The process of making wine is relatively straight-forward. Grape juice, water, yeast and time creates wine of every distinction. While the mechanics of the winemaking process are relatively simple, there is an art to the craft that can only come with hands-on experience. It’s a journey of education, experimentation and discovery that is ripe with an exponential number of variations..
Doug Kingman, founder and owner of Kingman Estates Winery, has been on that journey for more than 10 years. Starting out with a kit, which is a common thread for many craft winemakers, Doug and Karen Kingman decided they wanted to open a winery. Together they have learned the art of wine.
Starting with 10 acres of property in Grand Valley, they planned to grow the grapes for the wine they would produce.. But the additional work and logistics of living in Denver, and growing grapes on the Western Slope, made the farming aspect unrealistic. Instead of growing their own grapes, the better choice was to purchase them from Colorado farmers.
It would turn out to be a move that helped the couple expand the winery faster than they would have done with their 10 acre plot of vines. Today the winery purchases 80,000 pounds of grapes annually from Colorado vineyards.
Kingman is one of the few wineries on the Front Range that make wine by crushing their own grapes. Crushed grapes, aka “grape juice”, can be purchased to make all varieties of wine. Many of the Front Range wineries start with pre-packaged juice to begin the fermentation process.
But by starting with grapes still on the stem, Kingman can control even more of the winemaking process. Many of the aspects of the finished wine, such as taste, feel, color and aroma, are influenced by the skins and stems of the grapes.
A perfect example of this is the Orange Viognier released by the winery last week. Leaving the skins on the white grapes, which are normally removed for white wine, the wine took on an orange coloring, an effect that would not be accomplished starting out with pre-packaged juice.
Doug Kingman hasn’t been in the winery parking lot crushing grapes in 2021. A hard freeze in the Grand Valley last October wiped out the grapes, leaving nothing to harvest. While they are short on local grapes to crush and ferment, the silver lining of the 2020 pandemic was slower than normal sales, leaving more wine on hand to sell this year. This generates revenue today, making up for the lack of crushable grapes.
Kingman wines are barreled after fermentation for aging and storage, remaining there until they are kegged or bottled for sale. As a leader in the Colorado wine industry, they also package their wine in boxes under the brading “Big Hat Wines”.
In the tasting room, surrounded by barrels of aging wine and steel fermentation tanks, the atmosphere has a feel of sophistication. Beyond being an expert in crushing grapes and making wine, Doug Kingman is also a master at blending. In the wide variety of wines to choose from, it is difficult to select a favorite.
A tasting room flight is a chance to sample the delicious Marquette 3 Year Barreled Reserve, a stunningly good Zinfandel and how about trying the Conquistador White Port? The Cab Franc is one of the best around town with a fruit forward flavor – perhaps cherry or raspberry – and peppery with an oak finish.
Doug and Karen Kingman are experts in the craft wine business. From crushing 40 tons of grapes each year to building a custom system for bottling sparkling wine, they push the envelope in Colorado winemaking.
A visit to the winery is well worth the time to sample the variety of wines and perhaps get a personal tour from Doug. The tasting room is open Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 5:00 pm. Kingman wines are available at the winery and local liquor stores including Bevy’s, and Daveco Liquors.
