Wine Country Inn Featured In Awesome Travel Video

Here's a great travel video, made by CaptainHowdy on his iPhone 4. Nice shots of the Wine Country Inn, Palisade, Colorado, and the greater Grand Valley area.

Wine Enthusiast Names Wine Country Inn A Top 7 Vineyard Property

Wine Country Inn of Palisade, CO, has been named one of seven premier vineyard properties in the United States by Wine Enthusiast Magazine in its June issue.

Entitled, "Sleeping With the Grapes," the feature by Lisa Rogak , includes California properties the Vintner’s Inn in Santa Rosa (Sonoma), La Residence in Napa, Just Inn in Paso Robles, and Fess Parker’s Wine Country Inn and Spa Resort in Los Olivos. Messinna Hof Winery’s The Villa in Bryan, TX, and the 1894 Inn at Barboursville Vineyards in Charlottesville, VA. are also included. Wine Country Inn, the state’s first wine themed hotel, is the only Colorado property named. Two international properties, one in Spain, the other in Italy, were also cited.

“We are pleased to be included in such good company,” emphasizes Jerome Strack, General Manager.

“Historically, we feel related because our owners Richard and Jean Tally visited Vintner’s Inn, Just Inn and Fess Parker’s Inn more than a decade ago and incorporated some of their features in our new hotel. The operators of those properties were extremely helpful when the Tallys were gathering information back then.”

Rogak leads her article with an observation that “An increasing number of wineries are offering accommodations for overnight guests. Here are some of the best places to dine well, relax in comfort and contemplate the vines.”

She gives a thumbnail description of each of the properties. This is what she wrote about the Wine Country Inn:

“The Victorian-style Wine Country Inn is situated in the foothills of the Western Slope of Colorado, smack in the middle of 20 acres of vineyards. The inn’s 80 rooms are within walking distance of two wineries and a short drive or bike ride away from two dozen more. Other activities feature lolling on wraparound porches with rocking chairs and wicker furniture and an afternoon wine tasting. For more privacy or for an extended family reunion book the Vintner’s Guest House, with rooms and suites that can be arranged in a variety of configurations, sleeping up to 24 persons.”

Affliated with Luxe Hotels International, Wine Country inn is located at 777 Grande River Drive, at I-70 Exit 42. Guests can contact the hotel at 888-855-8330 , 970-464-5777 or www.ColoradoWineCountryInn.com. The Inn will celebrate its second anniversary on August 1, 2010.

Whole Foods Bears Fruit With Palisade Peach Display Contest

Last year, the Colorado Division of Whole Foods approached Palisade's Tourism Advisory Board with a contest idea. Whole Foods was interested in doing a sweepstakes on the Front Range to promote Palisade.

The promotion would feature Palisade as an area:

The Contest would be in all Whole Foods Store locations on the Front Range.The contest would take place while Palisade Peaches were in the stores.

Each store would come up with its own display, and that the store with the best display promoting Palisade would get to send its marketing team to Palisade for a weekend, and get to stay at the Wine Country Inn.

The contest has born some fruit not just for Palisade in the form of publicity, but for Whole Foods, as well. Since July 31, the Front Range stores have sold over $250,000 of local Colorado peaches!

So congrats to all the Whole Foods produce departments who are finalists in the display contest. Here are their displays:



The Cherry Creek store.



The Colfax store.



The brand new Southglenn store.

Customers were also allowed to enter the sweepstakes, with winner being drawn September 1 for a weekend getaway to Palisade.

Palisade Peaches Take Flight Aboard Air Force One

Charles Broshus snapped this nifty picture for the Grand Junction Free Press of an unidentified White House staffer carting two flats of Palisade Peaches aboard Air Force One. This peachy bit of national exposure happened on the tarmac at Walker Air Field, where AF1 was parked during President Obama and the First Family's August 15, 2009 visit to the Grand Valley.

You can view more of the Obama's pass through Grand Junction and Palisade here.

