Welcome to Grand Valley Grapes and Grains Adventures; the premier winery and brewery experience in the Grand Valley. Our origin story is simple: we (Owner Sarah, and Sales & Marketing Manager Jason) met in a dive bar in Denver; fell in love based on our mutual passion for the outdoors, goofy movies, and craft beer and local wine; moved to Grand Junction in December 2018 and quickly realized there was a void when it came to a tour experience that really immersed its guests into the incredible wine and beer scene here in the Grand Junction area. Two and a half years later, Grand Valley Grapes and Grains Adventures was born!
That’s the short version. The fully fleshed out version is a little more complex, but nonetheless enjoyable and worth a read, so here goes! While in Denver, Jason worked as a brewery tour guide for a year and a half, and Sarah eagerly participated in a self-study of wines from around the globe. A typical Saturday for us was to get up early and go hiking or kayaking, then stop for a beer or glass of wine at a local venue, enjoying the stories and inspiration behind the wonderful beverages we were drinking.
We had made the trip to Grand Junction several times to visit family and really enjoyed all of the phenomenal outdoor recreation opportunities in the area. We were amazed at how few people we saw out on the trails, and were further amazed at the quality of the wine and beer we would experience whenever we popped into a local winery or brewery. We had no idea that such good wine came from Palisade as we had only heard about Palisade peaches, not that this was Colorado’s wine country too! We were equally excited to see quality beers coming out of the local breweries that were on par with the Denver beer scene.
After many years of living in the front range, we started wondering about what it would be like to move to Grand Junction to be closer to family and to escape the hectic life of the big city. We also dreamed about opening up our own winery and brewery tour guide company in the Grand Junction area, tapping into our passion for the industry and our love of showing people a good time. In 2018, Jason’s grandparents moved from Los Angeles to Fruita, three houses down from his parents, and that was the spark we needed. At the end of 2018, we moved from Denver to Grand Junction.
We continued our well-established routine of engaging in an outdoor activity in the morning to earn our glass of wine or beer in the afternoon. Over the past few years we have explored just about all of the local wineries, breweries, and distilleries in the Grand Valley. During our first summer here, Sarah worked in one of the winery tasting rooms in Palisade and soaked up everything she could about winemaking, wine tasting, and its history in the area. Jason continued to soak up the Grand Junction area beer scene, and our dreams about that tour company continued to grow.
Enter COVID-19. No fun for anyone, but the silver lining of the pandemic was that it forced us to pause and gave us the time to evaluate our lives and reprioritize our goals. We knew by talking with our friends that despite the pandemic, the breweries and wineries in the area were booming. We guessed that post-pandemic people would be itching to get out and explore someplace new. So we figured it was a good time to make our dreams a reality and open our tour company.
Grand Valley Grapes and Grains Adventures was born out of our desire to help tell the stories of the wonderful people in the area who have also taken a gamble on following their passions, and are crushing it (literally and figuratively)! We are excited to introduce people to what is being produced right here in the Grand Junction area. We are partnering with many of the best establishments in the Grand Valley to provide a unique experience for our guests: we teach about the craft, tell the stories of the proprietors, sample the delicious beverages, and provide a safe and environmentally-friendly mode of transportation.
We look forward to taking you on your next adventure!
Cheers,
Sarah and Jason