State contest showcases the best homemade wines

By Kristen Richard

For 10 years CAVE (Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology) has hosted the Amateur Winemaking Competition. It provides winemakers and meadmakers throughout the state a chance to showcase their products and pick up valuable feedback from experts.

As the annual competition approaches in October, we decided to spotlight some of last year’s medalists and learn more about what got them into the craft, where they hope to take their winemaking venture in the future, and advice for aspiring winemakers.

Kathy Ondrus

Best of Show: Souzao
Gold: Souzao and Riesling
Silver: Cab Doré, Melbec, Muscat Doré, and Muscat Canelli
Bronze: Cabernet Sauvignon, Albariño, Traminette, Syrah and Cab Franc

Kathy Ondrus had never been a wine drinker. So much so that when she went to Napa with her husband back in 2007, she wasn’t even imbibing. Until a tasting room employee noticed her empty glass (or lack thereof) and asked her what was going on.

“I told her I didn’t like wine,” Ondrus says. “But she took the time to educate me and brought over some whites to try. And after drinking a Muscat, I was hooked.”

Upon returning to Colorado, Ondrus had the idea of making Concord wine. And shortly thereafter, her husband bought her a winemaking kit for her birthday. And like many a future winemaker, she started making batches in her kitchen before they moved to Grand Junction in 2013.

It was there she met Bruce Talbott of Talbott Vineyards and “he started providing me with grapes. And soon after I started taking winemaking classes and entering my wine in competitions.”

Since then, Ondrus has taken many medals throughout the years at CAVE’s Amateur Winemaker Competition. And this past year, she won best in show for her Souzao.

Additionally, back in 2018 and 2019, Ondrus was named Winemaker Magazine’s Grand Champion and Winemaker of the Year, making her the first woman to ever win those awards back-to-back.

If you are looking to get your hands on some of her wine, you’re in luck. Ondrus, her husband, daughter, and son-in-law are in the middle of opening a winery in Palisade. And while there isn’t a concrete opening day yet, future patrons can look for it sometime in the next year or two.

As for those looking to get into winemaking themselves, Ondrus has some advice.

“I would be careful,” she says. “Winemaking is very addictive. Once you start you just want to keep going.”

Shad Dirks

Silver: Syrah
Bronze: Red Blend and Outlaw Marquette

Shad Dirks came to wine by way of beer through being a member of Hop Barley and the Alers back in the mid-90s.

“I met a bunch of like-minded people who enjoyed the fermenting sciences,” Dirks says. “And some of the people I worked with had a little experience in winemaking and asked me if I wanted to join in on buying some grapes and make a big batch of wine. I volunteered to pick the grapes up and that was actually my first time visiting Palisade.”

Not long after, he and his wife moved out to the Western Slope. And like many winemakers before him, Dirks started with a handful of winemaking kits. But “using the kits doesn’t give you the same satisfaction of having control over the entire process,” he says. “It’s all about mixing the art and science of the winemaking process to come up with something people enjoy.”

Over the last five years, Dirks has worked with everything from petite pearl, Marquette, Verona, syrah, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, noiret, and ravat 34, and other varieties readily grown in the state. As for where he hopes to go with it, Dirks is continuing to experiment.

“I’m doing small batches and continuing to learn,” he says. “I would be interested in working with a small commercial winery and contributing to the quality of Colorado wine.”

As for those looking to get into the craft themselves, Dirks stresses the importance of finding community.

“Throughout the winemaking process, it’s always helpful to have an extra hand who can help out,” he says. “But I think learning with friends is the best way to do it. That's certainly how I was exposed to it.”

Andrew Boal

Bronze: Rochoso Peach, Midsummer Dreams, Rochoso Strawberry, Around Midnight, and Rochoso Blackberry.

When it comes to wine, Andrew Boal would like you to look beyond just grapes and also look toward strawberries, blackberries, and other fruits. His interest in wine and winemaking began 30 years ago.

“Honestly, I am not sure what got me into winemaking,” says the chemist by profession. “But my job moved away from the laboratory environment. So, I decided to recreate it. But instead of working with chemicals I was working with something I could drink. And it got out of hand from there.”

Like many a winemaker, he started with a kit and eventually began forming his own recipes. “I couldn’t make a decent grape wine. So I thought, ‘why not make one from something I can't buy?’ And that's kind of where the process started.”

Now, you’ll find bottles made with apricot, plum, peach and other fruits. Naturally, producing these wines comes with challenges.

“Working with different fruits is different from working with grapes,” Boal says. “Mainly because the grape’s water, acid and sugar levels are pretty much ideal for making wine. But it’s a bit more difficult with other fruits, you generally need to do a process called amelioration, where you add sugar and water to get the alcohol levels right.”

Then of course there’s the perception of fruit wine, a well-earned one, notes Boal, that they are overly sweet and not as good as standard grape wines.

“I am trying to challenge that perception as I think the category has so much potential,” he says. “The beverage market has changed so much and I think there is definitely room for fruit wine.”

Greg Stricker

Gold: Seyval Blanc
Silver: Viognier
Bronze: Norton Bin 1, Black Raspberry, and Traminette

Unlike many producers, Greg Stricker didn’t start with a kit. Instead, he happened to buy a house that had some old grapevines on the property.

“They looked more like a decoration,” says Stricker. “But then a guy came to my door one day and said ‘I used to buy these Niagara grapes from the person who used to live here. Would you sell me them?’ I told him I would give them to him as long as he brought me over a bottle.”

The resulting wine? Not great, says Stricker with a smile. But it was enough to make him think he could do better. And in 1985, he made his first batch of wine and soon thereafter found a community of fellow winemakers at the local wine supply shop and amateur winemaking club.

“I started going to those meetings. And then my interest just went up from there,” he says.

Today, he mainly works with grapes that are often readily available in the Midwest: think chambourcin and norton along with native American grapes and French hybrids.

For those looking to get into winemaking themselves, Stricker recommends finding a local supply store.

“There’s tons to read but that can get overwhelming,” he says. “But shops, local organizations, or groups of hobby winemakers are great sources of information. Plus, you’ll need to learn where they source their grapes. That information is gold.”

Jimmy Kopp

Gold: Petite Syrah

Jimmy Kopp had always enjoyed wine. But five or so years ago, he really began his journey by attending Wine & Spirit Education Trust

classes and formal tastings. He also read books and attended seminars.

“I just jumped into the deep end and tried to study as many aspects of the industry as I could,” Kopp says. As you may have guessed, this all culminated into Kopp trying his own hand at winemaking. And now, his home is full of small stainless steel fermenters, carboys, a small lab for testing, and even a de-stemmer along with a press. And evidently it’s going well as his Petite Syrah took Gold at last year’s Amateur Winemaking Competition.

Still in his experimental phase, Kopp works with whatever grapes he can get his hands on.

“I don't have a grape preference yet because I haven't been making wine for that long,” he says. “But so far, I have really enjoyed the reds I have made.”

As for those looking to get into home winemaking themselves?

“There are so many different avenues to start with,” Kopp says. “Kits are a great way to learn. But I do recommend that amateur winemakers try to work with grapes. It is going to teach you so much more and give you a deeper understanding and appreciation for the winemaking process.”

Of course, Kopp notes, there is certainly no shortage of reading material. Another potential source? Your local winery. Stop by, do a tasting, and see if you can talk to the winemaker, he suggests.

For additional stories about Colorado wine, check out the Thirst Colorado fall issue.