Life & Work with Shamai Buckel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shamai Buckel. Shamai, Joe and their team share their story with us below:

Buckel Family Wine started with an appetite for adventure and good wine. Our winemaker Joe Buckel learned the craft in Sonoma County with some of the premier Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers. He continued to refine his skill in the Colorado wine scene, where he dug into learning the Colorado terroir and finer nuances of making high-elevation wines.

In 2017, he and his wife, Shamai Buckel began to fashion Buckel Family Wine, a Colorado craft winery that makes fun drink now wines. The wines are made with minimal intervention because it’s good for you and the planet. The Buckel wines are made to provide a sense of place in each bottle, from southwest hatch chili aromas in the Cabernet Franc to a high alpine crisp acidity in the Sauvignon Blanc.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Making Colorado wine has its challenges. This budding wine industry is still finding its stride and educating folks on the benefits and joy of drinking good local wine.

Wine buyers and the general public are in the process of learning about vines, grapes, and wine production in Colorado. The rocky mountains, rolling mesas, and arid landscape contend with freezing weather in the spring and fall that can damage grapes, vines, and entire vintages.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Buckel Family Wine is known for making great wines across its entire brand, with an adventurous spirit, great packaging, pleasant aromas, and perfect taste from start to finish.

They have something for everyone – the traditional Pinot Noir drinker, the PetNat revolution fans, the big bold red blend connoisseurs, and the easy-drinking porch pounders. When you support small Colorado wineries you also have the opportunity to support family farms on the Western Slope of the state.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Starting a small business is always a risk and in rural Colorado, that risk becomes greater, as access to resources is more challenging. With high alpine passes in avalanche terrain to navigate, wide-open public lands to cross and folks who think of the western slope as the wild west, there is always a risk awaiting.

As an entrepreneur you risk time – time spent picking up grapes, delivering wine, marketing products, and showcasing wines that can easily be overlooked. Is the time risk worth it at the end of the day? Only if amidst it all, time can be carved out for the enjoyment of life – connecting with family, growers, restaurateurs, seeking out that new coffee shop, buying that locally handcrafted spoon, hiking that peak, skiing that run, floating that river, building the community, and supporting that cause. So yes, time is a risk, and risking time for a passion is a risk worth taking.

PRICING bleep for next page: The wine bottles are priced competitively for a small family-owned winery, the grapes are generally hand-picked in Colorado and there is minimal intervention in the winemaking process, so little to no additives. Large commercial farming with lots of inputs – fertilizers, and pesticides does not really exist in Colorado, so finding more natural wines is possible depending on the producer.

Pricing:

• Sauvignon Blanc $24
• Cabernet Franc $34
• Pinot Noir $28
• Rosé PetNat $38
• Glug Glug $16

Contact Info:

• Website: buckelfamilywine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buckelfamilywine/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuckelFamilyWine/

Image Credits:
Nolan Blunck @bigblunck, Outshinery @outshinery, and Jesse Levine @reelmotion