Bookcliff Vineyards: Boulder's Hometown Winery

calendar Apr 26, 2026 · 3 min read · Bookcliff Vineyards Winery Tasting Room Colorado Wine 80304 Boulder Colorado NoBo  ·
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Set back in an unassuming business park off Lee Hill Road, Bookcliff Vineyards runs its tasting room and winery here, turning out award-winning Colorado wine from this 80304 location. The core of its fruit is grown on the 37 acres Bookcliff Farms manages near Palisade.

A Boulder Basement to a Real Winery

Bookcliff started as a passion project for John Garlich and Ulla Merz, who discovered Palisade on a 1994 backpacking trip and in 1995 found the patch of land where they planted their first vines. As the operation grew, it built out the Boulder winery and tasting room on Lee Hill. After many years, John and Ulla passed the business to three families who joined forces to carry it forward. The story is unusual — most Colorado wineries are based on the Western Slope, near the vineyards — but it has made Bookcliff a fixture of the Boulder food and drink scene.



100% Colorado-Grown Wine

What sets Bookcliff apart is its commitment to Colorado fruit: the winery describes its mission as showing the world "that great wine is made using Colorado grapes," and Bookcliff Farms manages 37 acres in Palisade, on Colorado's Western Slope.

The vineyard is planted with 14 varieties — Bordeaux grapes alongside less common ones like Graciano and Souzao — and its original plantings of Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon still form the core of the portfolio. Bookcliff wines have taken gold medals at the San Francisco International Wine Competition for Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo, among other awards.

The Tasting Room

The tasting room at the Lee Hill location is open Thursday through Sunday afternoons. A tasting is $16 and lets visitors select 4 wines to try, talk with staff about the vineyard and winemaking, and pick up bottles to take home. The space sits inside the working production facility, so a visit also gives you a glimpse of the actual winemaking equipment — barrels, tanks, and the bottling line are all part of the same building.

Bookcliff also hosts barrel-room events, winemaker dinners, and seasonal pickups for its wine club, which delivers six bottles twice a year. Follow @Bookcliff_Vineyards on Instagram or BookCliffVineyards on Facebook for upcoming events.

Why It Matters for 80304

For NoBo residents, Bookcliff is a rare thing — a producing winery a few minutes from home. You can taste through a flight, fill in your wine rack, and chat with the people who actually make the wine, all without leaving 80304. It is also one of the better local-gift options in the neighborhood, since a Bookcliff bottle is genuinely from Colorado, made by Colorado winemakers, in Boulder.

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