Today I’m joined by Richard McDonald. Richard and his wife, Aly McDonald, own Colorado Vintners and Cliff Dweller Wine. Their newest venture, Grand Valley Enology, is an on-site wine lab that provides juice and wine chemistry analysis to grape growers and winemakers in the Grand Valley. Richard’s goal is to provide lab services for everyone, from commercial wineries to home winemakers, to improve the overall quality of wine coming out of the Grand Valley and to save everyone some money along the way.

Richard has had an expansive career in the wine industry, working all over the world in some of the top wineries and vineyards. We chat about his experiences working around the globe, why he and Aly decided to open a winery and lab in Palisade after all that, and the best things about owning a winery in a relatively young wine region.

Richard also expands on why he wanted to start a wine lab, why it’s important to have a local lab resource, and what he and Aly are getting into next.

More about Richard and Aly’s projects at coloradovintners.com
Email them at lab@vincollect.com

Theme Music: Riverbend by Geoff Roper

Join JoAnn Rasmussen, Chair of the Palisade Historical Society, and me on a fun journey through Palisade’s past, present, and future and catch her contagious love of history in general and Palisade history in particular.

We chat about the Palisade Historical Society’s project to digitize the entire archive of the Palisade Tribune and what you can learn from old newspapers, the historic houses of Palisade, and what the town of Palisade did before it had an ambulance.

Learn all about who put the flagpole on the cliffs above Palisade and who changes the flag now, the first pickleball court in Mesa County, the best obituary in the Palisade Tribune, whether we believe in ghosts, and what people are going to be talking about in Palisade 100 years from today.

More about the Palisade Historical Society: LINK
More about the historic issues of the Palisade Tribune: LINK
More about the Palisade History Museum: LINK

Theme Music: Riverbend by Geoff Roper.

You may have seen the signs posted in your favorite businesses around town or come across the messages while scrolling through Instagram. The eye catching block lettered logo: Do Palisade Right, the kind of photos you might take when you’re out enjoying a fun day around town, and six tips with cheerful graphics.

But where did Do Palisade Right come from, and what’s it all about?

Hilary Lewkowitz, Director of Destination Development & Sustainability at the Colorado Tourism Office, joins me to talk about the Do Colorado Right campaign (a statewide campaign that Do Palisade Right is part of), how her team works with cities and towns to capture their unique voice, what campaigns like this are intended to do, how visitors can explore Colorado responsibly and respectfully, and how residents can do right by visitors.

More about the Colorado Tourism Office: LINK
More about Do Palisade Right: LINK

Music: Riverbend by Geoff Roper.

What did the Colorado riverfront used to look like in the Grand Valley? What are the One Riverfront Commission and the Grand Valley River Corridor Initiative why do they matter to Palisade residents? When will Palisade finally get that riverfront trail connection?

Joel Sholtes joins me to talk about all this and lots more fun river facts. Joel teaches civil engineering, specializing in water resources engineering, at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. Joel also serves on the One Riverfront Commission and the Grand Valley River Corridor Initiative. Join us and think cool river thoughts on this scorching summer day!

More about One Riverfront: https://www.gjcity.org/524/One-Riverfront

More about Grand Valley River Corridor Initiative: https://www.coloradomesa.edu/water-center/grand-valley-river-corridor-initiative.html

Lu Frederick is leading the charge to develop the Palisade Community Garden in downtown Palisade, along with Lehl Chase-Nason. Lu joins me to talk about the history of the garden, what’s been built so far, what’s next, and how you can get involved.

Learn all about how a hard-working team of volunteers is transforming a piece of undevelopable land by the railroad tracks from a weedy gravel lot into a thriving place for community members to gather, learn, and of course, grow!

Follow the Palisade Community Garden on Facebook

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with one of my favorite people in Palisade and beyond, Kristen Seymour. Kristen and I chat about how her two local businesses, Harlow and The Merc, tie into Palisade’s history, what she’d change if she could start over again, whether she was expecting to be honored with both business of the year and person of the year recognition by the Palisade Chamber of Commerce, and her goals and ambitions as a small business owner in Palisade.

Kristen shares the path that brought her to Palisade, how raising kids here is different from the other places her family has lived, what Palisade does right and what could use a little more work, and the awesome power of locals supporting local businesses in the off-season.

More about Harlow and The Merc.

On today’s Postcard from Palisade, we learn all about Palisade High School’s unique fish hatchery program, the fish they raise, and how they are released from the hatchery team. It's a fishy good time!

For more about the hatchery, check out their website.

For more about the podcast: ⁠postcardsfrompalisade.com⁠

Music: Riverbend by Geoff Roper.

March marks the one year anniversary of the Postcards from Palisade Podcast! Listen to find out what’s ahead for year two, to celebrate past guests’ favorite things about Palisade, and to hear the debut of the podcast’s new intro music, written and created by a local Palisadian!

For more about the podcast: postcardsfrompalisade.com

Music: Riverbend by Geoff Roper.