Palisade, Colorado, Part Two: Wining, Dining, and Dancing!
Let's see, where did I leave off in my last post . . .
Ah yes, we were just leaving the art studios to go on a winery tour. Palisade is surrounded by lots of wineries - too many to hit in one day! So they split our group into three and sent us to different places. Some went on a bicycle ride from winery to winery. That sounded like lots of fun, but we took the shuttle tour because we had Melise with us.
American Spirit Shuttle service, owned by a local couple, took us to three wineries a little further from town than the cyclists were going to visit. They do regular winery tours , so our driver Bonnie was very familiar with the route and the local history.
The first winery we visited was the Plum Creek Winery.
The sculptures just outside their front door are all by Lyle Nichols.
Inside is a wine tasting bar and gift shop. Back by the fireplace, we sat in cozy sofas as we tasted the wines. Actually, I chased a toddler around the store while everyone else sat cozily . . .
We were taken on a special tour in the back where the wine is made and stored in barrels to age. They make 12,000 cases of wine each year.
That was where we learned that the floor drains work much like cattle guards for Melise. It was like an invisible fence -what a revelation!
It only took her ten minutes to figure it out and crawl over it. Sigh!
Anyhow, Plum Creek Winery was a delight. For any chocolate lovers out there, ask them about pairing wines with chocolates because they've made a careful study of it!
Oh yeah, Melise like the artwork, too.
That one is titled "Henny Penny's Dad". By the way, this wine tour drove us past Lyle Nichol's old art studio. There are lots of remnants of his work in the yard still and evidence of his humor, including a sign that gives directions to a near-by nudist colony. The nudist colony doesn't exist, but the directions lead you to the next winery . . .
Carlson Vineyards has a cozier tasting room and store. They make less traditional wines (as well as the traditional) and they all have humorous names. like Tyrannosaurus Red.
They've won a LOT of awards for their wine:
Melise got a little irritated that we wouldn't share our wine, so I took her on a walk in their backyard. Talk about peaceful . . . .
I could've sat there a while gazing at the vineyards covering the hill, but Roy came to give me a taste of Palisade Peach wine - oh my yum!
Next stop . . . Mesa Parks Winery. The family who owns it likes to focus on red wines.
The tasting room and barrel storage is all contained in this converted barn.
Another winery with a beautiful view:
But, alas, I couldn't stay to soak it in because we had to go check into our rooms. Palisade is rich with quaint inns and bed & breakfasts. We were put up in a suite at the Wine Country Inn, which is part of a working vineyard and winery.
Talk about a nice place to stay! We had a great room with a fridge and microwave, a hot breakfast in the morning, and a wonderful night's sleep . . .
But before we slept, we had to go out for dinner at the Red Rose Cafe . It's a restaurant/bar owned by a couple that used to run a restaurant in the front range area: Tom and Rosa. Tom is Italian and Rosa is Vietnamese, so you can imagine they have an interesting menu!
Here's Rosa showing us how to properly roll a Vietnamese egg roll - delicious!
Melise was quick to pick up on Rosa's wrapping technique:
In the next room, we could hear live music and Melise just had to check it out while we waited for our main course.
This is Bob and Ray, two local singers. They do mostly classic rock, but they played a few children's songs just for Melise.
Melise and I were the only ones on the dance floor at first, but she charmed many people into joining us!
Melise taught them all her special dance moves!
Dinner was delicious, but over too soon. Then we were off to one more stop before the night ended.
Peach Street Distillers specializes in the hard alcohols.
They have a tasting room (it's not a bar) and they host special events . . . like the birthday party that we crashed . . . we were forgiven, though.
Roy chatted with the owner, Rory, while he enjoyed a sample of their products.
And that was the end of a long, highly enjoyable day! I can't believe it's taken two posts to describe one day. And there's still one day of this trip to go!
Continue to the last post about Palisade!
