epicenter for everything from farm-to-table concepts to a beer-drinkers heaven.

One, perhaps under-the-radar distinction, is its affinity for fine wine. Depending on the year, it’s often home to more Court of Master Sommeliers Master Somms per capita than anywhere on the planet. (Not to mention, it has a winery for every 25,000 residents, including Boulder Creek).

To put it in perspective, there are currently only 118 Master Sommeliers in all of North America — and five call Boulder home (and there are several more who could join them soon). Not bad for a college town.

Richard Betts is one of them. His career in the wine business has been eccentric, to say the least. Not that you should expect anything less from someone who was six weeks away from entering law school when a bottle of wine — yes, one bottle of wine he picked up at a Flagstaff shop — got him to ditch that career path for one in the booze industry.

• See Betts’ tasting notes on Boulder Creek’s Syrah and Viognier

In the midst of a one-year sabbatical from the wine distribution side of things, Betts is spending his days at his central Boulder home dreaming up ideas on everything from a new wine label to education and any ways he can continue his mantra: “Wine is supposed to be a grocery, not a luxury, and I’ve said it over and over again. It’s a Richard-ism at this point,” he says.

Prior to his current status, Betts served as wine director at the prestigious Little Nell in Aspen before launching his own wine label, Betts & Scholl, making wines in Australia, France and the U.S. He also co-founded Scarpetta Wine with rockstar Boulder somm Bobby Stuckey — who sold him that bottle that derailed his law school plans — and most recently developed the CC Wine brand that offers one of the coolest looking bottles in the biz (as well as incredibly priced and tasty Napa Cabernet and Chardonnay).

Oh, he’s also a mezcal maker (Sombra) and is working on scratch-and-sniff wine education book. Not bad for a guy who’s technically not working right now (he has sold off all of his interests in the aforementioned wines). Just for kicks, he even filled in for Stuckey one recent Saturday night at Frasca Food and Wine. “I won’t say I miss the floor,” Betts says. “I still enjoy it. I worked the floor (in the fall) for Bobby. He asked if I’d be his body double — it was really fun.”

We caught up with him for a lengthy interview at his home just off Mapleton in the shadow of Mount Sanitas. After we opened several bottles, including some of his mezcal, and filled up a few spit buckets, we were able to get a glimpse into his thoughts on the local wine industry.

Question: You’ve made wine and tequila. Are you a wine or tequila guy?

Answer: I love wine because it’s yummy. It’s part of what goes on the table. Intellectually, it’s the most compelling of all alcoholic beverages. It really has the ability to transport yourself.

Q: How does Boulder attract all these Master Sommeliers?

A: It’s good living. We’re into wine, and we figured out how to make that our lives. We figured out that fun is our compass, and wine is a big part of that. It’s an aesthetic that carries through a large part of all of our lives.

Q: How often do you drink local?

A: Every few years I do; it’s been a couple of years.

Q: And…

A: The quality has never been better. I’m super optimistic about Colorado wine.

Q: What do you think about the local winemakers?

A: These are the bravest winemakers on the planet. I am not that brave. I am fortunate to make wine in four countries on three continents. I do a lot of traveling, but I go to places where the vines have been there for hundreds of years. So, it’s just a heroic effort (to make wine from Colorado’s relatively new vines). It should be noted in neon lights at the outset how brave that is. I think that they really deserve a lot of credit for that.

Q: When are you going to make wine in Colorado?

A: No way. I’m not that brave. I’d like to help where I can. Colorado is home. I’m super impressed by everyone doing work here. If I can find a way to help, I would love to do that.

Q: How does Colorado stack up?

A: It’s not that different from tasting wine from anywhere. Sure there are lots of dogs, but there are lots of dogs in any wine region. I mean, you can go to Tuscany and find lots of dogs. If we can get beyond that, and not let that color the whole thing, it’s actually very surprising.

Q: Name one thing that would help Colorado’s appeal?

A: I think that it’s yet to be determined what that sense of place is in Colorado. We have to figure out where the place to start with. Is it better in Palisade? Is it better in Cortez? Is it better in Grand Junction? Then it’s about not screwing up. It’s like, where do you plant the tomato plant? When do you pick the tomato? Great. We’ve got that right. Then how do we make the salad. If you are smart, I think, you just don’t get in the way. You don’t need balsamic and mozzarella in a tomato salad if the tomato is great. I would say that there’s no consensus yet where the tomato is great in Colorado. We’re just figuring out.

