Rising Stars: Meet Aly & Richard McDonald of Palisade Colorado

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aly & Richard McDonald

Hi Aly & Richard, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Aly and Richard met in Napa California while working harvest at different wineries. Richard is from Australia has a double degree in Viticulture and Enology, he has worked at wineries across Australia, New Zealand, France and in Napa and Sonoma California. Aly is from Colorado and has an extensive background in restaurants before jumping into the world of wine. She has worked for wineries in Napa, New Zealand and Australia. The couple discovered Palisade Colorado in 2018, and noticed the region had exceptional potential as a wine region, so they made the move to Palisade and have not looked back. They started their own winery in 2020, as Colorado Vintners, and have recently started their own wine brand Cliff Dweller Wine Co. in 2023. Richard also was made aware that there was no full service wine lab serving Colorado wineries, most lab analysis is shipped off to California for results. So with his expertise and experience he has recently launched Grand Valley Enology in Palisade, and is excited to provide lab analysis for this upcoming harvest.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Since starting our own winery we have dealt with a pandemic, a detrimental freeze that majorly impacted most vineyards in Palisade, and construction costs on expanding the winery. But with all that behind us we are excited for the future.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We are family owned winery in Palisade Colorado. Focusing on making world class wines from Colorado vines. We made our tasting room ( Colorado Vintners) a collective tasting room showcasing wines from around Colorado, while making our own wines under the Cliff Dweller Wine Brand. You could call us kind of a hybrid concept.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Palisade Podcast and Postcards from Palisade, listening to the stories of the business owners of Palisade is very motivating, knowing we are all bringing something special to this little town, and elevating Colorado wine together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://coloradovintners.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/coloradovintners/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coloradovintners