Archive
Subscribe
Search
Login
Subscribe
Put Some Altitude in Your Glass
30: The Persevering Aspen Peak Cellars
Feb 5, 2020
30: The Persevering Aspen Peak Cellars
15
30
00:00
12:10
IN THIS EPISODE
LISTEN ON
Apple Podcasts
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Spotify
YouTube
YouTube
Pocket Casts
Pocket Casts
Castro
Castro
FULL TRANSCRIPT
0:00
All right, everybody. Welcome back to Denver Wine Radio. Cha Cha in the house. Thank you, Paulie. You're welcome. [laughs] Glad to be here tasting wine. Uh, special guests, Marcel and Julie from Aspen Peak Cellars.
0:15
Hey, Paul, Cha Cha. Hey. [laughs] Nice to meet you. Nice to see you guys. Hi, you guys. Thanks for having us. You're welcome. [laughs] Yeah, thanks for being here. [clears throat] Excuse me.
0:23
And, uh, Aspen Peak, you're in, uh, Conifer. Bailey. I'm sorry, Bailey. Bailey. Bailey. Used to be Conifer. Yes, we started in Conifer. Yeah. Started in Conifer and, uh, but now you're in Bailey. Mm-hmm.
0:33
And you have an incredible story. [laughs] Maybe, maybe one too many. [laughs] Yeah. So start- Oh, true... tell us how when yous, you started in Conifer. Yes.
0:44
And then, uh, tell us what happened that led you to Bailey, and then, and why you are still in Bailey. All right? Start at the beginning. All right. There you go. Start at the beginning. There you go.
0:54
Well, I got, uh- [laughs]... Julie a wine making kit for Christmas in 2005, and, uh, we thought we're gonna make a little hobby wine, uh, five gallons. And, uh, um- Got totally out of control... yes.
1:07
[laughs] One piece of equipment led to another one, and, uh- We moved out of the basement... we moved out of basement. [laughs] Then, uh, we found a bed and breakfast in Conifer and, uh- Mm...
1:18
uh, leased that beginning of 2009, and, uh, then started off running a bed and breakfast, little lunch restaurant. Yeah. And start making wine so that we, uh, by September could have a full operation.
1:31
And, uh, we just, uh, basically, uh, had weddings there. We had, uh, bed and breakfast guests. We had a lunch crowd. We had music in the meadow. And so we had a lot of fun, uh, until, when was that?
1:46
Summer of 2011- Okay... when lightning hit the barn. Oh, no. And, uh- Yeah... and we, uh, lost- It was the oldest barn in Conifer at the time...
1:54
yeah, about 140-year-old barn, notched and picked, and, uh, turned- It was beautiful... turned into ashes within about 15, 20 minutes. Oh, goodness... and, uh, so we lost our wedding venue.
2:04
The landlord wasn't gonna do anything about it.
2:06
And so we start looking around to, for a different place, uh, going down, ended up in Bailey at a, at, an old service garage, uh, that we remodeled and turned into a n- our new winery. Now it's your turn. [laughs] Oh.
2:20
And, and that all started with a, a, a Christmas gift? This all started with a Christmas gift. Yeah. A little wine making- A little wine making kit... Christmas gift kit? Yes. Yes. Wow. [laughs] Well, that is a story.
2:29
It is a story, and it's not finished yet. It's not finished. Wow. Okay. So you go to Bailey, and then what happens? So we go to Bailey. We remodel this old garage. It was, it was nasty.
2:38
I mean, we had to- Like a garage, like a, like a- An automotive garage... okay, like grease and g- Yeah, with grease... okay... nasty and- Right... yeah. So we redid that, opened up.
2:47
Um, we had just done a big, like, community fundraiser to build a new patio, so we had a nice outdoor space for everybody and a stage. And, uh, opened that, when was it? In S- 2, 2000-...
3:00
August of '20- Well, 2012 we opened in Bailey. Okay. Yeah. Then in 2016 we did that beautification project- That's when I was-... for the riverfront ditch in Bailey with- Yeah... the pergola and the stage.
3:11
And then- Okay... and it opened, we had it open for maybe a month... July. Yeah. And then we had a 18-wheeler run over our building. [laughs] [laughs] Make it stop. [laughs] What?
3:22
Now, Cha, have you ever driven into Bailey? Yes. Okay. And you come down Crow Hill, I think it's called. Right. Right. And it's, and mm. Yeah. Exactly. And then right into Bailey. Yeah.
3:31
It happened in the middle of the night, so nobody was there, thank God. Oh, my goodness. But the entire foundation was moved about 30 feet off, I mean, the building was moved about 30 feet off the foundation.
3:42
Oh, my goodness. Completely- Leveled everything... destroyed. Destroyed. Yeah. And you're both sitting here with smiles. Yes. Well, now. How is that possible? [laughs] So oh, my goodness. Yeah. So it's crazy. Wow. So.
3:54
And anybody, you could have, I mean, a semi runs over your winery. Yeah, you're d- You could have packed it in. E- exactly. You guys said, "Ah." I'm done. That's it. I'm done. I'm done. Yeah. But no. No. No. [laughs] No.
