Azura Cellars bottles wine, showcases art and offers sailing

By Jay McKinney

Colorado may be a landlocked state, but that doesn’t mean sailing is off the table. That is, miniature remote-control sailing where the boats can literally fit on a table. Located in Paonia in the West Elks AVA (American Viticultural Area), Azura Cellars & Gallery is more than a winery. Yes, they make incredible wines including cabernet franc, merlot, pinot noir and pinot gris, but the winery also doubles as an art gallery and the home of a yacht racing club.

The winery/gallery was founded by Ty and Helen Gillespie who were looking to relocate their design and art studio in Minturn and came across an abandoned miniature burro farm for sale in Paonia. They fell in love with the property, purchased it in 2006 and began constructing their dream art studio and gallery. With the property’s proximity to three other wineries and the neighborly guidance of Steve Rhodes (one of the original winemakers in the valley), the winery component of the business was inevitable.

They named it Azura, in honor of their 38-foot sailboat with the same name that took them safely around the world from 1989 to 1995. Originally hailing from San Francisco with an affinity for sailing, it’s surprising that the Gillespies would move so far inland and settle in Colorado after their circumnavigation. While they may not be journeying across the ocean these days, the Gillespies haven’t lost touch with their love for sailing.

Thanks to the 1-acre irrigation pond they made, the Azura Yacht Club allows them to get their sailing fix on a micro level. During the warm season, there are about 6 members who consistently show up on Wednesdays and Sundays, the two racing days. The dedicated racers have learned the sport through trial and error and have their own boats to race, but newbies are always welcome to join.

“Learning to run the boat is just the beginning, learning to sail is the next step and learning to race is a whole other thing,” Ty says. “It’s an intellectual game. It’s not like a remote controlled car, you have to know more than just how to make it work.”

The sailboats used are called Micro Magic and maneuver like real sailboats with competitive racing found around the world. The remote control is only used to adjust the sail and the rudder but there is no propulsion involved. For beginners trying it out for the first time, the Gillespies have about 20-30 remote controlled sailboats that they will lend out for free.

Greg Norris is the commodore for the Azura Yacht Club and a U.S. Class Secretary for Micro Magic. Like Gillespie, he’s been passionate about sailing all his life, racing small sailboats in Michigan and Wisconsin. He was pleasantly surprised to find the Azura Yacht Racing community after moving to Colorado 13 years ago.

“There’s no real small boat racing on the Western Slope,” Norris says. “When my wife discovered that there were some guys up at Azura who were racing radio-controlled sailboats, now over 10 years ago, I believe, I went up to try it and I was hooked. It is a remarkably fun, engaging, and affordable hobby. The first two adjectives apply to real sailboat racing, the third doesn’t.”

Model yacht clubs can be found throughout the country, coordinating their races at various ponds, but Azura is one of three (along with San Francisco and New York) to have an actual yacht club building. The building may be small, but it serves its purpose, housing the fleet of guest boats and more importantly, a refrigerator full of beer.

On a typical Sunday, the club members will start at 1:00 pm and decide which course to sail based on the direction of the wind. Racing usually goes on for about two hours, and Gillespie estimates that they race about 15 times in an afternoon. After finishing, yacht club members often have a glass of wine or a cold beer before heading home.

In 2021, Azura hosted the National Championship Micro Magic sailing, and it was a hit. “We have a particularly nice venue for it, with the fact that it’s a winery,” Ty says. “We had a dinner for our participants on our terrace and that was quite unusual for them, who are used to having a cold sandwich by a pond. Everybody wants to come back because it’s beautiful and they were treated properly.”

Nautical novices interested in sailing, can learn the basics safely from the shoreline at the Azura pond. After sailing, enjoy a bottle of Azura’s wine and cherish the view in one of Colorado’s finest regions.

Jay McKinney grew up in Sedalia and graduated from the Metropolitan State University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in communications. During his free time, he enjoys playing golf, shooting pool and hiking throughout Colorado and neighboring Utah.

This article is in the September-October issue of our print magazine. Click here to read the full magazine online.