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6 FUN + FUNKY STOPS ALONG PALISADE’S FRUIT AND WINE BYWAY Words by Tim Wenger | Courtesy Photos
C
olorado’s bike-crazed Grand Valley is
East Cruiser Loop runs five miles, starting and
famed for its singletrack, but in its eastern
ending downtown. Embark on all three, and
reaches, the town of Palisade also embraces
you’ll cycle past Palisade’s top wineries and fruit
a lifestyle fit for skinnier tires. The Fruit and
stands, with ample cozy hideouts to indulge both
Wine Byway is Palisade’s namesake road and
your sweet and saucy sides.
path route, running the course of Colorado’s
The Fruit and Wine Byway is in a constant
largest wine region and offering no shortage
process of evolution, with new wineries and
of stops to satiate oneself en route. The full
shops regularly opening, meaning that no
byway is actually three separate routes. The
two trips down it need be the same. This route
big loop, dubbed the East Orchard Mesa Loop,
is meant to be undertaken on two wheels, and
stretches 25 miles from downtown across the
it can get as raucous as your crew is game for.
mesa before turning back and winding along
You’ll never pedal more than two miles for a tasting, and the full byway covers more than two dozen tasting rooms. These six funky stops en route liven up the ride with flavor, festivities and fresh reasons to pop the cork.
THE BLUE BERYL WINERY 3587 G 7/10 Road, Palisade The Blue Beryl Winery opened in 2022, but its roots stretch back to 2011. That’s when Courtney Kiel, co-owner and winemaker, planted vines on the property where she grew up, which now serves as the winery and tasting room. Kiel, also an artist who specializes in oil painting, designs the bottle labels by hand, and along with her husband, retrofitted the property into a chic modern tasting room that displays larger pieces of her artwork. “We’re combining the The Blue Beryl Winery
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love of fine art and wine while also recognizing that wine is a fine art in and of itself,” she says.
the Colorado River and a series of scenic country
The central focal point is the cistern, completed
roads. The seven-mile West Cruiser Loop heads
for the 2023 season to aesthetically display the
from downtown towards the Palisade Rim Trail,
mother-daughter team’s labor.
crossing the river and then hugging its bank
“Our deep familial Palisade roots give an
back toward town. For an easier ride, the mellow
authentic look into the history of Palisade and
