Wine Spectator’s Grand Tour 2026 kicked off with a return to the Mile High City April 18. More than 1,000 wine lovers gathered at the Sheraton Denver Downtown, featuring a walk-around tasting of 230 wineries, allowing guests to explore a wide range of styles while meeting winemakers and winery representatives from around the world. All wineries were selected by Wine Spectator and poured a wine that rated 90 points or higher in Wine Spectator blind tastings.
(Tickets are still available for the next Grand Tour stops in San Diego and Tampa!)
Wine lovers not only sampled from among some of the world’s best but also enjoyed the chance to meet winemakers and other faces behind some of their favorites.
Alessandro Cellai, winemaker and general manager of Vallepicciola and a Grand Tour regular, was on hand pouring Vallepicciola Toscana 2022 (93 points), made from 55 year old vines. “We are just at the beginning of the tasting, but the enthusiasm of the public is very high. Denver is a beautiful, beautiful city, rich with energy and a lot of wine lovers, and the restaurants are super,” beamed Cellai.
Patrick Meyers was in attendance with his daughter Sarah Meyers, and like many attendees, he came prepared with a gameplan. “We started with wines that I either had already had and really wanted to taste again, and some I hadn’t had but read about and there was an opportunity to taste it. Then I ran the whole thing through ChatGPT and said, ‘Tell me the best wines that I should be looking at.’”
Sarah was on board with the plan; she noted that she first began to appreciate wine while studying abroad in Italy. “Now we are combining our interests and I am learning a lot more. I don’t know a lot, but I’m learning. And, I hope to do this with my daughter someday,” she said, noting they had tasted three Barolos so far and settled on Marchesi di Barolo Barolo Sarmassa 2019 (93 points) as a favorite.
Of course, great wine demands great food. In addition to the elaborate buffet and charcuterie to accompany the wines, two Denver Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards winners—Nocturne (Award of Excellence) and Guard and Grace (Best of Award of Excellence)—were on hand serving up delicious samples throughout the night.
Denver local and longtime Wine Spectator subscriber James Seifert enjoyed pairing different wines, including Champagne, with the bites. “Nocturne is a great jazz club here in Denver, and their salmon was wonderful with the bubbly. Guard and Grace had a small bite of short rib. That didn’t go as well with the bubbly, but it was very tasty!” said Seifert.
Dieter Hübler, founder of Laurenz Five, on hand as usual to evangelize for Austria and Grüner Veltliner, was pleased with the Denver audience. “Here, you have the younger crowds and they are open to awkward grape varieties … anything but the usual suspects. They are really interested in wine. And they ask questions,” said Hübler.
Contributing to the abundance of younger drinkers was the “Young Connoisseurs” ticket, Wine Spectator’s new ticket available exclusively to attendees ages 21 to 30 at a discounted price of $100. Lorena Elliot Fuentes of Denver spotted the event on Instagram and was lured by the special pricing. “It was like what is this? And, it sealed the deal,” she said.
Elliot Fuentes counted Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley 2023 and Vietti Barolo 2021 among her favorite wines of the night, and she took an opportunistic approach to tasting. “I’ve been trying a little bit of everything, dabbling in things that I don’t know, things I know, and then, what I think my friends might like. I’ve also been telling them like, try this or I think you’ll like this one. So it’s been really fun.”
Many producers seized the opportunity to pour older vintages and bring offerings that scored 95 points or higher on the 100-point scale. Among such highlights were some choice Brunellos, including Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Madonna del Piano Riserva 2016 (98 points) and Col D’Orcia Brunello di Montalcino Poggio al Vento Riserva 2016 (97 points), while Château de Beaucastel poured their Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2023 (95 points).
For passionate fans who missed out on Denver, the Grand Tour will continue in two more cities this year. The event arrives in San Diego at the Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center on Saturday, April 25, and then at the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street in Tampa on Friday, May 1. Get your tickets now!
