DuWest Wines, Cortez, CO (2026)

01/31/2026

Up next for bottling is the 2024 Syrah-Viognier blend! After spending a year and a day in new French oak barrels, this wine has developed a beautiful deep color, enchanting aroma, and dark fruity character that will pair amazingly with food! I’m thinking a ribeye steak with Gorgonzola-walnut butter and a buttery, fluffy/buttery baked potato will do nicely (I am from Idaho, after all). This wine is all the more special given all the people that helped to get it to where it is now!

01/21/2026

Some very exciting happenings in the winery over the last several months! To say that making wine/running a business while working a full time geology job in another state is a challenge is a huge understatement, but wines are coming along nicely, from both the ‘24 and ‘25 vintages!

Photo 1: A beautiful rainbow of wine colors showing the range in wine styles in progress. From left to right: deep red/purple of the 2024 Syrah-Viognier co-ferment that will likely go into bottle in February or March; deep salmon to pink of the 2025 Rosé of Cabernet Franc; deep gold to amber of the 2024 Rkatsiteli Amber Reserve wine; and the golden color of the 2025 Montezuma County Riesling that I’m making into a sparkling wine in the Martinotti Method! All Colorado and all delicious!

Photo 2: The labels for the 2024 Rkatsiteli made in both white and amber versions have been approved and I’m moving forward with getting them printed ahead of their release in the next couple of months! The labels are a graphical abstract of how each wine was made, since these two wines started as the same harvest of grapes and tasting them side-by-side really showcases the role that winemaking plays in determining what ends up in the bottle. Stay tuned in the coming months as I hope to start selling these wines soon!

Photo 3: Please forgive the goofy grin, but I am ecstatic that my first wine from grapes grown in Montezuma County is now officially in the bottle! It was a lot of work, but with the help of friends the end result was 25 cases of a Chardonnay-Pinot Noir field blend being made in the Traditional Method for sparkling wine. The wine will stay in the winery for about another year, where a second fermentation will happen in the bottle to carbonate the wine and layer in additional complex aromas and flavors. The name of this wine is the Cortez Cuvée and I’m very to get to make a sparkling wine from amazing local grapes grown at Hawks’ Nest Vineyard near Dolores!

We still have a lot of work ahead of us to get wines finished, bottled, labeled, and released, but stay tuned for some delicious and nerdy wines to be available soon!

06/02/2025

I’m very excited to share that after several months of behind-the-scenes work, the very first vintage of DuWest Wines is starting to go into bottle! It’s such a rewarding feeling to finally get to hold a bottled wine! The white version of the 2024 Rkatsiteli from Grand Valley, CO, has turned out quite lovely and perfect for sipping this summer! All that’s left to do is get labels finished and put on the bottle, and next to bottle is the amber version of the same Rkatsiteli and the Montezuma County Sparkling Apple wine! Stay tuned, we’ve got some delicious wines coming soon!

04/26/2025

It’s always a relief when the vines finally emerge from their winter sleep! This little Cabernet Franc vine is entering its second year in Colorado, so we’re a couple years away from any wines from this vine, but with luck (and water!) it’ll develop a good sturdy trunk this year!

11/03/2024

It’s been a great few days for DuWest Wines! We had a blast at our launch party, graciously hosted by the wonderful where we got to share some very hard won progress on the winery! Thank you all that came! Then yesterday, my Dad (thanks, Dad!) helped me to get the 2024 Syrah-Viognier into the barrels! Only a few minor spills, so my beautiful-new barrels are now simply beautiful-stained barrels from the incredible color of the wine! These barrels are specially made from French oak for Rhône-style blends so I’m excited to see how the wine evolves over the next year or two before release! A reminder that we have a Kickstarter going to help fund needed equipment and materials to get this wine (and some other very exciting wines) into the bottle, then into your glass! You can find the link to the Kickstarter in our bio. Many thanks to everyone that has shared the Kickstarter and for those that have backed the project!

10/28/2024

Some really fun things happening with the winery this week!:

1. On Friday Nov 1, we’re throwing a party at to celebrate the winery and to officially launch our Kickstarter campaign! So, if you’re in Cortez, CO, stop by Zu Gallery between 6-9pm for free food, tastes of some wines, great live music, and to see the progress we’ve made on the winery so far! We might even have samples of the ’24 vintage!
2. We’re getting the secondary fermentation going for our Montezuma County Sparkling Apple wine to add the bubbles! We’ll be using the Charmat Method (aka Martinotti Method) so as to preserve more of the fruity/apply character of the wine while giving it a softer carbonation as compared to traditional method.
3. The Syrah/Viognier will be transferred this Saturday to the barrels! We’re using 100% new French oak from the forest l’Allier and made by a cooperage in Burgundy. The tight grain of this particular oak and the toast of the barrel are specifically meant for Rhone blends, perfect for this wine. We’re so excited to finally see wine in these barrels!

More details about the launch party and the Kickstarter can be found by clicking the links in the bio. We hope to see you at the party!

