Denver Wine Radio
Join winemaker Paul Bonacquisti as he interviews Colorado musicians, taste-tests the best wine on the shelves, tells you about amazing tourist destinations, and plays great music- all recorded from the cozy Bonacquisti Wine Company in Denver. Taught by his father, who was a passionate winemaker himself, Paul has been a passionate Sommelier since 2006. His wines have earned several bronze, silver and gold medals in the Colorado Wine Governor's Cup Competition, as well as international recognition. Paul's wines- and the Denver Wine Radio show- are all about changing the way people experience wine.
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Episodes
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48: A Taste of Tempranillo and Kingman Estates Winery
Monday, December 19, 2022
This time Paul and 'Cha get together to sample some Tempranillo and go over some of the robust flavors that emit from it. We also hear from Doug Kingman from Kingman Estates Winery.10 acres and a barn in the Grand Valley of the Colorado River, near Palisade. Really, it started with a dream and a strong desire to create Colorado Wines that are equal to, or better, than wines from other great wine producing regions throughout the world.The unique climate and soil conditions in the Grand Valley of Colorado yield a grape with outstanding characteristics enabling the production of uniquely exqui...
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47: Tasting Vinnie Fera Wines from Boulder
Monday, November 21, 2022
Cha-Cha's back again! This time we're trying a well-bodied 2019 Malbec from Vinnie Fera Wineries in Boulder, CO. It's called Hogback, which might sound like an odd name, but it makes sense once you hear founder Tim Moley explain it. Vinnie Fera has been around since 2016, and they say they pick their grapes based on what fits best in the Colorado landscape. They're not forcing anything here- they want to allow the full flavor and potential of their grapes to come through when the wine hits your tongue, and spoiler alert, they definitely succeed with the Hogback. You can check their website ...
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46: G Brown: Colorado Music Experience founding director and author
Friday, November 11, 2022
Paul is joined by Colorado Music Experience founding director and author, G Brown. G covered popular music at The Denver Post for 26 years, interviewing well over 3200 musicians, including Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, and Kurt Cobain. He's also amassed an archive of close to 150 rare promotional photos, and he's put them all into a new book series called On Record.
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45: Carboy Wines
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
ChaCha's back! And we're back to wine tasting. This week, we've got a lovely selection from Carboy, a fast-growing and award-winning winery with four locations across Colorado. We test their 2019 Riesling from Grand Valley, and it's quite the treat. We also get a special audio clip from Tyzok Wharton, Head Winemaker at Carboy, where he walks us through their whole winemaking process. Carboy also has 3 wines in the Governor's Cup this year. If you'd like to learn more about them or pick up some of their wines yourself (which we'd definitely recommend), you can visit their website here.
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44: Wine Week Panel Discussion
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
I recently attended a wine tasting event hosted by Blanchard Family Wines in downtown Denver. Four winemakers each presenting one Colorado wine to an enthusiastic and thirsty crowd during Colorado Wine Week. In attendance was Doug Kingman from Kingman Estates Winery, Tim Moly from Vinny Fera Winery in Boulder, Tyzok Wharton from Carboy Winery in Littleton and myself. After the tasting and presentation, we had a panel discussion for the attendees to ask us questions. This is a part of that discussion which will hopefully give you some insight into the world of Colorado wine special. Thank yo...
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43: Italian Heritage Wines
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Nationally, October is Italian Heritage Month and since 2019, Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed a proclamation designating October as Italian Heritage Month in Colorado. The Dante Alighieri Society of Denver drafted the proclamation noting the many different ways in which Italians helped and contributed to the establishment of many industries within the state. My guests are Susan Gurule from The Dante Alighieri Society of Denver and Alisa DiGiacomo from History Colorado.Alisa DiGiacomo is the director of curatorial services and the senior curator at History Colorado. In 2007, she cur...
