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North America’s Biggest Wine Museum Collection Is Planned for Colorado

United States Colorado Wine News Food + Drink
by Nickolaus Hines Aug 27, 2021

There are wineries in all 50 states, but there’s a good chance that California comes to mind when you think of the epicenter of wine and wine culture in the US. When it comes to wine history, however, people may soon start looking to Colorado.

Zoning and logistics for a museum of wine was recently discussed in Palisade, Colorado, that will house the largest wine artifact collection in North America, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports. Scott High, the owner of Colterris Winery in the Centennial State’s small-but-growing wine region, proposed the museum. High and his wife Theresa would also contribute the artifacts to be shown from their own collection, including centuries-old wine bottles and more than 18,000 wine-related objects.

The museum would, naturally, also include a wine bar with a rooftop deck. Sipping on a glass or two of local wine while browsing the artifacts from centuries past is the perfect follow-up activity to a bike tour of the 60-plus wineries in the area.

“What they’re proposing, this museum, unless you have had any kind of exposure to the kind of items that will be in this museum, it’s something that is going to attract many, many, many people,” former Palisade mayor Roger Granat told the Daily Sentinel.

Looking back at the long relationship between humans and wine can be informative, entertaining, and, in some cases, applicable to the present day (Italy’s “wine windows” that date back to the days of the black death, for example). Putting such a notable collection on permanent display in Colorado could provide a huge boost to the young wine region — and provide the perfect excuse for anyone looking to plan a winery trip complete with both history and delicious modern wines.

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