Q: Let’s taste…

A: Boulder Creek 2010 Viognier ($16): It’s a pretty Viongier. I feel like there’s a tendency in a lot of areas to push Viognier to this extreme ripeness where it just becomes super expressive but along with that very clumsy. More…

Boulder Creek Winery 2009 Syrah ($22): The Syrah fruit is really pretty today. More…

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Boulder Creek 2010 Viognier ($16): It’s a pretty Viongier. I feel like there’s a tendency in a lot of areas to push Viognier to this extreme ripeness where it just becomes super expressive but along with that very clumsy. This doesn’t show that, which is nice. I mean its still carrying 14.2 percent (alcohol), but it doesn’t feel it. I wouldn’t have guessed that without reading the label. It doesn’t feel out sized or out of balance in any way. It’s actually pretty nice. There’s a peach thing in there, an orange blossom kind of thing. It’s fine, it’s impressive, it’s delicious. I don’t think you would say, “oh this is Colorado.” It’s a nice wine. It’s not encumbered by too much new wood, so kudos to them for showing restraint. Food ideas: Fish for sure would be nice. Lighter chicken dishes. Indian food could be really fun. Not too spicy, though.

Boulder Creek Winery 2009 Syrah ($22): The Syrah fruit is really pretty today. It has this coconut thing on the nose and the finish is dominated by dill. I love the price; I think that’s great. I love the fruits there. It’s a well-made wine. It’s a serious, everyday wine. Seriously for everyday. It’s kinda fun.

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“It’s gotta have a touch of sand in it,” he says.

Needless to say, that’s not a common trait of the clams that make their way all the way to the Rocky Mountains, and his New England-born seafood expertise is at a level often undervalued in the land of beef, bison and lamb that is Boulder and Colorado in general. But Kidd’s boss appreciates it.

Kidd is the executive chef at Salt the Bistro, a Boulder hot spot with a strong local menu that has the most impressive Colorado wine list in the industry, featuring more than a dozen producers, including Boulder Creek Winery with both its 2010 Dry Rose and 2010 Viognier.

The eatery is owned by esteemed chef Bradford Heap who has been at the forefront of the farm-to-table movement in Colorado for the better part of a decade, and Kidd has been there almost every step of the way helping create Colterra in Niwot and now Salt.

“We have all these farms, we have all these ranchers, we have all these cheese makers, we have all these people producing amazing things,” Kidd says. “It’s a way of life.”

Local food has always been at the forefront of both Kidd’s and Heap’s culinary prowess. The two design menus in the simplest way. They sit down each season, go over the list of local produce, meats and dairy available, then organize them into flavor profiles and eventually into dishes. Heap brings elegant dining experience and a knowledge of the proteins that make Coloradoans proud; Kidd, the son of a lobsterman, mixes in a love for and deep understanding of sustainable seafood.

“I’ve worked with Bradford for so long,” Kidd says. “We’ll just talk about how we want to combine flavors. It’s a lot of back and forth.”

It’s a good combination that has ushered both Colterra and Salt to the top of the Boulder County dining scene. With Salt, they have become one of the few top-end Front Range restaurants that extend their local menu to the beer, spirits and wine lists.

It wasn’t always that way. For a few years — first at Colterra, then at Salt — Colorado wine was never a big part about their food and wine discussions. But a review in 5280 Magazine in 2010 brought that to light, and the two, along with beverage director Evan Faber, got really serious about including wine in their Colorado-produced philosophy.

They are the leader now. Kidd and Faber even taught a few seminars at Colorado Mountain WineFest this year. “I learned more in three days (about Colorado wine) at WineFest, than I have in 10 years in restaurants,” Kidd says. “(Colorado wine) is a little different. The soil, terroir — the wines may taste a little different than California, but they show Colorado well.”

He loves playing with the local flavors together, adapting his philosophy from the fresh seafood flavors of his Cape Cod upbringing to the western flavors of Colorado.

It might seem a drastic 180, but so was Kidd’s start in the business. He moved west to study, of all things, genetic science at the University of Colorado. Then he caught the culinary bug. “Somewhere along the line I decided I was absolutely in love with working with the food and working with the farmers.” Kidd says.

He hasn’t looked back, forging a great relationship with Heap and helping bring the local food and wine movement in Colorado to the levels of places such as California.

“What we are doing here is special,” Kidd says. “ I hope more restaurants do it. If you are going to do it with food, why not do it with the beer and the wine and the spirits.”

Viognier and Spot Prawns

Kidd and Faber suggest trying the 2010 Viognier with a new item for the fall menu, fresh Alaskan spot prawns with late autumn arugula and lemon parsley sauce verde. The wine has “notes of fuji apple, fresh grass, white peach, orange, lychee, and ripe pear,” Faber says. “The wine grips the palette at the onset unfolding into a beautiful rich fruit driven mid palette, and a crisp, off-dry finish.” Perfect for fresh seafood!

Wood grilled fresh Alaskan spot prawns
with late autumn arugula and lemon parsley sauce verde

Ingredients:

• 1 lb prawns (Spot Prawns, if available)
• zest of three lemons
• 1 head parsley, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Clean prawns, and marinate in all ingredients for a minimum of four hours (and up to two days).