Wine Country Inn Gifts Restored Photo Images To Museum

The owners of Wine Country Inn, a new 80-room boutique hotel in Palisade. believe that looking to the future should be firmly rooted in appreciating the past. That’s why the Tally family is donating electronically restored images of historic local photographs to the Museum of Western Colorado.

Valued at an estimated $20,000 by Cobb & Assoc., who handled the restoration of photos loaned by the Grand Junction museum, the restored 1900-era Palisade pictures were enlarged, framed and hung throughout the hotel. The electronic media files will be presented to museum curators at a celebration from 10 to 11 am, Thursday, July 23, in the Lobby of the hotel. The public is invited. Following the presentation, guests can view the photos in public areas as well as guest rooms. Lemonade and cookies will be served in the Tasting Room.

“We can thank our neighbor Bill Floryancic, whose passion for documenting the history of Palisade launched this project. He approached us before we even broke ground about the importance of honoring the past,” explains owner Richard Tally.

“He was right and the interest in the Victorian period photos of Palisade has created much interest and good will from our guests and local residents alike."

“We also want to thank Michael Menard and the Museum of Western Colorado for his cooperation and help,” said Tally. He also praised Jeff Ham, the Cobb graphic artist who painstakingly restored the photos, for his dedication and “labor of love” on the project.

“It was a pleasure working with the Wine Country Inn to restore and produce copies of the Museum’s early Palisade Photographs for display at the Inn,” comments Curator Menard. “The Museum of Western Colorado is very appreciative to have such supporters as Jean and Richard Tally to assist the Museum in preserving and promoting the history of the Grand Valley.”

The results are a testament to the possibilities of creating a legacy for future generations when the private and public sectors work together, Tally adds.

Palisade's Lodging Tax Funds New Tourist Initiatives

Palisade's new lodging tax is being used to help create new and exciting things for tourists to do while visiting the town.

At a recent regular meeting of the Palisade Town Board of Trustees the Board voted to provide seven local businesses with tourism marketing funds to promote special events in Palisade to encourage increased tourist visitation.

Using funds generated from the voter approved Lodging Occupation Tax, the Board of Trustees, through its Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), solicited applications for private tourism marketing projects. Nine proposals were received. Due to funding constraints, the TAB could only recommend funding seven of the nine projects.

The recommendations centered on funding projects demonstrating numerous positive characteristics including broad community benefit, partnership between multiple organizations, events targeting the shoulder seasons of winter and spring, the degree of project uniqueness and innovation, and sustainability.

Mayor Dave Walker said, “We are excited that the business community has responded to this opportunity to partner with the Town.” We are confident that these marketing dollars will show a return on investment in the form of increased tourism to Palisade.”

Projects receiving funding include Palisade Spring Antiques Fair, Agri-business Identification Flags and Banners, Palisade Octoberfest, Vineyard Harvest Boot Camp, Palisade “Feast in the Fields”, Palisade Area Trails/Maps Promotion, and Palisade Wine Country Float Trips. The funds were provided on a matching, reimbursable basis. All projects must be completed by December 31 of this year.

Harley the Motorcycle Fish Swims into View

The Town of Palisade is pleased to announce the dedication and unveiling of “Harley”, a sculpture by Palisade’s own Lyle Nichols. The ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. at the New Town Center Plaza.

Palisade Mayor Dave Walker said, “the Sculpture is an incredible addition to our Town Center Plaza”. He thanks all of the donors for their generous donations.

“Harley” is a fish sculpture with scales composed of Harley Davidson mufflers. This brilliant piece of art will soon become a focal point of not only the plaza but the entire downtown area of Palisade. The project came to fruition through the enthusiasm and vision of Jane Wood, proprietor of the Blue Pig Gallery in Palisade.

The Town Center Plaza is located at the corner of Third and Main Streets in Downtown Palisade. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

Rocky Mountain PBS Broadcasts Live From Inn

Public television offers unique, commercial-free programming. But it is not free. Pledge drives are a necessary evil to get members to donate funds to keep the public TV stations operating. Rocky Mountain PBS is no exception, and the Wine Country Inn was honored that the RMPBS chose the hotel this weekend to broadcast their auction live from the property.

