Wine Fest 2019

​Knowledgeable representatives from local wineries, distributors and breweries serve samples to help attendees learn to appreciate beverages, sampling through sight, smell, taste and touch. Guests will also learn about pairing first hand, by sampling gourmet tapas from nearly two dozen restaurants and caterers.
Wine Fest Fort Collins was created in 1982 and is the primary fundraising event for Disabled Resource Services. 
About Disabled Resource Services:

​Disabled Resource Services (DRS) assists people of all ages and with all types of disabilities who live in Larimer and Jackson counties. Each year, DRS assists over 6,000 individuals with disabilities. Wine Fest is the major fundraiser for DRS.

Wine & Beer

Thanks to the many wineries, wine distributors and importers, and our local breweries, that help make Wine Fest possible. They pour 500+ Colorado, domestic and international wines, and local beers, each year at Wine Fest.
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Food Vendors

The fine food we are treated to at Wine Fest is donated by a number of very generous local restaurants and catering establishments. Wine Fest and Disabled Resource Services thanks them for helping to make this event a tasty one. Wine representatives will be able to provide good tips on wine and food pairings, so please ask them for suggestions.
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Ticket Information

There are a number of different ticketing options available for this year's event from general admission to VIP as well as a Private Wine Tasting

Grand Private Reserve Tasting  

​The Grand Private Reserve tasting will feature two of the world’s most sought after wines across multiple vintages from a perfect private cellar in Fort Collins.The two wines featured at this year's grand reserve tasting are Chateau Leoville Las Cases Saint Julien and Ridge Vineyards Montebello Cabernet Sauvignon.  ​Included in the tasting are 6 vintages from each producer spanning a 16 year period and famously went head to head in the Judgement of Paris Wine Competition in 1976 which was held to qualitatively compare the best of France with the best of California

Vintages of each wine being poured are as follows:
  • 1996
  • 2000
  • 2001
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2012
This tasting will be conducted by Ken Severson with assistance from Phil Pringle of Pringle's Fine Wine and Spirits.  Ken and his wife Carol have graciously provided the wines for this tasting.  A delicious grower-produced Champagne will also be served prior to the tasting to greet attendees and warm up the palate.

Tickets for this tasting are extremely limited and are available for $200 per person and can be purchased here.

One of the oldest Medoc estates, Domaine de Léoville belonged to some of the wealthiest and most influential noble French families before it was acquired by the Las Cases family. The estate was split up between 1826 and 1840 as a result of the French Revolution. Château Léoville Las Cases was created, thanks to a kind of birthright, from 3/5 of the original estate and the heart of the domaine.

Affectionately referred to as a super second growth, which if re-classified today, would be a first growth Premier Cru Classe Bordeaux alongside Latour, Laffite, Mouton, Margaux and Haut-Brion.  This is and has long  been considered one of the finest Bordeaux Estates and most sought after wines for connoisseurs and collectors alike.
Monte Bello has often been called America’s First Growth, as it is the finest domestic example of a classic Bordeaux blend in which Cabernet Sauvignon predominates.  Each vintage is different, but year after year Monte Bello proves to be a consistently outstanding wine with great structure, complexity, and balance. And, in terms of ageability, it has been known to lay down for several decades with elegance and ease.

In 1959, four Stanford Research Institute engineers bought acreage on top of Monte Bello Ridge, a site that had first been planted to grape vines in the late 19th century. In the early years, Dave Bennion took the reigns as winemaker, and in 1962, after three years of producing small amounts of some of the finest wine in California of that era, the four owners re-bonded the winery and released the first commercial Ridge Monte Bello. Paul Draper joined Ridge as winemaker in 1969, making his first vintage of Monte Bello in that year.