Wines With Altitude
Colorado’s unique high altitude climate is providing winemakers with a challenge, and resulting in some of the best up-and-coming wines.
Altitude can have a dramatic effect on everything from boiling water to temperature.
But what about everyone’s favorite grownup fruit juice, wine? How does high altitude affect wine grapes and what they taste like when they’re made into wine? Is there a recognizable high altitude terroir, or sense of place, or is altitude of less importance than one would think? The answer may be found in the new crop of high altitude wines coming out of Colorado, Argentina, and Italy.
There are at least 60 species of grapes in the world, but Europe’s native Vitis vinifera is the one that makes the best wine. For oenophiles in higher parts of the world, this presents a problem: You want to grow your own wine grapes, but Vitis vinifera doesn’t grow at high altitudes. Or does it?
In the Old World, a “high altitude” vineyard might be located at a measly 1200 or 1400 feet above sea level. But recently, several New World winemakers are challenging the definition of high altitude wine and what’s possible in wine production.
At first glance, Colorado does not seem like a promising place for the cultivation of grapes. The growing season is short, the temperatures are extreme and rainfall is sporadic. But there are certain parts of the state that have enough of a temperate climate to make it work, and one of those places is the Grand Valley region, which follows the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers stretching from Palisade to Fruita.
Wine grapes were actually cultivated in Palisade starting in the late 19th century, when the first settlers came to the valley.
Unfortunately, these vineyards were all destroyed during Prohibition and replaced by other crops. That’s how things stood until the 1960s, when horticulturists at Colorado Mesa University started researching which types of wine grapes grew best in the region–by growing them.
By the late 1960s, the first Colorado winery opened in Denver, and in the early 1970s, the first commercial winery was opened in Palisade. That winery, Colorado Cellars, is still open, sharing space with more than 20 wineries within a 10 mile radius. At about 4,700 feet above sea level, these are some of the highest-altitude vineyards in the world.
But does this altitude affect grapes–and, correspondingly, the taste of wine–in unique ways? One definite effect is that high altitudes produces similar conditions to higher latitudes. This is important because grapes grown at higher latitudes react in a predictable way that’s different from grapes grown closer to the equator. If you compare a chardonnay that was made in northern France, such as a Chablis, to a chardonnay that was grown in the much warmer climate of Southern California, the differences are undeniable. Warmer climate produces more sugar, which turns into alcohol during fermentation. So the Chablis, made from grapes grown in a very cool climate, will be higher in acidity, lighter in body, and lower in alcohol content than a Californian wine made with the same exact grape variety, which will be warm, full bodied and fruity.
Theoretically, therefore, even though Colorado is in a more southern latitude than much of Europe, its grapes will experience growing conditions closer to those of northern France than Southern California because of the altitude.
But the effects of altitude on wine are neither that simple nor predictable. First of all, one has to take into account the high UV light, warm daytime temperatures, low humidity, temperature changes, and rocky soil, none of which would be present in an environment like northern France. Generally speaking, the strong UV light and cool nights at high altitude have the same effect on wine grapes as it does on Palisade’s famous peaches and other fruits: to wit, it lends the wine a subtle sweetness that’s unique to Grand Valley, helping to develop more sugar in the fruit while still maintaining the acidity of cooler climes (something winemakers call diurnal temperature variation).
Basically, Colorado wine is naturally disposed to have a perfect balance of acidity, sweetness, and body.
In the Old World, a “high altitude” vineyard might be located at a measly 1200 or 1400 feet above sea level.
The other aspect one has to take into account when talking about the effect of altitude on wine grapes is microclimates. Microclimates are not new to winemaking–it’s because of them that people can tell the difference between wines made by vineyards only a mile or two away from one another in places like Bordeaux and Burgundy.
The mesa wall, river, and rich soil of a few select areas in Palisade create the perfect climate for growing Vitis vinifera grape varieties, but the microclimates are so varied that one grape varietal might thrive only 20 feet away from where it wouldn’t grow at all. This makes it very hard, nigh on impossible, to narrow down the true effects of altitude on the wine. Is it due to elevation or microclimate? In the glass, it’s very hard to say.
But Colorado isn’t the only place where you can find high-altitude wines. Grand Valley seems low-altitude compared to some Argentinian wineries, which are the highest altitude wineries in the world at 8,000 feet or above. Winemakers in Mendoza use altitude almost as a status symbol, competing to plant grapes ever higher and bragging about the altitude right on the wine’s label. Their wines are typically made with malbec grapes, and have strong tannins that contribute to the “dusty” flavor people observe in the wine. Many Colorado wines are also described as “dusty” by wine experts, but without comparing malbec wines (which aren’t produced in Colorado) from both places directly, it’s difficult to say if this is an effect of the terroir or simply a style adopted by the winemakers.
Even in Europe, the definition of high-altitude wine is changing due to global warming. The climate of Mt. Etna, where the highest vineyards in Europe are located (though still pretty low by Colorado standards, averaging 3,000 feet), is becoming warmer and wetter, which means Italian winemakers can expand their crops into what was once considered areas too harsh and volatile for growing wine grapes. These wines are often described as fruity, but with strong hints of minerals, smoke, and ash–not surprising for vineyards located on a volcano.
While there’s no definitive way to measure the effect of altitude on winemaking–at least not yet–on thing is certain: In a short time, Colorado wineries have gone from being nonexistent to producing exciting, delicious wine, a sign that more is possible with wine than tradition allows. While Colorado will never match the production of Napa or Sonoma due to a shorter growing season and smaller yields, the wines coming out of our state are nevertheless a unique reflection of the altitude and fabulous climate.
You can celebrate wine this fall with these Colorado wine festivals:
Sept. 15–18: Colorado Mountain Winefest, Palisade
Sept. 15–18: Breckenridge Wine Classic, Breckenridge
Sept. 24–25: Holy Cross Abbey Harvest Fest, Cañon City
Oct. 21–22: Wine in the Pines, Keystone
Oct. 22: Carbon Valley Wine Festival, Firestone