4:04
That's not how we work. [laughs] So the, okay. So the semi runs over your building and- Yeah... what, and then take me up to where you are right now. So it took, um, a long time, about a year and a half, to get rebuilt.
4:16
Still fighting insurance- Right... to this day. But, um, we got rebuilt in about a year and a half, so we opened January of last year, uh, with brand new building. We kind of turned, we're on the same location. Okay.
4:27
You are on the same location, same property kind of? Yeah, but we turned the building. Okay. So we're a li- oh, a little bit further away- Okay... from the highway, um, and have a bigger building now. And- Okay...
4:38
it's better. Yeah. It's bigger and better. So. We have, we have now, uh- Yeah... access to the river with our patio. Mm-hmm. So overlooking the river and, uh, just, um, they call us the whack-a-mole winery.
4:50
[laughs] [laughs] Yes. Uh, you knock us down, we pop up somewhere else. So. [laughs] The only thing that survived the crash was the st- the beautiful stage- Yeah...
5:00
that we had built for the beautification project, and that survived the crash. So we moved it, so we still have that. So. It's an idea. They have a beautiful stage. When you're inside the winery- Wow...
5:11
you g- it's right, you guys open the... Don't you have a patio? It opens to a patio, right? Yeah. Yeah. I was like- It's nice... 'cause I've been there in the summer.
5:17
I've only been there in the winter, and it was closed. Oh, yeah. Big double sliding doors on both sides- Yeah. Yeah... that really makes the outside feel inside. Yeah. Wow. It's kind of cool. Well, I love your passion.
5:27
Yeah. And I love your- Thanks. And all the wine, everything was, like, the, all your barrels, tanks, everything was destroyed. Everything gone? Yeah. Gone?
5:34
We had about maybe 3,000 bottles that we mined out of the rubble. Yeah. Oh. We had friends that we- We had some fraction, sales and- Yeah... all kind of stuff... we did wine mining after the crash. Wow.
5:44
And saved some bottles. So. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing community up there. Yes. We had, uh, some great people that helped us out right in the beginning and some other wineries that helped us out. And then- Yeah...
5:53
uh, once we had a temporary facility established, we were able to go and do some bulk wine processing so we could, kept going with some sort of a business. Right. Had a little tasting room in the town of Bailey. Mm-hmm.
6:05
Yeah. And then, uh, on from there once the new building was done We had a little jumpstart from that temporary facility where we could keep making wine. A little something to start with.
6:14
And so- Yeah Um, but- And the community was amazing. They did a huge fundraiser for us, raised about $25,000. So that was- That's awesome. That is phenomenal. Oh, my God. That's fantastic. We, we hope- Yeah.
6:23
Great, great community... we hope to pay it back. Yeah. Um, sometime pretty soon, so. Yeah. Really nice to have that, have that community- Exactly... support. Support. Absolutely. Mm-hmm.
6:32
And just the th- and then what they, and how they think about you. Exactly. I mean, you guys are, you guys are part of that community, so. Exactly. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. A big part. We wouldn't go anywhere else.
6:41
No. The, just having the, those type of people that live up there is, is quite amazing. When something happens like that- Yeah... they step up and- So, yeah. Well, you have wine, so.
6:50
And then one of the, one of your highlights that, that you do that I think is, uh, is so unique to any winery, er, anywhere is your snowshoe and... [laughs] Tell me what it's called exactly. The- Snowshoe and fondue.
7:02
Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. Oh, I love it. So we started that probably in 2012 or '13. Snowshoe and fondue? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I love it. So he's Swiss. Right, right. So, yeah. The fondue is unnatural.
7:14
I, I picked up on the accent. I was gonna ask you next where you were from, but. Yeah. Yeah. So- Okay, Switzerland. Yeah. So fondue is just one of those things- That's awesome...
7:22
that we had on the menu, and then we were looking for an event to do in the wintertime because it's pretty slow up there. Yeah. Uh, at that time of year. We don't have any ski slopes, so. Yeah.
7:30
So, but snowshoeing was one of the things that- I, I love to snowshoe... people like to do. That's, I, that's my thing. And, and, uh, so. I love to do that. It's fun. Yeah. So we ended up, uh, turning
7:38
January, February, and March into, which is generally our slowest season. Okay. Mm-hmm. And one of the busiest because of this event, so. Right. Yeah.
7:46
People come in and spend about four or five hours with us, and we- Oh, that sounds like a blast... send them out with some guides to do some snowshoeing. Mm-hmm. And then they come back for wine tasting and- Right...
7:54
a food challenge and fondue. And when does this happen? Like, during the winter? Yeah. Yeah. Like, I mean, obviously, but like for- Mid January to mid March. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah.
8:02
So, like every other weekend or every weekend? Every weekend. Every weekend. Every weekend. Okay. Yeah. And the other Friday, too, so. Every other. Yeah. And it sells out. Yeah. [laughs] So. I bet. How fun. Yeah.
8:11
A lot of fun. People have a blast and- Yeah. Yeah. What, so, what'd you bring us today to drink? Um, we, our- Well, be- and before we get to wine, I'm gonna commit you to snowshoeing. We have to go and do that this year.
