In Grand Junction, Wine, Tacos, and Trails Await

The first time I ate at Taco Occasion, in downtown Grand Junction, I felt obligated to decide on one of many canvas-shaded out of doors tables lining the sidewalk. My shirt was salt-stained and smelly after my morning hike, and a gritty crust of sunscreen coated my flushed face. I had no enterprise mingling among the many deodorized {couples} within the cherry-red leather-based cubicles inside. However then I bit right into a taco and skilled the type of rejuvenation that no mere bathe can obtain: This was healthful drugs for weary muscle groups.

The tortilla was crafted from native blue corn farmed on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation, 200 miles south of Grand Junction. It cradled delectable bits of slow-roasted native pork dressed with radish salsa and a creamy drizzle of Colorado-grown mayacoba beans. It was scrumptious, sure, but in addition a radical providing in a city that had by no means tried to be cool.

Within the 20-plus years that I’ve been weekending in Grand Junction (or “Junction,” as locals abbreviate it), I’ve observed that the neighborhood has by no means labored onerous to show guests onto its charms—maybe as a result of these attracts appeared too apparent to want boosterism. Colorado Nationwide Monument borders the town to the south and dazzles hikers with red-rock cliffs and spires. Some pockets equal the scenic worth of Arches Nationwide Park, 1.5 hours west—however with a fraction of the crowds (Arches hosted 1.8 million guests final yr, in comparison with 500,000 at Junction’s yard park).

Mountain biking can also be large right here, significantly on Grand Mesa, the huge, flat-topped mountain east of GJ the place the brand new (summer season 2021) Palisade Plunge bike path drops 5,000 vertical toes on a top-to-bottom course spanning 32 miles. Grand Mesa can also be house to Powderhorn Mountain Resort, a charmingly non-corporate ski space.

Past the scenic bounty, there’s the yum-factor of the encompassing vineyards and farms. Grand Junction sits on the confluence of two main rivers (the Gunnison and the Colorado, previously named the Grand) so growers have traditionally loved loads of water for cultivating grapevines and fruit bushes in an arid local weather. In April and Might, these orchards explode with white flowers rising in tidy rows beneath the wrinkled flanks of Mount Garfield, an eroded clay mesa the place wild horses roam. 

For years, I searched Grand Junction—in useless—for postadventure refreshment that wasn’t produced by a nationwide fast- or casual-food chain. Then Denver native Josh Niernberg opened Taco Occasion in 2017 (after establishing Bin 707, his fine-dining idea, in 2011) and in the end, explorers with native and distant addresses had a artistic approach to refuel our bodies and imaginations after rambling amongst Junction’s canyons and vineyards.

“There’s nowhere else within the state that has the entry to the outside and to distinctive, recent, native meals that we do,” says Niernberg, who relocated right here along with his spouse, a Grand Junction native. “We actually are this tourism vacation spot that’s at all times been off the radar.”

There are indicators, nevertheless, that GJ’s sleeper standing might not final for much longer. In March 2022, Niernberg earned his second nomination for a James Beard Award, for the Excellent Chef class of nationwide contestants (his earlier nod was for the regional “Finest Chef: Mountains” area of interest). It acknowledges not solely his use of native Colorado produce but in addition his creativity: Niernberg makes use of lacto-fermentation to rework native elephant coronary heart plums into stand-ins for limes, which the valley doesn’t produce. As a member of Zero Foodprint, a corporation that permits cooks to assist soil regeneration, Niernberg can also be creating pathways that might enable native eating places to enhance soil well being at close by farms.

Winemakers and brewers unite

Niernberg isn’t the one artistic to wish to exploit Grand Junction’s seemingly untapped potential. After years of turning grapes grown by Grand Valley native Kaibab Sauvage into wines for Denver’s Infinite Monkey Theorem, winemaker Patric Matysiewski partnered with Sauvage in 2019 to create a brand new Grand Valley label, Sauvage Spectrum. The duo is devoted to discovering what Colorado’s wine profile can and must be, and what varietals thrive within the high-altitude vineyards close to Grand Junction and the smaller city of Palisade, situated 12 miles east amid the vines.

“We don’t want one other California chardonnay, and so they don’t significantly match our season,” says Matysiewski. As a substitute, Sauvage (who additionally farms peaches) is experimenting with grüner veltliner (a white varietal from Austria) and teroldego (a purple grape from northern Italy that Matysiewski interprets right into a lambrusco-style glowing purple wine). Each grapes hail from mountainous areas that share commonalities with the Grand Valley’s cooler local weather.

“Over time, individuals have tried to determine what [grape varietal] goes to place Colorado on the map,” says Kevin Webber, cofounder of Denver-based Carboy Vineyard, which started in 2016 by making wine from out-of-state grapes however just lately shifted to utilizing completely Colorado-grown fruit. After buying the previous Garfield Estates vineyard and winery—plus two extra vineyards—Carboy opened a tasting room in Palisade with a grand opening scheduled for April 2022.

“You possibly can sit on our rooftop patio and luxuriate in a panoramic view of Mount Garfield and Grand Mesa,” says Webber, who additionally planted teroldego. Like Sauvage Spectrum, Carboy is betting that Colorado’s future is in glowing wines. “Grand Valley grapes are usually of a better acid profile, and that minerality lends itself rather well to creating Colorado-style prosecco,” Webber explains.

Transplants aren’t the one ones driving Junction’s newfound ingenuity. Ramblebine Brewing Firm, situated across the nook from Taco Occasion in downtown Grand Junction, was based by a local son who realized that there’s no place like house. To enrich its IPAs and flavored stouts, Ramblebine invited a few of Niernberg’s protégés to open Block Occasion, a gourmand kitchen serving bar snacks beside the faucets.

Stroll one block in the other way and also you land at Moody’s, a brand new nightclub launched by Logan Moody, a Junction-born drummer who wished GJ had a cocktail bar with a stage for small ensembles—so he opened one. Craving a correct Outdated-Original? That is your house. Moody’s listing of whiskies and Scotch is well GJ’s broadest, although admittedly, competitors for that title is skinny given the area’s dedication to producing wine and, more and more, cider.

All of it represents an enormous enlargement from 2008, when Niernberg first landed in Grand Junction. “This was an agricultural sizzling spot, however earlier than farm-to-table was a factor,” he remembers. Personally, I’m glad to see Junction supporting craft farming and the treats that may consequence. This is identical admirably unpretentious metropolis amid the canyons and mesas which are so value exploring—solely with a greater après.

The place to remain in Grand Junction

In Palisade, the Spoke and Vine Motel is a Fifties-era motor lodge with a really likeable facelift: High-shelf beds assure a sound night time’s sleep, and the convivial bar and patio present the proper place to get pleasure from breezes off Grand Mesa whilst you sip one thing native.

Guide Now: Spoke and Vine Motel

Hold a watch out for the forthcoming Property Home lodging at Carboy Vineyard, which additionally plans to put in tiny houses across the property so visitors can sleep among the many vines.

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