Annual Winefest

Over the weekend, Palisade hosted Winefest on September 21st at Riverbend Park. Winefest was established in 1992 as a huge fundraiser for Colorado Association for Viticulture. It has gotten recognition as “The Best Wine Festival” in the nation by USA Today. Winefest involves people drinking and trying wine down by the Colorado River. Winefest is not just a festival of wine, it’s also a biking event. The biking event started between the hours of 7 am and 8 am, and you could start at any time. People just bike vineyards that were a 20 mile or 50 mile that you could choose from. Palisade’s Honors Society advisor, Jenny Stout said, “Both events helped bring people from all over the state and the country to come to one of those events. It became a really big tourism boost for Palisade that happens yearly. It’s a great way to bring in money and for people to buy fruits and wine. Our priority is to help the community, so whenever we do our hours we are always trying to find local events to cover first.” There were 50 vineyards that were available to be toured and get to know in more depth. This was a great festival with local vendors, some more local than others.