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42: Alwyn "Fitz" Fitzgerald: Wisconsin Wines
Friday, August 26, 2022
Paul sits down with Alwyn "Fitz" Fitzgerald, the former President of Fisher King Winery which closed in 2020 when there were staffing shortages. In this episode you will find out first hand that it is not too cold to grow amazing grapes in Wisconsin, and that Paul finds similarities between Colorado and Wisconsin when it comes to growing grapes. He also tells the story of his mother and how he used to watch her make wine and why he decided to go into the wine business in 2011.
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41: A Latino Story: Puerto Rican Nocturne with Angel Mendez-Soto
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
First of all, a disclaimer: No wine bottles were opened in this week's episode, but you certainly don't need a drink to enjoy this week's guest.Angel Mendez-Soto grew up in New York City’s East Harlem (El Barrio), and he's a man with a storied career in theatre. He has been a member of Su Teatro, directed by Anthony J. Garcia, for over 40 years. In the 1980’s he was also a member of the the Black theatre company Eulipions, directed by Jo Bunton-Keel. Angel is a former recipient of the Mayor’s Excellence in the Arts Award. Earlier this year he portrayed Grandpop in the Theatreworks productio...
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40: A Surprise Visit with Dan and Michelle of Continental Divide Winery
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Fate and a combined passion for the wine industry brought two families together to create Continental Divide Winery. Part-time Breckenridge residents Jeffrey and Ana Maltzman owned two successful wineries in California. Ten years ago the Maltzmans, their two daughters and their two Australian Shepherds were walking down Main Street in Breckenridge when they spotted Colorado winemakers and Alma residents Kent Hutchison and Angela Bryan, their two daughters and their two Australian Shepherds walking the other direction. The couples and their girls have been fast friends ever since. The famili...
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39: Jenne Baldwin-Eaton
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Jenne Baldwin-Eaton started her career in winemaking with Plum Creek Cellars in 1994. For 22 years, Baldwin-Eaton made award-winning wines from 100% Colorado grown grapes and was involved in all aspects of running a commercial winery. The success and growth of the Colorado wine industry is very important to Baldwin-Eaton and as an instructor her goal is to pass along years of accrued knowledge and practical experience. She is currently developing and teaching the first Colorado AAS in Viticulture and Enology program, at Western Colorado Community College. She teaches courses in fermented be...
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38: Brad Page: The Colorado Cider Company
Monday, May 30, 2022
This week, Brad Page from Colorado Cider Company in Denver joins Paul to try ciders from his esteemed cidery. Colorado Cider Company is the oldest operating cidery in the state. Owners Brad and Kathe Page have also been planting cider and heirloom variety apples and pears at their property in Hotchkiss since 2012. Some of their most well-known products include the Glider, Dry Glider and Ol' Stumpy, produced in 2011, but they're also known for our unique lemon grass/dry hopped Grasshop-ah as well as other botanical favorites such as Pome Mel (Cyser with rosemary and Lavender) and their sessi...
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37: Colorado vs The World Sauvignon Blanc Tasting with Jacob Harkins
Thursday, May 5, 2022
This week on Denver Wine Radio, Jacob Harkins joins Paul to taste four wines from around the world (of course one is from Colorado) in another episode of Colorado vs. the World. Jacob Harkins is a self-described wine geek, former wine journalist, and recovering ski bum. His current gig is running the marketing efforts of VintageView, the world leader in metal wine rack manufacturing. Paul has a VintageView set up in his winery!The first wine tasted is the 2020 L'ESCALE SAUVIGNON BLANC, which is ripe, fresh and thirst-quenching. Showing notes of ripe stonefruit, gooseberries, nettles, and dr...
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36: A Visit with Cassidee Shull
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
After graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Management and Human Resource Management from Colorado Mesa University in 2011, Cassidee was hired in 2012 as the executive director of Colorado Association for Viticulture & Enology (CAVE), the only non-profit dedicated to the winemakers and grape growers in the state. Since then, she has restructured the organization into one of the premier wine-related associations in the USA. As the director of CAVE, Shull is responsible for organizing their regional trade conference, VinCO, as well as Colorado Mountain Winefest, the largest fundraiser for CA...
