Terroir of Colorado's western slope vineyards

摘要: This trip will cover the terroir (geology, climate, and other natural factors) affecting quality of Colorado's western slope vineyards wines produced. On May 17 group make a few key geology overview stops through Rocky Mountains en route to wine country on near Grand Junction. physical factors that allow great grapes be grown in Colorado explored these compared viticultural areas world. The first day wineries visited for tasting discussion terroir, followed by banquet dinner lecture Meinert some regions spend night Junction 18 discussion; lunch at Canyon Wind winery, with return Keystone (and Denver) late afternoon. At end this chapter, two geological maps (eastern half half) show field features. These are draped hillshade 90-meter DEM; data modified from Green (1992). An 11″×17″-format simplified map also handed out as reference transect. The geologic history is long complex. Precambrian metamorphic basement formed prior ∼1.8 Ga was intruded three main Proterozoic granitic suites. rocks generally arranged ENE-trending belts young south record progressive accretion terranes onto Archean Wyoming craton. Following major erosion event Late Cambrian, relatively stable craton lower middle Paleozoic recorded thin clastic carbonate section local disconformities. Three Phanerozoic orogenic events followed: Pennsylvanian Ancestral Mountain (ARM) orogeny, Cretaceous-Late Eocene Laramide Neogene Rio Grande Rift orogeny. All north-trending fault block uplifts separated sedimentary basins cut across earlier ENE trends. ARM crustal shortening whereas records localized extension. orogeny early Mesozoic terrestrial deposition then state-wide accumulation thick marine siliciclastic