2009 Colorado Mountain Winefest Proves Successful: Revenue and Attendance Up in Down Market

The 18th Annual Colorado Mountain Winefest grows in attendance and winery participation.

Grand Junction, CO (PRWEB) October 29, 2009 -- The 18th Annual Colorado Mountain Winefest held in September at Riverbend Park in Palisade, Colo., was a great success with attendance up and its gross revenue growing 6.5 percent over 2008's festivities. Participants were able to taste wines from 53 wineries. With 84 wineries in the state, the degree of participation is substantial.

The 2009 Colorado Mountain Winefest sold the majority of its tickets the month of the festival.

"The majority of our ticket sales were to Colorado residents, but we did have sales in 33 states," Executive Director Sarah Catlin said. "With the state of the economy, there were a lot more last-minute sales and we found many people vacationing closer to home."

Winefest events included chefs' demonstrations, the ever-popular grape stomp, jazz performed by three Colorado jazz groups, winemaker competitions, gourmet specialties, hands-on workshops and, of course, wine tasting.

The 19th Annual Colorado Mountain Winefest is scheduled for September 16 - 19, 2010, with the main festival in the park on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010.

About Colorado Mountain Winefest
Colorado Mountain Winefest is the fundraiser for the trade organization of grape growers and winemakers of Colorado, the Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology (CAVE, www.caveonline.org), a 501(c)6 non-profit organization. All funds go toward education, seminars, research and equipment purchases to improve the grape growing and winemaking of Colorado wines. Thousands of wine lovers make the annual pilgrimage to Palisade, Colo., to sample a growing array of Colorado wines and participate in a variety of events. To learn more about the Colorado Mountain Winefest visit www.coloradowinefest.com.

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