This full-bodied red was just named the best wine in Colorado

The only Colorado winery using a special Californian grape won the top honors at the Colorado Governor’s Cup wine awards.

Alfred Eames Cellars, located at Puesta del Sol Vineyards three miles south of Paonia, won Best in Show on Nov. 4, for its 2019 Carmena. The wine beat 11 other contenders that participated in the 2023 Governor’s Cup Collection.

Carmena is made from the Carmine grape, which Dr. Harold Olmo of the University of California- Davis developed in 1946 by crossing Cabernet Sauvignon with Carignane, a common blending grape in southern France and Spain, and that grape was then crossed with Merlot. The variety produces full-bodied, tannic red wines in cooler climate regions, like Colorado. Alfred Eames Cellars’ wine is the only commercially available Carmine wine in Colorado.

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