Winemakers thrive on quality instead of trendiness

By Kristen Kuchar

The idea for Bookcliff Vineyards was born during an annual spring trip to Moab in the 1990s when Ulla Merz and John Garlich passed a winery on their way to a hiking trail in southwest Colorado.

Later, while drinking wine made with Palisade grapes, the pair experienced a life-changing moment and decided to abandon their corporate jobs. Ulla, a Ph.D. in computer science, and John, a civil engineer, were swept up with the possibility of making their own wine. They bought and leased land in Palisade and moved forward with their dream.

Fast forward to today and Bookcliff Vineyards is a thriving, award-winning Colorado winery. The company has consistently ranked in the Colorado Governor’s Cup Wine Competition and received accolades in the Colorado Mountain Wine Fest, San Francisco International Wine Competition, Jefferson Cup Invitational Wine Competition, and many more.

All the grapes are grown onsite, with the rare exception of another locally grown Colorado grape. While it’s a great deal of work and has its own unique set of challenges, Ulla says it’s all worthwhile.

“It has always been important to us to have our own vineyards and be in control and growing our own grapes that we use in wine making,” Ulla says. “For us, we think that is one an important factor in the type of wine we make.”

Bookcliff has a tasting room in Palisade and one in Boulder. Each tasting room offers a whole different wine-drinking experience. At both, visitors can explore the wines through a flight: red, white, reserve, sweet, or design their own. In Palisade, Sunset Saturday is celebrated every first and third Saturday, June through October. The tasting room stays open until dark, and there is a food truck onsite. The glowing customer reviews rave about Palisade’s incredible views of the vineyard and Colorado landscape, a friendly staff, and of course, great wine.

Boulder offers a Behind the Scenes wine tour that includes an in-depth guided tour of five wines paired with chocolate and cheese along with a virtual tour of the winery and a look at how the wine is made. On First Friday, the tasting room is open until 8 p.m. and each month a different selection of three wines is paired with three cheeses. Winemaker dinners are offered once per month, January through May, along with special occasion dinners for various holidays.

Bookcliff produces an eclectic list of wines, including a rich Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, a lightly oaked Chardonnay, Moscato, a semi-sweet Riesling, and a dry Muscat Blanc. When asked what is the fan favorite, Ulla explains that it really varies by tasting room and what’s sold at liquor stores. Some tasting room favorites include the Reserve Malbec, Ensemble, and Crescendo.

At liquor stores, customers are looking for a Colorado wine that is “affordable and easy drinking”, Ulla says. That is exactly why Folly was created – a crowd-pleasing and food-friendly red blend, and a white, with tropical and citrus flavors. Touch of Red is also part of the value collection – a sweet, fruity blush comparable to sangria or a Jolly Rancher.

As far as keeping up with what’s currently popular in the wine world, Ulla says they just focus on making well-made wine and people seem to appreciate that, whether it’s trendy or not.

“We will stick with what we’re good at,” Ulla says. And with decades of experience in Colorado, dozens of awards, and a plethora of positive reviews – that is clearly working out great.