Twin Rivers Winery

     Wine is made everywhere these days it seems, but I was surprised to find a "tour of local wineries" on the list of things to do in Grand Junction.  First the Italians came to build the rail road.  They lived in this valley which was not too different from their homes in Italy.  They planted grapes to make the wine that they were accustomed to drinking at home and the grapes thrived.
    The days are warm and the nights get to be very cool (or sort of cool just now).  The vintner told us that this was good for making great wines as it gives the grapes time to cool down and let the tannin and sugars work into the grapes (or something like that).  Anyway, the wines did well until, boom, Colorado enacted Prohibition three years before it became Federal Law.  So, the grapes were replaced with fruit - mostly peaches - which also really thrived in this soil and climate and the valley developed a good economy based on fruit growing.  Palisade Peaches are still very well known.
   We went to Twin Rivers (Colorado and Gunnison) Winery.  It was not what I expected after visiting wineries in Sonoma Valley.  The buildings are all very new although they are built in a traditional French Chateau fashion.  The winery has a small inn, wine tasting building and a venue for weddings, banquets and entertainment.  We were lucky to get there on a quiet day and were able to taste seven wines with just one other group.  It gave us plenty of time for questions and time to enjoy the complex tastes.  Of course, we had to buy some to bring home (or at least to enjoy each evening on the trip home).

Grapes growing in the shadow of Colorado Ntl. Monument

    We went from tasting wines to another quilt store in downtown Grand Junction.  Quilter's Corner is in a beautiful old building just off Main Street.  Rick and I both enjoyed the big display of beautiful quilts.  I enjoyed the great selection of fabrics, but managed not to buy any.  I did pick up one more pattern - it was just too pretty to pass up and I know I couldn't remember how to make it without the pattern.
    From wine and quilts we went to a Brewery for lunch.  Rick enjoyed a very creamy beer which I tasted too.  I couldn't drink a whole glass, but then I had a lot more wine during the pre-noon tasting.  After lunch we spent an hour going through "The Museum of the West."  It bothered me that the school room which was set up as "historical" looked very much like my room and desk at Bancroft in Minneapolis.  Am I historic?  Then back to the camper for more pool time.
    There are more fires each day and the heat has definitely slowed me down.  Tomorrow we start the trip back home.