Wind, water, postcard-worthy views are the secrets to winery’s success

By Kyle Kirves

Listen. Do you hear that? It’s an invitation coming on the wind — the wind that comes out of De Beque Canyon and breathes life into the fruit-famous Western Slope of Colorado, home of Palisade and their namesake peaches, yes. But also the varietal grapes that infuse the local wines.

It’s a graceful, whispered cue that says, “Hey. Easy. Enough already with the digital and virtual world for a while, huh? Maybe unplug. Put the phone down. Enough ‘just do it,’ and a little more: Just. Slow. Down. Give in to something more graceful for a while. Sip slow … and savor.”

Pretty sage, that wind, when it comes to life advice. And if you’re keen on taking it to heart, a great place to start is Palisade’s own Cliff Dweller Wine Company, where Aly and Richard McDonald have created a curated, immersive experience for oenophiles from everywhere.

“What separates us from other tasting rooms is the presentation. We do table service – you come in, you’re seated, you’re presented with a menu of the wines that are being poured for that day,” Aly says. “Each wine is poured individually by our tasting room associates and each pour is a story. A story told about where the winery is located, who the winemakers are, a little history and it’s just kind of a fine, fun way to hear about the wine, ask questions, and not really feel the pressure to just taste and go.”

The experience and scene do seem idyllic. Postcard-worthy, even. “We have amazing views of Mount Garfield and the Bookcliffs,” Aly says. “We are also very near the train tracks where the Amtrak and passenger trains pass but also the blue and gold Rocky Mountaineer, the luxury train that goes between Denver and Moab. It’s fun to wave to those travelers from the patio.”

Aly serves as the front of the house, while her husband Richard is the winemaker and also chief alchemist in their oenology lab. Between the two, they do everything: “We’re very hands on owners, she says. “It’s a family business and we do pretty much every aspect of it. From crushing the grapes during harvest to making the wines.”

The couple trace their wine history together back to 2009 when they met in the Napa Valley. Aly is a Colorado native and convinced her husband to move to Colorado and they have been at winemaking in Palisade since 2020 as Cliff Dweller Wine Company.

“We heard the buzz about Colorado wine and we wanted to move here. And immediately, we said, ‘Wow, the potential here is pretty awesome.’”

It’s a potential that many Colorado winemakers have come to appreciate. And the class and caliber of wine produced in Colorado’s western counties, including those they don’t produce themselves, is appreciated and celebrated by the small winery.

“Colorado allows a Colorado winery to serve wines from other wineries from the state. So we created a collective to kind of celebrate Colorado wines. Something that no one else was doing,” Aly says. It’s a commitment that carries forward to today in their tasting room. “We networked quickly with other Colorado winemakers because we want to showcase wines that might not get as much attention as they should.”

Aly places a premium on thanking Mother Nature for help along the way – the ecosystem in and around Palisade contributes significantly to the unique flavor profile of Cliff Dweller Wine Company products. Consider, for example, one of their flagships, the Cliff Dweller malbec.

“We discovered that specific grape varietal that we like to use grows really well in the vineyards that are closer to the cliffs,” Aly says. “They like the heat that radiates off of the rock that is absorbed during the hot days and then in the evenings and before it cools down at night, it kind of gives them just that extra little bump of heat. It goes into our Cliff Dweller malbec and it’s a good name for both the grape and the people who live in the area. We’re all kind of dwelling along the cliffs.”

And remember that million-dollar wind? The one that comes moseying in from De Beque Canyon? “That’s the most important part for the fruit production in this region. In the springtime, it really keeps the cold air from settling on the delicate blossoms and fruit trees that are in the grapevines that are getting ready to come out with bud burst.”

Not wanting to leave another one of the elementals out of the picture, she gives credit to the water, too. “The Colorado River is another important part here. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to bloom here in the desert. We named our Sauvignon Blanc Desert Bloom as a tribute to the river that’s our water source and lets us flower here in the desert.”

The zest and zeal Aly embodies for Colorado wines and the Palisade community is palpable – a kind of unofficial spokesperson for Palisade. She makes quite the case for a weekend outing to Mesa County.

“Palisade is turning itself into a five-star experience,” she points out. “We have great hotels in town. And there are a lot of charming Air BnBs opening up out in the countryside. The food scene is just amazing – Peche is a destination restaurant. And so much of it, our place included, is just a bike ride from door to door.”

After a short pause, she says, “Sorry. I could go on and on about Palisade!”

Coming back to wine, and the mission of Cliff Dweller Wine Company to create their own products, but celebrate others throughout the area, Aly could not be a more vocal advocate.

“We’re excited for the future of Colorado wine – not just ours, but the whole community of winemakers,” she says. “We’re experiencing a great wave of enthusiasm, and we got some really cool people out here in Palisade that are doing amazing things. It’s an exciting time. It’s great to be part of the community and help elevate it together, right? All the boats rise with the tide.”

Here’s hoping those boats Aly mentions are sailboats and that wind that whispers about wine and weaves its way through De Beque Canyon can keep them all moving in the direction of Cliff Dweller’s vision.