GO! ROADTRIP: A peachful paradise in Palisade
Colorado Mountain Jam: A recent gold winner at the Summer Fancy Food Show in Washington, D.C., with its Mixed Berry Jam, this jam and preserves company in Palisade truly is among the top in the nation. Not overly sweet, the jams really let the flavors of the fruit shine through. The jam also is sometimes available in Colorado Springs at OPB&J. plumdaisy.com/
plumdaisy.cfm
Peaches from High Country Orchards: We love their spicy peach salsa and peach apricot preserves, but it’s the simple unadorned peaches that take center stage here. They’re the sweetest, most delicious we sampled in town. They’re for sale at their orchard or you can have them shipped for $25.99. colorado
gourmetgiftbox.com
You’ve probably heard of Palisade peaches. You can find them on local produce stands next to Rocky Ford melons.
Take a five-hour road trip to the source of that sweet, juicy fruit in northwest Colorado, and you’ll find a lush orchard-blanketed valley bordered by towering gold mesas and a town with a deep understanding of its agricultural treasures.
Most of the folks who run the orchards here seem to be corporate-world refugees pursuing their dreams of growing peaches or fermenting grapes. (The ones we talked to say it’s a heck of a lot more hard work than they expected, and they wouldn’t trade it for all the 401Ks on Wall Street.)
The highlight of the year in Palisade is the Peach Festival, which attracts more than 20,000 people each year. It starts Thursday and runs through Aug. 21.
Under the shade of towering cottonwoods in Riverbend Park, the festival is one of those small-town celebrations (like Glenwood Springs’ Stawberry Days) that manages to capture a genuine old-timey feel without being hokey about it.
You can sample peach pie, peach cobbler, peach preserves, peach salsa and virgin peach daquaris. And, if you’re feeling especially hungry and ambitious you can enter the messy peach eating contest.
Find out more about festival at palisadepeachfest.com. You’ve probably heard of Palisade peaches. You can find them on local produce stands next to Rocky Ford melons.
Take a five-hour road trip to the source of that sweet, juicy fruit in northwest Colorado, and you’ll find a lush orchard-blanketed valley bordered by towering gold mesas and a town with a deep understanding of its agricultural treasures.
Most of the folks who run the orchards here seem to be corporate-world refugees pursuing their dreams of growing peaches or fermenting grapes. (The ones we talked to say it’s a heck of a lot more hard work than they expected, and they wouldn’t trade it for all the 401Ks on Wall Street.)
The highlight of the year in Palisade is the Peach Festival, which attracts more than 20,000 people each year. It starts Thursday and runs through Aug. 21.
Under the shade of towering cottonwoods in Riverbend Park, the festival is one of those small-town celebrations (like Glenwood Springs’ Stawberry Days) that manages to capture a genuine old-timey feel without being hokey about it.
You can sample peach pie, peach cobbler, peach preserves, peach salsa and virgin peach daquaris. And, if you’re feeling especially hungry and ambitious you can enter the messy peach eating contest.
Find out more about festival at palisadepeachfest.com.
OTHER EVENTS:
Feast in the Fields: Foodies, these annual dinners may be the best way to take a bite out of Palisade. You can enjoy a gourmet four-course dinner built around the best Palisade peaches and wines in the most romantic of settings — the middle of an orchard. This year’s dinners, which are $95 per person, will be at Z’s Orchard on Aug. 19 and High Country Orchards on Aug. 20. For reservations, contact the Palisade Chamber of Commerce at 1-970-464-7458 or info@palisadecoc.com.
Colorado Mountain Winefest: Held Sept. 17-20, the winefest shows how the vineyards of Palisade are keeping pace with the orchards. The festival features wine samples, workshops, wine and food pairing events, dueling chefs, grape stomps, winery tours, winemaker competitions, chocolate tasting, golfing, jazz concerts and, on Sept. 19, an outstanding 25-mile pedal-and-drinking tour of the area vineyards. The main festival will be held in Riverbend Park, where you can sample wines from more than 50 area wineries for $43. For more info: coloradowinefest.com.
WHERE TO EAT
Slice O’ Life Bakery
105 W. 3rd St., 1-970-464-0577
You can smell the aroma of the peach pie, bread and other bakables from blocks away. They use flour from western Colorado, local honey and Palisade grown walnuts and, of course, everything is made from scratch.
WHERE TO STAY
A B&B
As you’d expect in a quaint little wine town, the place is loaded with darling B&Bs in cottages and restored Victorians. Among them: Vistas and Vineyards, A DiVine Thyme, Wine Valley Inn, The Orchard House, Dreamcatcher, Bookcliffs Bed & Breakfast, Peach Valley Lodge B&B and Pearadice Farm Carriage House. For more info, go to palisadecoc.com.
Wine Country Inn
777 Grande River Drive, Palisade, 1-970-464-5777; coloradowinecountryinn.com
This sprawling 80-room hotel, surrounded by vineyards and bearing a giant sign visible from I-70, combines the comfy country style of a B&B with the amenities and spaciousness of a corporate hotel. Guests can enjoy a pool, daily wine receptions and deluxe breakfasts.
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2011-08-09 14:12:06