"It is important to support PBS," says Wine Country Inn Co-owner Jean Tally. "I really believe in alternative broadcasting options. I regularly watch 'Bill Moyers' and other news/analysis programs as well as purely entertaining offerings like the Sunday night student concerts out of Carnegie Hall in New York, 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Antiques Roadshow'. These are just a few examples PBS also helped me raise my children with 'Sesame Street', 'Electric Company', and 'Mr. Rogers'."

Here's what RMPBS has to say about the auction:

Under the headline, "Spring Is In the Air - Finally. So Is Auction!" Elizabeth Mayer of Rocky Mountain PBS writes:

"Rocky Mountain PBS is teaming with energy these days, especially with the excitement around Auction. Each day there are some 30 volunteers in the building, doing everything from photographing incoming donations to handling item pickup."

"Their passion for Auction – and this organization – is contagious. Day in and day out, I think to myself, boy is this place unique."

"Yet there is nothing unique about the financial troubles we're facing. Families and non-profits alike are feeling the pinch. The fact is, this year, Auction needs to deliver more than ever. We are well short of revenue goals – $1.5 million down – and we look to you to help make Auction the success it needs to be."

"What's neat is that everyone benefits from Auction. For local businesses, it's a great way to support a cause, get your company's name out there and make a tax-deductible contribution. For the artists that donate work, it means on-air exposure and community recognition. For the buyer, it means getting unique, valuable items while supporting Rocky Mountain PBS."

"The hundreds of volunteers that make Auction possible also benefit. Each year, a community of volunteers comes together to rally around something near and dear to their hearts. They work extraordinarily hard – and have fun while doing it."

Click here to read more about the RMPBS Spring 2009 auction.

Palisade Dedicates New Town Plaza

The Town of Palisade is pleased to host a Town Plaza Dedication on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. The event will feature live music, food and refreshments.

This dedication will celebrate the completion of a multi-year effort to achieve the community vision of a beautified Town Center with increased parking, landscaping, railroad buffering while providing a public gathering place for festivals, events, markets, or just meeting friends.

Construction on the project began on September 29, 2008 and was completed on April 8, 2009. The plaza project includes:

· Improvement to over 41,000 square feet of Town-owned property; just slightly less than 1 acre.

· More than 21,000 square-feet of asphalt with 51 designated parking spaces.

· 3,800 square-feet of colored concrete, 1,400 square-feet of that stamped with 2 different designs.

· Amenities to support Family Food Town—grocery store including a cart corral, forklift enclosure and dumpster enclosure.

· A screen wall of native sandstone, 7’ tall at the peak and 35 feet long.

· A two-tiered seating wall with a sandstone veneer.

· 32 new trees, 300 plants and shrubs and 15 separate planting beds in the plaza and parking lot.

· New lighting and electrical service are added features throughout the entire project.

Palisade Mayor Dave Walker said, “The Plaza is a tremendous addition to our downtown. We are confident that it will not only enhance economic development in our community but will enhance our quality of life by becoming a gathering place for the enjoyment of residents and visitors alike.”

The Plaza will be the showcase for local artist, Lyle Nichols, sculpture “Harley” to be placed and unveiled May 10, 2009. The Plaza will eventually be the site for a Clock donated by the Palisade Lions Club.

The ceremony will be held on the Plaza at the corner of Third and Main Streets in Downtown Palisade. The public is welcome to attend.

Colorado Wine Country Video

The Grand Junction Visitors and Convention Bureau recently produced a great video about Colorado's Wine Country for YouTube. The video features many familiar local faces, including Bob Witham, owner of Two Rivers Winery, and Naomi Smith, owner of Grande River Vineyards. Check it out:

To see more of the GJVCB's videos about the Grand Valley, simply click here.