Join us Saturday, May 26th from 12p-5p for a unofficial summer kick-off with our jug Red wine, White Merlot and Blue bottle Riesling.

We’ll fire up the grill with our homemade Italian sausage and our special blend of chilled Sangria will be available from the tap. Bring all your out of town visitors by and give them a taste of what Colorado has to offer. $5 to taste 5 wines and available by the glass.

Saturday, May 26th, 12p-5p.

719-685-5089, www.manitousprings.org

Join Bonacquisti Wine Co and several other Colorado wineries outside at Highland Tap and Burger for an afternoon party. The HTB grill will be out and The Pig & Block will have charcuterie. Wine for sale by the glass and bottle (for take home, too). Twitter tag #winemarket.

Good food and Colorado wine while you, sigh, wait for your flight at DIA.

Some people love the restaurant industry in general. Others find a more niche segment to satisfy their culinary profession cravings. Such is the case for Rod Tafoya, who has become, in the last 18 years, the restaurant king of Denver International Airport, an aviation hub that many consider to be one of the best to catch a meal.

Tafoya’s company owns seven restaurants at DIA, including the hallmark Timberline Steaks, with two more set to open within a year. Why the rush to feed every passenger?

“It’s always busy,” he says. “And you are able to have an immediate impact on the outcome of the guest experience.”

Well, who wouldn’t love a captive audience?

Timberline Steaks in Concourse C is as close to fine dining as you can find in the airport. It’s a slightly upscale, Colorado-inspired eatery that serves premium cuts as its name suggests, along with several Colorado favorites to make sure everyone — visitor or native — gets their locavore fill before taking off.

This includes local trout, Mexican favorites, Rocky Mountain Oysters, and both Bonacquisti Wine Co.’s Riesling and Vinny No Neck.

“We’re a steakhouse, but we have a number of local favorites that we put on the menu as well,” Tafoya says.

The sit-down nature of Timberline requires you to be seated by a host (unless you choose the bar) and entrees range from around $10 to $30. It’s the type of place worthy of a stop if you check in way too early. “At DIA, they tell people they should be here two hours in advance; a lot of people abide,” he says. “They come, sit down, relax and have a great meal.”

Same goes for those stuck during a long layover or facing a delayed flight.

Tafoya opted to give it some Rocky Mountain flair to keep his home state of Colorado on the mind of every traveler. “It’s a reminder of Colorado,” he says. “We invite them to try some Colorado favorites that they would expect to find while they are visiting on their way in or out.”

His other DIA restaurants include Que Bueno! Mexican Grille (Concourse B), IItza Wrap! Itza Bowl! (B) and a smattering of fast food chains. By early 2013, Timberline will have some upscale competition, however. Tafoya expects to open a fresh-deli concept under the popular Udi’s brand later this year and an airport version of the famed Root Down early next.

His addiction (which also includes expansion of two Enstein Bros. Bagels at the San Diego International Airport) started innocently enough with a yogurt shop when DIA first opened in 1993.

Though not trained originally in the industry — he actually received a degree in environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins and an MBA from UCLA — Tayofa, a Denver native, realized a good thing immediately at the world’s 15th busiest airport.

“It’s good just because the constant influx of travelers and their the constant flow of passengers,” he says.

And he’s able to make a living off the guaranteed passengers, while adding smile to a their face in what is often a stressful situation. Not a bad gig.

When you’re waiting for your next flight:

Try the Colorado Riesling ($8 glass/$28 bottle if you are stuck for awhile) with the Rocky Mountain Oysters ($9). Here’s a classic example of eating with what is grown here. The famed oysters (bull testicals) are deep fried to a salty and crispy goodness, and the hint of sugar in this almost dry Riesling serves as a nice compliment.

Or, try the Vinny No Neck ($8/$28), an easy drinking blend heavy on Sangiovese with the Rocky Mountain Trout ($18). The trout is pan seared in a light batter with almonds lemons and wild rice, and the wine is versatile enough to hang with the seared flavors of this flakey fish.

Wines in this story:

• 2011 Riesling
• Vinny No Neck

• Bonacquisti Wine Co. Colorado food and wine Colorado Urban WInefest Colorado wine D red Denver wine events Denver Winery Garlic Knot Sunnyside Denver Vinny No Neck

The rules of any tasting room.

It’s that time of year when the weather warms and people start thinking about visiting one of Colorado’s nearly 100 wine tasting rooms. It’s a rite of passage, almost. Make sure you are doing it right with this handy guide to the etiquette of a wine tasting room.

• Learn to taste like a pro, too

Do…

Ask questions of your tasting room personality. Whether it’s the winemaker behind the counter or an hourly employee, these people tend to know about and love to share info. It’s more fun to enjoy a product you understand, too.

Don’t…

Be afraid of doing something wrong. Sure, wine tasting can be done on a professional level, but for most of us, it’s all about enjoyment. There is no right way to drink wine. There is no right way to feel about the flavor. It’s a very personal experience, and enjoy it the way you want to. Unless that includes dirty language or otherwise lewd behavior.

