Varaison Vineyards & Winery

Great experience! Was not expecting a wine tutorial but I love learning new things and new techniques of drinking wine so I was a huge fan! All the wine were fabulous but the award winning Merlot was 2^nd to none! Wow, we were certainly blown away! We didn’t expect to be there as long as we were so please expect to be there a while. I love the blind tasting we had… it was different and so much fun! Definitely will be coming back again next time we are in town. A must if you are wine tasting!

By far the best stop of the day. The staff is so knowledgeable and truly provided an experience in addition to tasting some delicious wine. Highly recommend!

This was by far our best winery experience. The staff was beyond friendly. This was not just an excellent tasting but they also took the time to educate us. I would highly recommend it to everyone. They also have a lovely garden and a grand building which lend to the experience.

Where to begin? What an incredible experience with Alex as he took care of our very large group of wine tasters. We each learned several new things about wine (from the science to profiles to how to drink it). Alex was incredibly engaging and insightful. I left feeling more confident in my knowledge of wine.
I ordered two bottles of wine that were currently out of stock. There was a bit of a miscommunication and I thought I’d receive my bottles quickly. When I called a few weeks later I worked with Kristin, who was equally amazing and really drove my customer experience to a new level. She apologized profusely for the mix up and sent my bottles that same day. She even said that because of the mistake, they would cover shipping.
I am giving Varaison 5 stars because of my experience both on the day of the tasting and 3 weeks later. They are customer maniacs who work hard to successfully satisfy each and every customer. Hands down the BEST and most unique wine tasting experience I’ve ever had.

Excellent service and amazing wine. The assistant wine maker was serving today and had an abundance of knowledge to share. The wine is excellent as well. Worth paying the extra five dollars for the reserve tasting, and they are likely to comp the trading price if you purchase wine.

Awesome place with awesome wine! We learned more about wine in an hour than we have in the last 29 years of life. The wine tasting is blind which was so helpful because there were many i loved that I probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise! Definitely go for the $ 5 extra sampler– worth way more than that! Will absolutely be back soon.

Amazing place. I’m not a «wine guy» and have very little experience. We learned a ton of information from «Dad» and Andi. All the wines were delicious. Back winery tour. We were able to take away little lessons about wine from a true wine master that will stick with us forever. We will be sending all of our friends and family back here. After four hours of learning, we walked out with a couple of bottles of wine and some newly created ciders.

please do yourself (and your pocketbook) a favor and read wendy w. and christine w.‘s reviews… after you read mine, of course.
i went with friends to varaison a couple of years ago and we really enjoyed it — it had much more personality than other wineries. i picked up several bottles to bring home (including an expensive 2007 merlot) and stored them in an appropriate way along with bottles from other places.
i can now say that every wine that i have opened from them was oxidized. every single one. it was as if i bought several bottles of very expensive cooking sherry. imagine my guests’ surprise as i pull out a «special» wine to drink with them, only to find out it is undrinkable. worth noting that i have stored wines that were older than these in exactly the same place and i am 100% certain it is not my storage techniques. reading about others that got bottles of wine that were bad, i now know it isn’t my bad luck either.
since it was a while ago that i bought their wines, there is no way i can get my money back through the credit card company. all i can do at this point is to warn others so that you don’t end up in this same situation. buyer beware for sure.

The lady did a nice job of helping us understand what will help us enjoy wines we were not as familiar with. Made us feel confident about buying wines that are outside our comfort zone.

The technique being used in Varaison’s wines shows great skill. The wines are so different from other wines due to the way they’re being vinted. That difference may not be appealing to other tasters, but my spouse and I are oenophiles who appreciate a well-​crafted wine. Varaison isn’t for everyone, and may be intimidating to those who prefer sweet, simple wines, or wines true their varietal. The winemaker was pouring that day and tries to educate everyone about the wines.
FOLLOW-​UP: brought home a bottle of black moscato; a fizzy frazzante that unfortunately had to be poured down the drain. Was very off, bitter and raisiny. Maybe a fluke?

Love, love, love!!! Can’t say enough about the «experience» here. Very educational and the most wonderful atmosphere. Come here and spend some time.

BEST. WINERY. EVER.
After a long weekend in Telluride for a music festival, and an even longer drive back to Denver ahead, we randomly picked some wineries off Google Maps in Palisade for quick tastings. I was looking for enough wine to get me through the drive, and that’s about all we got at the first couple wineries; however, the moment we stepped into Varaison’s classic Victorian, time and space warped … in the best way :)
One of the winemaking family’s sons and assistant winemaker at Varaison, Alex West, was available (lucky for us) to take us through their unique Varaison wine experience. Alex kept us engaged (and thoroughly entertained) as he taught us how to drink wine, how to select wine, how to debunk wine myths, and more. Apart from the actual wine tasting, we were treated incredibly well from the moment we stepped foot inside the building. I never once felt uncomfortable or like I was asking stupid questions.
What a fabulous winery, family, and overall wine experience!
TL;DR: BEST. WINERY. EVER.