8:22
Oh, yeah, for sure. 'Cause I love to snowshoe. Oh, yeah. We're, yes. I love it. I- Yeah. We're, I'm committing right now. Yeah. Okay. It's really fun. We'll do it. Okay. Snowshoe and fondue.
8:28
And we get, the guides are so much fun, too. Okay. That they have. They're awesome. So this is our- Yeah... 285 Fusion, which is our signature blend. Um. Okay. Blend of Cab, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, and Zinfandel.
8:40
So five grapes. Uh, tell them, tell them the 285 reference. 285 for the highway. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. [laughs] There you go. Right on. And when we first did it, there was two winemakers. Yep. We make the wine together.
8:51
Yeah. Unusual for a winery to have two winemakers. Yeah. But we have to agree on stuff. And it took us about eight different blends to, uh, get it right, and it's five different grapes, so. Oh, five different grapes.
9:00
Yeah. Yeah. And what, what's in it? Cab, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, and Zinfandel. Oh, wow. Very good. So cheers. Cheers. Cheers. Yeah. Cheers. Very, very good. I don't know if we can. Got to clink a little bit.
9:12
Clink, clink, clink. [laughs] It's very fruity. Oh, yeah. This is, um- Mm. This is really good. [laughs] Thanks. [laughs] It goes down very smooth. Very smooth. Mm-hmm. Lots of- Yeah... lots of juicy, like jammy fruit.
9:27
Yeah. And, um, man, this is, this is good. It's also, I get, I get some, like spice from it, too. Mm-hmm. Like a little clove-y. Yeah. Little- Oh, definitely a little clove. Little Syrah. Yeah.
9:35
Syrah and the Zin bring a little bit of that. And then, well, and the Petit Verdot, too. Yeah. Yeah, we got some. I think brings that. The what? Uh. It's the Petit Verdot. Oh, yeah. It's really good.
9:42
Yeah, has a nice spice to it. Yeah. Really good. Food-friendly wine, too. Mm-hmm. So good acidity and- Nice... have fun with. Yeah. Yeah. I like it. And what else? And you guys do, I know you do, uh, sparkling wine. Mm.
9:56
You do like a champagne style. Yeah, we do. We do. We do pretty much a full line. And a- All the wines, but it, yeah, we, we have a new sparkling wine coming out here, uh, by Palisade Wine Fest, I think. Uh. Yeah.
10:05
We're pretty excited about it this year. We're gonna bring that out. Oh, very good. It's been a, it's been a challenge, challenging thing for us to do. Yeah. This, this- And we're pretty happy with it this year...
10:13
this, this is the first one that we made A to Z at our winery from Colorado grapes, so. Oh, nice. So that'll be a blanc de blanc. Blanc de blanc. Chardonnay. Yeah. And methode champenoise.
10:24
And, uh, um, from what we've seen so far- What did-... it's looking really nice. Yeah. How many, how, what's the, how many cases? Maybe 55 cases. 55 cases. Wow. Yeah. Real small production. Small production. Oh, yeah.
10:36
Nice. Yeah. Small production. Yeah. It's, it's very time consuming, but. All handcrafted. Yeah. Yeah. It's a lot of fun, so. Blanc de blanc is a- Yeah... chardonnay. Here's your, uh, this is your tip, Cha. Okay.
10:46
Giving you a little educational. Okay. Uh, and, um, chardonnay, or sorry, champagne is made from chardonnay. Okay. Also, in, in traditionally, in, in made, in France, made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
11:01
So when it says blanc de blanc, it's the white of whites, so it's- Oh... it's made from all chardonnay. Okay. Got it. Yeah. Right on. Yeah.
11:09
So, 'cause they'll say blanc, blanc noir or, um, for if it's made from Pinot Noir. Right. So, so there you go. Okay. All right. Right on. Fun stuff. Excellent. Yeah. Well, thanks for, thanks for coming down tonight.
11:21
Yeah. Yeah. Well, thanks for having us, Paul. Appreciate it. Yeah. Yeah. Cha, Cha. And thanks for sharing your story. My, my. Yeah. That's crazy. I'm going to, uh, I'm going to the state fair this weekend in Pueblo. Oh.
11:32
And I'm gonna whack that mole for you so it doesn't come back out of the hole. [laughs] That's right. Okay? Excuse me? [laughs] Okay. Oh my gosh. Come on. They still have Whack-A-Mole, don't they, at the state fair?
11:45
I don't know. No. Probably. Well, I'm gonna find out. Sounds traditional. I'm just into the fried Twinkies. [laughs] They, they should. [laughs] Good deal. So. Okay. All right. Marcel and Julie from Aspen Peak Cellars.
11:55
There you go. Hey, thanks for coming down to Denver Wine Radio. There you go. Appreciate it. Thank you. And salud and buona fortuna. All the best. Happy harvest time. Yes. And tell, what would you say in Switzerland?
12:06
Prost. Prost. Prost. Okay. There you go. Okay. We can do that, too. There you go.
New episodes, straight to your inbox.
Subscribe