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10/24/2024

“No man is an island”, and while the winery is technically a single member LLC, the DuWest operation is not even close to a solo venture. I am indebted to some amazing people that have helped make this crazy dream a reality! There are so many people to sincerely thank for their help: friends and family who helped plant the vineyard last year, friends that helped with winery renovations, friends and family who have lugged buckets of grapes and washed tanks, and friends and colleagues who have offered help and support and have even let me borrow key equipment!

And, of course, for too many reasons to list within the character limit I couldn’t have done this without my wonderful wife (she also runs her own small business .tours which you should follow and take a sunrise tour or a ghost tour!). Since she is such a community-minded person, she is the driving force behind our Kickstarter campaign, and she has done an amazing job, as always! I’m so grateful to have her support. And she even let me take over our detached garage to renovate into the winery facility!

In the vein of not going at it alone, we have launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund needed equipment and supplies to finish the 2024 vintage and ultimately get it to your glass! Your support now will help get wines released in Spring/Summer 2025! And most importantly, the campaign really is meant to build community and excitement for some good, local wine! Please consider supporting our project and share with friends, and join our email list by going to duwestwines.com to keep up to date wine releases and with activity in the winery and vineyard! You can find the Kickstarter here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/helentwest/duwest-wines or click on the link in the bio!

10/24/2024

Look at that deep color! I’m so happy with how this wine is turning out, and once I get it in keg for a secondary fermentation (mimicking the Charmat Method) it will become DuWest Wines’ first vintage of Montezuma County Sparkling Apple wine! Thanks to for some delicious juice as a start!

10/21/2024

🍇 Exciting News! DuWest Wines Launched a Kickstarter! 🍷

Helen and I are thrilled to announce that we are launching a Kickstarter to support our new venture: DuWest Wines! The newest winery in Colorado, DuWest Wines celebrates the landscape and viticulture of Southwest Colorado. 🌵🍷

DuWest Wines aims to focus on creative and accessible wines, predominantly sparkling wines, and to celebrate the expression of place as conveyed by a bottle of wine. (If you didn’t know, Casey is a geologist, so you know his wines will be rooted in place!)

As a Kickstarter backer, you are eligible for exclusive one-of-a-kind DuWest branded merchandise and wine paraphernalia. Since both Casey and his wife, Helen, are educators there are several options for wine classes, wine education handout, and guided tasting notes to Colorado wines!

Whether you are a wine connoisseur or a wine newbie, DuWest Wines offers something to explore. And, if you enjoy sparkling, rosé, amber, or adventurous wines I highly suggest your support DuWest Wines!

📅 Check out the Kickstarter Here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/helentwest/duwest-wines

👉 Every share helps us reach more wine lovers and makes a huge difference in getting us closer to our goal. Let’s raise a glass to this exciting new adventure! Cheers! 🍇🍷

10/17/2024

Hi Y’All, allow me to present the inaugural vintage of DuWest Wines! It’s been a very busy and complicated harvest season, but I’m delighted with how the wines have evolved so far! And I am so grateful for the immense amount of help and support provided by friends and family that got the grapes from harvest to tank!

This year’s vintage features 100% Colorado-grown fruit and includes a range of styles and varieties that will form the basis for DuWest’s portfolio moving forward. As we acquire more equipment and refine workflows we’ll build on this basis to craft exciting, delicious, nerdy, and fun wines, especially as our vineyard matures. Some info about the wines currently in the winery:

- Syrah-Viognier blend, Grand Valley AVA (look at that deep color!)
- White Rkatsiteli, Grand Valley AVA
- Amber Rkatsiteli, Grand Valley AVA, aging in a clay amphora!
-Sparkling Apple wine, Montezuma County, delicious and made from juice made by !
-Sparkling Chardonnay, Grand Valley AVA

DuWest Wines is launching a Kickstarter next week to fund the necessary equipment/supplies to get the 2024 vintage from tank to bottle, and ultimately your glass! You can preview the Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/helentwest/duwest-wines. Please consider supporting the project and sharing the project with friends!

10/16/2024

As you might know - DuWest is launching a Kickstarter to help raise funds for the production of our first vintage of wine. But, the Kickstarter isn’t JUST about money - the primary goal of this Kickstarter is to build a community of people interested in drinking locally-grown, locally-made creative Colorado wines. 🍇🍷

To entice that growing community, DuWest is giving away a beautiful, handmade cheese board, branded with the DuWest logo and crafted into the shape/dimensions of Colorado (assuming a Mercator projection, of course), perfect to pair with your favorite bottle of Colorado wine! We will also be giving away a set of DuWest engraved red wine glasses with the cheese board. (And if you win this give-away the people you tagged will ALSO win! The accounts the winner tagged will receive one free DuWest Wines engraved wine glass. Please note, the cheese board for this giveaway is yet to be made, by the winemaker himself, but will be similar in style to the end-grain boards pictured.

Rules for Entry
1 entry per person
👉 Must tag 3 other accounts
All accounts (entered and tagged) must follow DuWest Wines on Instagram AND Facebook
Winner must be 21+
Shipping available to most countries

DuWest Wines

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