The Joy of Wine

I really enjoy making wine. I've been a physician for nearly all of my adult life, and I've had many powerful, transformative, and very enjoyable moments as a physician. But being a maker of wine truly has its own rewards- and its own challenges as well.

Back in 1993 my first batch of wine was sitting in three five gallon glass jugs on the floor of my basement. I'd visit that wine every day, just looking at the beautiful color as they aged. I'd occasionally take a small sample of the wine out, just to experience the difference between a young wine and the wine I was used to drinking. From those early tastes with the wine in those glass jugs, I felt the stirrings of a passion that continues to grow today.

My son has told me that when he thinks of me working at the winery, he always remembers the time I was working with our Chardonnay. I had emptied some of the wine from the tank into a bucket in order to really inspect it. I swirled the wine around the bottom of the bucket and placed my whole face down close to the wine. Inhaling deeply, I looked up, as my son describes it, with such a peacefully satisfying look that he couldn't help but smile at my obvious enjoyment.

Then I casually scooped up a bit of the wine with my bare hands and liberally applied it to my face and lips, almost as if I were washing myself in the wine. I hardly remember doing this, but the retelling by my son has stuck with me more than the actual memory. It's funny the things you remember and the things you forget. But my son tells me he'll never forget this Chardonnay baptism.

There's definitely something about unlocking the door to the winery early in the morning. The tanks sit peacefully, full of potential, like a row of very pregnant mothers quietly sunning themselves on lounge chairs by the pool.

I do so love this job.

Enjoy that wine!

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Hello all you wonderful wine lovers!

Right about this time of year Terry and I like to take a moment to be thankful for all of our new friends we've met through our winery. We are both blessed in many ways, and the connections we make with the nice people that stop to visit is counted among them.

I just finished reading such a nice comment from a customer who just happened to stop by the winery on their way from Denver to Ouray when their young daughter needed to, um, take a break. This person mentioned how much they enjoyed our wine and were looking forward to a visit from their friends in Ouray in the hopes that they could bring an order of our wine with them. I think she was planning on giving the wine as gifts to friends.

If you enjoy wine, you'll definitely enjoy giving wine to friends, especially when you've found such a neat little wine like the selections we've got at Mountain Spirit Winery. Terry has a real knack for putting together these beautiful gift baskets, complete with a couple bottles of wine, wine glasses exclusive to the gallery at Mountain Spirit Winery, and other accoutrement of wine enjoyment. You can order a pre-made basket or work with Terry to design one yourself. Just call the winery or check out the website for this unique gift idea.

Also, I mentioned to this recent visitor to the blog, that Mountain Spirit Winery can ship to many states across the country. The website has the most recent listing of states to whom we can ship. Call us at the winery, place your holiday order now, and we'll ship the wine straight to your holiday list.

And don't forget the best wine gift of all, a membership in Mountain Spirit Winery's Angel Club. Check out the website for all the details. www.mountainspiritwinery.com

Peace and love my friends.

And Happy Thanksgiving!

The Jefferson Cup Invitational Wine Competition

Hello again. Glad you've made it back around. There's always something exciting happening around the winery, be it new fruit to be crushed, new visitors to the winery, new wine to be bottled, or something entirely different, like entering our wine in competitions. And we're always happy to share the news with you.

Terry and I are very proud to once again have been asked to enter a selection of our wines into the Jefferson Cup Invitational Wine Competition. This is considered by many to be the Olympics of the American wine industry. Check out this link for information on last year's Cup: http://www.jeffersoncupinvitational.com This is the sixth year of the Jefferson Cup, and it marks the fifth year Mountain Spirit Winery has been asked to compete.

Doug Frost, the creator of the Jefferson Cup, is one of only three people in the world who has earned the titles of Master of Somellier and Master of Wine. I love that title, Master of Wine. It certainly has a ring to it. He selects worthy wines from across the country to compete in his invitational, whereupon the most sophisticated judges focus their critical tastes and perspectives in an effort at determining which wines are the best America has to offer.

