Treasure Hunting at the Farmer's Market

I don't think of a farmer's market as a place to find wine. I was there for the produce and a loaf of fresh bread, after all. But it does make sense when you stop to think about it. Wine is an agricultural product, after all.

At the Highlands Ranch Farmers Market, tucked away between tables of organic produce and fresh-baked breads was a plain table that didn't feature overflowing baskets of brightly colored Fall harvest vegetables. Bijou Creek Vineyards had only a white plastic table cloth and a couple bottles of wine on display. While all the other booths had swarms of people - the line for sandwich bags full of roasted chilies was five deep - this little table was neglected.

Of course, a free wine tasting for me is irresistible.

A friendly older gentleman gave me a sample of the 2006 Bijou Creek Cabernet Franc in a tiny plastic cup. He referred to it as "off-dry", and it definitely has a lot red fruit. Smooth and sweetly fruity with a hint of vanilla, it's very easy to drink.

While I probably wouldn't buy this when pitted against other more sophisticated reds, for $10 at a farmer's market, it was a good lazy Sunday sort of buy. This would be great with a plate of cheese and fresh fruit.

Who is this Colorado Wine Blog chick and what business does she have writing about wine?

Welcome to the blog of a Colorado wine noob. I am not a wine expert. I am not blogging for a winery. I haven't the foggiest notion of how to score wines or how the hell those who do can pick out words like "raspberry, nicotine and leather" to describe them when all that occurs to me is "smells nice" and "tastes yummy". I didn't even know what "corked" meant until last week, a story I'll save for a later post.

I only really started to get into wine at all two years ago. I will hold a glass of French chardonnay in one hand while taking down notes about Chinese Economics with the other. I take a half-empty bottle of rioja out of the fridge to warm after working all day in a cubicle for an internet marketing firm. I spend too much time on Twitter considering what the female equivalent of a "douchebag" would be with my buddy Dave. (We have a strong contender in "skunty twatwaffle", but no final verdict has been rendered.)

So am I qualified to comment on wine? From a snob's perspective, probably not. I am many things, but a wine snob I am not. What I do have is a writing degree, some SEO know-how, a growing network, three-quarters of an MBA degree, and a compelling subject which lends itself nicely to goofy stories that prove that wine isn't just the province of the cultural elite. Wine can belong to Skunty McTwatwaffles like me who aren't afraid to use words like "twatwaffle" in a wine blog.

So greetings, and welcome. Tonight I'm sipping on a 2006 Cabernet Franc from Canyon Wind Cellars, a cute little winery over in Palisade, which is Colorado's wine country. It's nice stuff, full and mellow. A good Econ homework wine that went nicely with my dinner.

Speaking of Econ... I should go study some of that.