Go here first before you go do any tastings. Kristen had so much knowledge and gave us a lesson on how to select a good bottle of wine. I actual took notes during our tasting! Great information that I will use going forward.
This vineyards wine offers the taste of old world wines. Most wineries in the palisades offer new world wine and can be a bit sweet.

I have been to a lot of wineries and I have never had a better experience. There are two elements to a visit to Varaison. First is the tasting process and second is the wines themselves. We walked in on a quiet Wednesday afternoon to be greeted in a magnificent Victorian home by the owner. Her energy for Palisade, the wine business and their winery is infectious. Then we were handed off to a wonderful lady (I am sure she has a name, I just forget what it is) who took us through a journey of the tasting process. Her explanations of how their wines react to our palates was extraordinary. I am no wine expert, but I am also not a beer swilling redneck either. This was not like a component tasting — it was totally different and much more interesting because it was about me and my tastes, not just about the wines.
The wines are stylistically different than what would be called the normal American style, so I leave my reviews about the wine to your personal taste. Go do the tasting and then decide. Even between my wife and I, we disagreed on which ones were good and which ones were great. So go for the setting and the process and then decide on your own if you love the wines.

If you are planning on wine tasting in Palisade, go here first! Not only is the old world style wine amazing, but you get a lesson on how to taste wine and why. Kristen was a wonderful teacher and had a great sense of humor. The winery is owned and operated by her and her husband Ron, who has extensive experience from his years working with multiple wineries in Napa, CA.
Kristen teaches you how to drink a red versus a white, how they help enhance food, and even how to properly hold a wine glass. This is a must do when in Palisade and a must do FIRST!

You MUST COME to this winery to learn how to drink wine FIRST! Especially of you are going to other winery ‘s! Enjoy! Porch pounder bought!

Varasion vineyards never stops impressing me! Their wines are brilliantly colored, full flavored and you can see the passion the entire family puts into every bottle. Whenever my husband and I drive through palisade we stop here FIRST! This should be anyone’s first stop! We had lunch on their patio and the scenery is gorgeous along with the yard that they groom so well! We were able to do a taste test with them having them ask us what we smell and taste with each glass. They told us the process and why it tastes that way and I have to admit I felt like a pro when I left. ;) We ended up buying a 100 $ bottle more then we have ever paid for before, but this wine won at a french tasting… ITS INCREDIBLE!!! We are drinking their Wine (Viognier) tonight and it paired with the Indian we cooked so well! Please stop here first, not kidding… Their wines are unbelievable!!!

Although the website says «Open 10 — 5pm Daily» they were not open. No sign on the door or anything, just locked up.
There were staff there, working around the back of the house. They ignored us and walked away. Very disappointing.

I think that anyone interested in visiting Varaison Vineyard should read Maddie S.‘s review. She provided a better review than I could have, and very eloquently.
Varaison is a beautiful winery in a Victorian house
I do applaud Variason’s initiative in taking a scientific approach to wine, from the perspective of biochemistry. However, the individual conducting the tasting does not need to tell the customers that they know nothing about wine and then attempt to prove that. That may not be true. The performance may be witty and engaging, but some of the customers do know a thing or two about wine, including what constitutes a wine flaw.
Some of the wines we tasted were very good! In fact, we purchased a few. However, the bottles we took home were undrinkable. Most of them would have been judged overly oxidized. The common denominator was that they tasted like sherry or bourbon. And they were not inexpensive. I am fairly certain that the sherry/​bourbon taste had to do with the use of oak chips as opposed to barrels in the winemaking process. The use of the oak chips may make sense in theory but in practice it results in some odd-​tasting wine. And maybe it is worse after wines have been bottled awhile. Some were also odd-​colored and one was quite cloudy.
I liked the wines we tasted and really wanted to like the wines we brought home because the staff at Varaison seemed so excited about their wines and their innovative techniques. The person conducting the tasting seemed to really love wine and introducing people to it. He also liked discussing food pairings, which is my favorite wine topic. However, science can’t replace magic when it comes to wine. Sorry, Variaison. And belittling your customers’ knowledge of wine is not a good presentation strategy.

Had a most excellent dinner and tour at the winery. The owners showed us the layout of the building where they processed the grapes into wine. It was an interesting expireience learning about how they make good wine. By The Way.
lea