Merely being chosen to compete is quite the honor, and Terry and I feel truly blessed to again have been chosen. In fact, Mountain Spirit Winery is the only winery from Colorado to have been selected to compete in this prestigous event. We don't know why we keep getting selected, but I guess we're doing something right. In less than a week, we'll be sending off four of our favorite wines: the Duet, the Reisling Chardonnay, the 2004 Limited Bottling Chardonnay, and our Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines will be competing against some of the greatest wineries from across the country. As soon as we hear back from Doug Frost and the judges at the Jefferson Cup, we'll be sure to let all of you know.

Thanks for coming around. And don't forget to mention our coupon code when ordering wine from the winery (1-888-MSWINES).

Peace and love my friends.

Origin of our Angel Blush

Hello everyone! I hope this chilly weather finds you snuggled up with a loved one, or at the very least a nice bottle of wine!

I thought I'd take this opportunity to tell you about the origins of our award winning Angel Blush wine. This wine has consistently been our hottest seller as well as our biggest crowd pleaser! It's a wonderful little wine that creates devotees at every twist of the cork.

Many years ago, Terry and I were speaking with a major Colorado fruit wine maker. When asked about his most popular blends, he replied that his apple and pear blend was just phenomenal. Terry and I promptly went back to our tanks and excitedly created a batch of apple/pear wine. Upon our first tasting, it was clear. We hated it! It smelled bad. The taste was just awful. We didn't know what to do. Would we be forced to pour it all down the drain?

Like many things in life, what we thought was a failure was actually a challenge that we were able to turn into a great opportunity. Terry and I took several samples of the apple/pear wine and added to it different flavoring concentrates from New York. We added cherry essence, strawberry essence, even almond. No good. But when we added essence of raspberry, the entire wine was just elevated to a level which neither or us could have hoped.

Once we had decided on the correct concentration of raspberry to apple/pear, Terry and I headed back to the tanks. We added fresh raspberries to the apple/pear wine. And with that, our Angel Blush was born.

Not only was the joy of salvaging our apple/pear wine worth the heartache and the effort, our Angel Blush has been enjoying internation success! For four years, it has received the international gold medal in the fourth largest wine competition, the New World International Wine Competition. But even without that tremendous affirmation, our loyal customers' insistent demand for the blush would keep us making our blend for years to come.

Peace and love to all of you!

And remember that coupon code when you order from the winery. Just call the winery at 888-MSWINES and mention the code "Angel Blush 2" to receive significant discounts of your wine order!

Holiday shopping at the winery!

Hello everyone. Just want to remind our newest visitors out there that we're still offering a nice discount to anyone using the coupon code "Angel Blush 2" when they order wine from the winery. The toll free number is 1-888-MSWINES. This entitles you to 15% off your order of up to 11 bottles and 20% off additional bottles.

While you're filling up your order with our latest wines, be sure to check out what Terry's got happening over at the gallery. She is always ready to create custom wine gift baskets, filled with Mountain Spirit Wines as well as cheeses, candy, and other assorted items of your choosing. In addition, she is featuring many beautiful selections of jewelry from our own Cindy Lilly. Turquoise is the hot stone this year, and she's found many one-of-a-kind pieces that are sure to please anyone on your holiday gift list.

The easiest and most unique gift of all (and sometimes the most appreciated) is an Angels Wine Club gift membership. You can sign up a loved one to receive from one to four shipments of our award winning wines. You simply call and tell us the name and address of the recipient. We then send them a lovely gift card informing your lucky friends that they will be receiving the next one to four regular wine club shipments as a gift from you. During that period your recipients are also entitled to regular Mountain Spirit Winery Angels Wine Club discounts and specials. It’s a gift that will always be remembered.

Enjoy these cold days and even colder nights. It sure makes me want to relax with a nice deep red wine. Anyone have any favorites?

Peace and love my friends.