Ah yes, we were just leaving the art studios to go on a winery tour. Palisade is surrounded by lots of wineries - too many to hit in one day! So they split our group into three and sent us to different places. Some went on a bicycle ride from winery to winery. That sounded like lots of fun, but we took the shuttle tour because we had Melise with us.
American Spirit Shuttle service, owned by a local couple, took us to three wineries a little further from town than the cyclists were going to visit. They do regular winery tours , so our driver Bonnie was very familiar with the route and the local history.
The first winery we visited was the Plum Creek Winery.
The sculptures just outside their front door are all by Lyle Nichols.
Inside is a wine tasting bar and gift shop. Back by the fireplace, we sat in cozy sofas as we tasted the wines. Actually, I chased a toddler around the store while everyone else sat cozily . . .
We were taken on a special tour in the back where the wine is made and stored in barrels to age. They make 12,000 cases of wine each year.
That was where we learned that the floor drains work much like cattle guards for Melise. It was like an invisible fence -what a revelation!
It only took her ten minutes to figure it out and crawl over it. Sigh!
Anyhow, Plum Creek Winery was a delight. For any chocolate lovers out there, ask them about pairing wines with chocolates because they've made a careful study of it!
Oh yeah, Melise like the artwork, too.
That one is titled "Henny Penny's Dad". By the way, this wine tour drove us past Lyle Nichol's old art studio. There are lots of remnants of his work in the yard still and evidence of his humor, including a sign that gives directions to a near-by nudist colony. The nudist colony doesn't exist, but the directions lead you to the next winery . . .
Carlson Vineyards has a cozier tasting room and store. They make less traditional wines (as well as the traditional) and they all have humorous names. like Tyrannosaurus Red.
They've won a LOT of awards for their wine:
Melise got a little irritated that we wouldn't share our wine, so I took her on a walk in their backyard. Talk about peaceful . . . .
I could've sat there a while gazing at the vineyards covering the hill, but Roy came to give me a taste of Palisade Peach wine - oh my yum!
Next stop . . . Mesa Parks Winery. The family who owns it likes to focus on red wines.
The tasting room and barrel storage is all contained in this converted barn.
Another winery with a beautiful view:
But, alas, I couldn't stay to soak it in because we had to go check into our rooms. Palisade is rich with quaint inns and bed & breakfasts. We were put up in a suite at the Wine Country Inn, which is part of a working vineyard and winery.
Talk about a nice place to stay! We had a great room with a fridge and microwave, a hot breakfast in the morning, and a wonderful night's sleep . . .
But before we slept, we had to go out for dinner at the Red Rose Cafe . It's a restaurant/bar owned by a couple that used to run a restaurant in the front range area: Tom and Rosa. Tom is Italian and Rosa is Vietnamese, so you can imagine they have an interesting menu!
Here's Rosa showing us how to properly roll a Vietnamese egg roll - delicious!
Melise was quick to pick up on Rosa's wrapping technique:
In the next room, we could hear live music and Melise just had to check it out while we waited for our main course.
This is Bob and Ray, two local singers. They do mostly classic rock, but they played a few children's songs just for Melise.
Melise and I were the only ones on the dance floor at first, but she charmed many people into joining us!
Melise taught them all her special dance moves!
Dinner was delicious, but over too soon. Then we were off to one more stop before the night ended.
Peach Street Distillers specializes in the hard alcohols.
They have a tasting room (it's not a bar) and they host special events . . . like the birthday party that we crashed . . . we were forgiven, though.
Roy chatted with the owner, Rory, while he enjoyed a sample of their products.
And that was the end of a long, highly enjoyable day! I can't believe it's taken two posts to describe one day. And there's still one day of this trip to go!
Continue to the last post about Palisade!
Posted by Susan at April 17, 2010 
Categories: Travel
Tags: restaurant mesa county peach vineyard dinner orchard lyle nichols winery palisade colorado apricot distillery wine dancing
Categories: Travel
Tags: restaurant mesa county peach vineyard dinner orchard lyle nichols winery palisade colorado apricot distillery wine dancing
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