ABOUT THE WINERY

By owner and winemaker Marianne "Gussie" Walter

Augustina's Winery is one of the older Colorado wineries now dotting Colorado's Front Range. Licensed in 1997 it was the first winery in Boulder. Locally known as the winery with the oddball art deco labels, fanciful wine names, and slightly different philosophy about wine.

"Dedicated to making wine that goes with
backpacking adventures, raucous
poker parties, family barbecues,
good mystery novels, and gingersnaps"

I make wine to go with activities. Wine to drink at the table with dinner, but also wine to sip on the back porch or to savor by the campfire.

The winery is a one-woman operation (I am the only one-woman winery in Colorado and probably one of the few in the world). The winery season begins in autumn. Conferring with the vineyard managers and deciding when each variety is ripe for winemaking. The day the grapes are harvested I make the long, round trip to the Western slope with my old (stunningly ugly, but very trustworthy) 1979 U-Haul box van (named "Scud"). Once the grapes are back at the winery I begin the process of turning grapes to wine. A process of crushing/destemming and pressing the grapes, preparing yeasts cultures, checking chemistry, racking, fining, and blending wines. Six months to two years later that wine will be bottled, labeled, and ready to sell. There is not a lot of romance in winemaking. No standing around in elegant costumes sipping wine from crystal goblets. Winemaking is mostly grunt work and then you clean the equipment. Twice. The pleasure comes from the creation of a product that is lovely to look at and drink. And if I have a bad day... well I can always have a glass of wine.

Augustina's uses Colorado grown grapes from three small family-owned vineyards. These vineyards are located in Palisade and Grand Junction. Colorado's Western Slope has the warm sunny days, cool nights, low humidity, and good soil that combine to provide a fine grape-growing climate. Primary varieties used by the winery are Cabernet Franc (Boulder Backpacking Wine), Shiraz (WineChick Red), Merlot (WineChick Blues), Pinot Noir (WineChick Pinot), Muscat Blanc (Boulder Porch Wine), Riesling and Gewurztraminer (WineChick White), Chardonnay (Bottoms Up White), and Montmorency Cherries (WineChick Cherry).

The winery is located at 4715 N. Broadway, B-3 in North Boulder. This is part of the old warehouse district that houses everything from aspiring rock bands to artists to auto mechanics. I'm usually open for sales and tastings on Saturday afternoons, but the hours can be erratic. It is always a good idea to call (303-545-2047) and check the weekly open hours. Bring some friends and make a day of visiting the local wineries and meaderies. There are at least nine within an hour of Augustina's. If you've had enough of wine tasting I can point you in the direction of the local chocolate shop... or the closest hiking trail.