Do…

Buy a bottle if your tasting is free. Now, there are exceptions. If you really do not like the wine, then do not feel obligated to purchase anything. A tasting fee — in many cases, waived  with a purchase — is really meant to help a winery not lose money when a customer walks in the door. So if you pay for a flight, it’s ok to leave without wine in terms of etiquette, but who would want to do a thing like that? If you are on a tour bus, it’s likely the winery didn’t receive any money for your visit so they are really hoping you enjoy the wine and buy a bottle or two.

Don’t…

Drink too much if you are driving. Spit buckets are there for a reason — to keep you sober during a tasting and your palate lively. If you are the one with the keys, use it often. If you don’t want to be bothered thinking about such things, arrange for safe transportation. A 17-year-old child who really wants to take the car out with his or her friends, for example. In the absence of child labor, there are several metro-area and Colorado limo and shuttle services that cater to the wine industry.

Do…

Ask for a tour. Most small wineries will offer them on demand if they aren’t organized by time. If you can get a winemaker to guide you around the operation, all the better. Tasting room employees (the good ones, anyway) will want to show you the ropes of the business. It’s a fun way for them to brand the winery and teach the process of making good vino.

Don’t…

Take yourself too seriously. The snotty sommelier exists in the wine world, but he/she is the exception, not the rule. Most people in the industry have fun. It’s booze, after all. Sipping samples of Colorado Cabernet Franc should be nothing if not a relaxing way to explore the state.

Do…

Tell the world — via word of mouth, social media or any other avenues that you maintain — about your Colorado wine tasting room experience. It helps small-businesses with small budgets get the word out. What’s that they say about karma?

More:

Our tasting room is open 11–5 p.m., Thursday–Saturday at 4640 Pecos St., Unit I.

Colorado sunshine, live music and wine. Living the good life never felt so good.

Join us and our Winery Row compatriots for our summer concert series featuring great local artists. Bring your chair, bring a friend and bring your bad self.

Admission is free with wine for sale by the bottle and by the glass. Good times all but guaranteed.

This is a free event with wine and food available for purchase. Check back for food truck update.

FRIDAY JUNE 8
the Hip Replacements
5p-8p

FRIDAY JULY 20
Jo Myers and the Mama’s Boys
5p-8p

FRIDAY AUGUST 17
Laurie D
5p-8p
www.reverbnation.com/lauried

Wine for sale by the bottle and by the glass. Good times all but guaranteed.

• Check out the other summer events we’ll be attending

• Check out the other summer events we’ll be attending

Check it out: 

• Check out the other summer events we’ll be attending

The Highland Farmers' Market is just one of the many wine- and food-inspired events we are looking forward to this summer.

When it gets warm, people love to taste wine (same can be said for when it’s cold, mild, rainy, snowy…). Which means summertime brings out the best in festivals throughout the state. Here are five we think you should attend this year:

Highland Farmers’ Market
9–1 p.m. Saturday (June–Oct. 15), Boulder Street between 15th and 16th

Come summer, we love to pop up our tent just outside of LoLa, put on a straw hat and make sure the entire community has access to some wine while they shop the weekly Highland Farmers’ Market. It’s really our favorite event since we get to interact with all of our neighbors (businesses and people!). New this year: We’ll be using the market as a jug refill station, which means you can refill you jug (1 liter for just $12.99 or buy your first jug filled for $20). Then you can go pick some fresh products from all the other wonderful vendors before heading home.

Colorado Urban Winefest
Noon–6 p.m. June 9, Sculpture Park (in front of the DCPA)

As part of the second annual Colorado Wine Week, Colorado Urban Winefest returns to Denver in a much more downtown location than last year (is Stapleton really a part of Denver?). If you don’t know it by name, Sculpture Park is the green space along Speer that features those massive dancing aliens. About 40 wineries are expected at Winefest, which is the sister festival to the two-decade-old Mountain Winefest each fall in Palisade. The event will include food trucks, entertainment and educational seminars.

Aspen Food and Wine Classic
June 15–17, Aspen

This is the top festival in the state for toques. It brings together some of the nation’s finest winemakers and chefs to the glitzy resort town in the central mountains each summer. Put on by the good folks at Food & Wine magazine, the 30th iteration of Food & Wine will feature Mario Batali, Tom Colicchio, Boulder’s own Richard Betts, Emeril Lagasse and many more. We’re still waiting for an invite. Is this thing on? Hello?

Colorado Mountain Winefest
Sept. 16–18, Palisade

This is the Grand Daddy of Colorado wine festivals, having served the local vino community for more than 20 years. The weekend event included everything from a grand tasting to bicycle tours of the vineyards — and a whole lot of food in between. We try to make it every year as it’s a spectacle not to be missed and the only place on the planet that allows for the tasting of more than 50 Colorado wineries in one place.

Fridays Uncorked
6:30 p.m. the third Friday of the month, Colorado Winery Row, 4640 Pecos St.  

We’d be remiss to not include our own party. We team with the other three members of Colorado Winery Row once a month to throw down a fantastic Sunnyside neighborhood party. Food trucks swing by, live music bounces off the walls of the wineries and there’s never a shortage of wine to go around (by the glass or bottle). Best of all, entrance is free.

• See more events

• Bonacquisti Wine Co. Colorado food and wine Colorado Urban WInefest Colorado wine D red Denver wine events Denver Winery Garlic Knot Sunnyside Denver Vinny No Neck