<\/p>\n
It was crush time at Sutcliffe Vineyards last week in the heart of McElmo Canyon.<\/p>\n
A small crew at the vineyard worked diligently last week to turn the canyon\u2019s grape harvest into something so much more, something that people line up to pay between $20 and $40 a bottle for \u2013 wine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where the wine ferments in the barrel,\u201d said Rebecca Busic, business manager at Sutcliffe Vineyards.<\/p>\n
In another part of the winery, red grapes fermented with their skins on, inside large, plastic containers, picked two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
The majority of the grapes (60 percent) used in Sutcliffe wines are from McElmo Canyon, the remaining 40 percent come from other areas in Colorado and Utah.<\/p>\n
Jesus Castillo keeps track of every barrel, every container, every grape. Fermentation time is different and done in a different ways for each type of wine.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome wines ferment in oak, some ferment in steel some ferment in both,\u201d Busic said.<\/p>\n
Wine is then bottled by hand at Sutcliffe and some of the wines are put in kegs, something Busic said is gaining popularity at restaurants.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no glass you have to deal with and the kegs keep the wine fresh,\u201d Busic said.<\/p>\n
Once bottled, the wine is kept in a cave down the road from the winery. A cave deep inside the sandstone ancient sandstone that makes McElmo Canyon so picturesque.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt basically stays the same temperature year round,\u201d Busic said.<\/p>\n
So far, winemakers are heralding this year\u2019s harvest.<\/p>\n
A mild spring for winemakers in the canyon meant the 2014 harvest was a good one.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a good year, hot and dry, no mildew, no pests, we didn\u2019t have to spray anything,\u201d said winemaker and winery owner Guy Drew.<\/p>\n
Sutcliffe winemaker Joe Buckle said wind damaged the grapes in some crops. Winds came during the flowering,making it difficult for the vines to produce fruit. The grapes that survived, however, have more concentrated flavors because the plant had fewer berries to feed. Thus, Buckle expects the syrah and the petit verdot, to be 2014\u2019s blockbusters.<\/p>\n
But, for those willing to get a taste, Sutcliffe won\u2019t release it until late 2016 or early 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cRed wines need a couple of years to mature in the bottle,\u201d Busic said.<\/p>\n
It takes a number of years to reap the benefits of a growing season.<\/p>\n
Busic said the first vine was planted by John Sutcliffe in the early 1990s because he thought they would look nice.<\/p>\n
The first bottle of wine was a 99 merlot.<\/p>\n
The rest, as they say, is history.<\/p>\n
The company bottles about 3,500 cases a year now, and one of the wines the 2011 cabernet franc, earned 90 points in Wine Enthusiast.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven to be on the list is a big deal,\u201d Busic said. \u201cA 90 and above is pretty exceptional.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Durango Herald contributed to this report.<\/p>\n