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Culinary Corner

Local vineyards surviving winter

December’s bitter temperatures whacked wine grapes in Grand Junction growing region, but local vintners say they’ve escaped serious damage.

“We did have some cold temperatures in December, but it didn’t go below zero, so we’ve been okay,” said Sutcliffe Vineyards winemaker Joe Buckel.

Some of the grapes grown in the lower lying region of their McElmo Canyon vineyards have taken a hit, but no particular grape varietal seems to have been harmed, he said.

The same holds true down the road at Guy Drew Vineyards, located outside of Cortez.

“I don’t think we got hit as hard as Grand Junction,” said Ruth Drew, “so, so far, so good.”

Temperatures near that city were as much as 20 degrees colder than normal, killing off plants that hadn’t had time to acclimate to the cold.

“Except for the wind, it has been lovely, but that varies year to year,” she said.

“There’s still a lot of winter left,” Buckel said.

Both vineyards offer daily tastings, regardless of how cold it is outside.



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