Sauce verde

Ingredients:

• 2 heads parsley, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 lemons, zested
• 1 anchovy, chopped
• 1 teaspoons capers, chopped
• 1.5 c olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 teaspoon red chili flake

Directions: Dress arugula with a little bit of fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and a pinch of salt.

To finish: Grill prawns whole and cut them in half after the shell turns red, drizzle the sauce verde liberally over the top of the cut prawns and serve.

Wine: Serve with the 2010 Boulder Creek Viognier ($16)

Who does that?

How about an imaginative couple getting ready to move to Boulder from Vermont in the early 1990s. The canoe couldn’t come, so they brokered a deal with a friend who had quite the wine cellar. “We couldn’t get the canoe from Vermont,” Jackie says. “He wanted it, we wanted his wine from his cellar.”

Fair trade, a lake-worthy vessel for a Chateau St. Julien, Leoville Barton and Lynch Bouch.

To be honest, that’s just scratching the surface of her wine geekdom. She could talk about the topic all day long in the proper company. Plus, she mixes the culinary acumen that might be expected of a talented winemaker (life doesn’t get much better for her then a prime rib and Bordeaux) with a passion for participating in triathlons to make sure she can keep up with the Boulder crowd.

It all leads up to her being the ever joyous and talented winemaker for Boulder Creek Winery.

The triathlon part of her story is the most recent development, a habit she picked up this year after spending the previous 19 as a runner. “I ran the Bolder Boulder every year; then I realized I am not afraid to swim.”

A natural progression in the world of fitness perhaps; her move into winemaking was a little more unexpected. Prior to her winery days, she worked in land-use planning, off all things. It’s a good thing she got out, and has a sense of humor about it:  “I’d probably just be a hopeless alcohol because my job was driving me crazy,” she jokes.

The idea to switch to wine after moving to Colorado was far from instant, however. When she got here, she assumed the state wasn’t ripe for wine and could only produce low-quality wines from inferior grapes. “We came here when the industry was starting to take off,” she says. “I always wanted to make wine, but I wanted to make it out of viniferia grapes. I didn’t want to make concord wine; I didn’t want to make choke cherry wine anymore. I wanted to make good, real wine.”

She didn’t think that was possible in the Rocky Mountains until tasting one of the first Merlots from Canyon Wind Cellars in the mid 1990s. “I just said, ‘vineferia grapes grow here. It grows in so few places,’” she says.

Call that realization the initial seed to what is now Boulder Creek Winery.

Then it was a matter of meeting and working with John Garlich, the owner/winemaker at Bookcliff Vineyards around the corner from where Boulder Creek would eventually set up shop. She learned about producing wine at the commercial level, which included earning a wine certificate from the U.C. Davis’s enology program. (Jackie also studied plant and soil sciences while working toward her undergrad degree at University of Vermont.) 

This all has led her to making a diverse lineup of wines, beginning in 2003, with an emphasis on refined, food-friendly style that have won her awards for just about every bottling, including earning a prestigious Jefferson Cup (the first in Colorado) for the VIP reserve in 2010.

To think, she started her life as a lover of low-quality, homemade sweet wines, growing up in northern Vermont with her French-Canadian parents who fashioned themselves home winemakers. “We made it in crock pots,” she recalls. “It was not very good wine; fortunately I liked sweet wine growing up.”

When she met Mike, her palate started to change. He introduced her to the Old World of wine, bringing her first Germanic wines, then showing her all about Bordeaux. Turns out she took a liking to the luscious reds of one of the world’s most famous wine regions. Now she mimics those wines that first turned her onto fine wine, only using Colorado Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot rather than grapes from first-growth wine growing tracts.

But the most rewarding aspect of her career switch – other than the fact that she can enjoy wine 24 hours a day now – is the fact that it’s become a family business.

In 2008, Mike was able to retire from the high-tech sector to focus on the business end of the winery. Son Will, a University of Colorado student who just turned 21, has recently chipped in as the assistant winemaker, earning a gold medal for his first wine, the 2009 Gen Y Riesling.

“It’s really special to have something we can all share and take part and create,” Jackie says.

Will is even considering staying in the family business after graduation, despite his parents objections. “We would encourage him to explore a more lucrative career,” Jackie says. “You can’t buy a house, raise a family, put your kids through college on a 2,000-case-a-year winery, but you can have some fun doing it.”

Fun has what has kept Jackie’s interest for nearly 10 years in Boulder, which should make Boulder oenophiles feel infinitely lucky.

 “When we step back and look at it, we take great pride in it,” she says. “I can’t think of anything we could do in our lives that would be more fun than this.”