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35: Mark & James Blanchard: Blanchard Family Wines
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Blanchard Family Wines is the story of how wine can bring people together, build bridges and ignite passions that make dreams come true. This boutique winery expresses the vision of two brothers and the uniting qualities of great wine shared among friends and family.A first-generation wine venture, the roots of the company are grounded in a family concept. The founders, Mark and James Blanchard, follow the tradition of two Blanchard brothers that can be traced back to at least the last four generations in the family.Blanchard Family Wines is dedicated to the creation of limited production, ...
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34: Jayme Henderson & Steve Steese: The Storm Cellar Winery
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Jayme Henderson + Steve Steese of The Storm Cellar Winery join Paul this week to try two more of Colorado's finest wines. The Storm Cellar is a collaborative vision between Steve and Jayme; during their many years in the restaurant industry, whether for business, study, or pleasure, they spent most of their time away from work in wine country, and fell in love with it. Steve and Jayme traveled the world’s wine regions in search of their next home and adventure for years, only to finally realize that it was just over four hours west of their former home in Denver, on Colorado’s western slope...
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33: ChaCha Chavez Returns
Monday, April 4, 2022
This week, ChaCha Chavez (re)joins Denver Wine Radio to try two fantastic Colorado wines. ChaCha is a radio personality who has spent 30 plus years on the air in Denver, Colorado, as a Program Director and on air talent at these legendary radio stations: KS104, KS107.5, Alice 105.9, Jammin 92.5, Kool105, Jammin 1015.The first wine on the docket for this episode is the 2018 Riesling by The Storm Cellar based out of The Redstone Vineyard on Sunshine Mesa. "The alpine desert climate, along with a compact growing season, at nearly 5,900 feet above sea level, produces grapes of high concentratio...
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32: Doug Caskey: The Colorado Industry Wine Development Board
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Doug Caskey will be the first to tell you that he has one of the best government jobs in Colorado. At one point Doug was the store manager at the Boulder Liquor Mart. Now the executive director at Colorado Wine Industry Development Board, Doug shares thoughts about this week's wines, his thoughts on sake being considered a wine, and makes many recommendations on some delicious new drinks to try. If you want to know what's what when it comes to Colorado wines, hangout spots, the technicality of making wine at Colorado wineries, or just where the good grape growing areas are, ask Doug.This we...
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31: Jack Hadley Drops a New CD: Daybreak In Alabama The Langston Hughes Project
Thursday, August 13, 2020
Blues guitarist Jack Hadley drops by to talk about his new CD, Daybreak In Alabama The Langston Hughes Project. A two year project in the making that features the poetry of Langston Hughes and Jack's music.Show Notes:[0:44] Who is Langston Hughes?[4:44] How did you get the idea for this project?[7:59] Any obstacles along the way?[11:27] What's your favorite track?[13:30] Listen to a sample of track 1: As I Grew Older[17:00] What did you learn during this process?[22:46] Giving credit to The Estate of Langston HughesBuy a CD at https://jackhadleymusic.net/ or stop by Bonacquisti Wine Company.
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30: The Persevering Aspen Peak Cellars
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
This is the final part of our meetup for C.A.V.E., Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology.Marcel and Julie Flukiger of Aspen Peak Cellars have the most incredible story of starting and rebuilding their winery not once, but twice. Show Notes:[1:46] Lightning strikes the winery[3:10] An 18 Wheeler ran over the winery[4:45] The Whack-a-Mole Winery[6:51] Snowshoe and Fondue[8:32] Tasting 285 Fusion
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29: Meet Up Part Two: Vino Salida Wine Cellars
Thursday, November 14, 2019
This is the second part of our meetup for C.A.V.E., Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology. We sat down with Steve Flynn, owner and winemaker at Vino Salida Wine Cellars in Poncha Springs, Colorado.Show notes:[1:44] Local Italian influnce[4:22] They do mead.[8:08] Let's taste some wine![8:50] What is barrel fermenting.[12:10] Bourbon barrel Cabernet SauvignonCongratulations to Vino Salida for winning Double Gold at the 2019 Colorado Governor's Cup for their Vino Vermouth.
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28: Meet Up with Carboy Winery
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Last month we hosted a meetup for C.A.V.E., Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology. Winemakers and wine people who belong to the organization getting together to taste and talk about the wine industry in Colorado. We sat down with a few of the wineries and talked to them about what's going in their world of wine. First up was Carboy Winery, located in Littleton. At the time, they were a couple weeks away from opening their Denver location at the old Governor's Park at 7th and Logan, which is open now. Show Notes:[1:01] Meet Ty, Kevin and Jason crushing 140 tons this year[3:39] New...
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27: Northside Interview with Bobby LeFebre
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Bobby LeFebre is a writer and poet who lives in our Northside Denver neighborhood and wrote a play about it. He and cast member Angel Mendez stopped by to talk about the sold out show at Su Teatro and help us give away some tickets. About the play: Two couples vie to buy Mrs. Lujan’s home, as the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood is now appealing to suburban dwellers, Teo and Luna must fight to return to where they grew up and are now being priced out of home ownership. A tale of where the heart lives.
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26: and...we're back! with Christopher C. Romero
Monday, May 20, 2019
Christopher C. Romero is a busy guy these days. Whether he's performing his record Rocknrolla, creating abstract art or acting in movies, he's always willing to take the time to sit down and talk with us. Show Notes:[2:30] Romero talks about his movie premiere of Vault in theaters June 14th.[6:18] What was the first movie you were in? How he got the part in Things to do in Denver When Your Dead.[9:57] Killer Ink and Chewbaca came over for dinner[14:20] Rocknrolla coming out on vinyl![20:22] Frustrations of being an independent artist[22:45] Cha flashback to Alice and Fleetwood Mac[29:00] Gr...
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25: Canned Wine Show
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
We hit the canned wine isle and tasted 6 different wines including: Canterris Colorado White WineTangent Sauvignon BlancUnderwood Pinot Noir (Oregon)Canterris Colorado Red WineEssentially Geared Red Wine (California)
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24: Part 2: Jo Mama and Guy Drew Vineyards
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Tasting wine from Guy Drew Vineyards with Jo Mama Myers.[2:50] Guy talks about his chardonnay[7:56] Growing grapes in the Four Corned area.[11:07] Guy Drew Syrah: One of two wines that proves Colorado is the next wine region to watch. https://goo.gl/7PqZEv[17:38] Who was your favorite rock star you met
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23: Jo Mama and Guy Drew Vineyards Part 1
Thursday, November 1, 2018
If you grew up in the Mile High City listening to the radio, then you should remember Jo Mama Myers from KBPI, KAZY and KIMN. She stopped by to talk and taste some Colorado wine. We start off with Guy Drew Vineyards Chardonnay and later in Part 2, Guy Drew joins us on the air.
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22: Showdown: Denver Wine Radio Meets Wine Two Five Podcast
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
It's always nice to make new friends, but when they're fellow winos in Colorado, it makes it a lot more special. Stephanie Davis and Valerie Caruso from the Wine Two Five Podcast stop by to talk wine education.
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21: The Prosecco Show with Jelena Meisel from Zonin
Friday, July 20, 2018
Paul and Cha Cha talk Prosecco with Jelena Meisel from Zonin International.
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20: Father's Day Cabernet Sauvignon
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Our show from Father's Day Weekend, Paul and Cha Cha compare dad's to Cabernet Sauvignon and taste Chateau Beauregard-Lagupeau, Two Rivers-Colorado, Altocedro Ano Cero-Argentina and Edge-Alexander Valley. Plus, a live studio audience and special things dad's say to kids. Thanks for listening.
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19: Riesling Tasting with Jason Justice from Gumbo le Funque
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
One of the funkiest sax players in the Mile High City stops by to taste some riesling and play some music. It’s Jason Justice from the New Orleans style funk band, Gumbo le Funque. Recorded on March 17, 2018
