The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey was abuzz with activity on Tuesday afternoon as judges, winemakers, and local residents converged for the annual 2023 Fremont County Fair Homemade Wine competition.
A variety of local winemakers participated in the event -- each of which has their own personal flavor and flare that they have developed over many years of trial and error.
For some, winemaking is considered a family tradition and is an honor to carry on in any form.
"My grandfather made it [originally]," said Cañon City resident and winemaker Randy Kuretich. "And then my wife and her family are all from Italy -- I got started making wine with her rother probably 20 years ago."
Kuretich specializes in making red grape wine from strictly old-school methods and entered several of his favorites in this year's competition, including a Malbec, Red Zinfandel, and several others. He's competed on the state fair level, as well, and has won several honors, including three silver awards, a bronze, and the title of Reserve Grand Champion.
Though this is only his second year participating in the county fair, he's already enjoying friendships throughout the winemaking community.
Fellow longtime winemaker and friend Berton Lamm also was present with several of his favorite creations, which included a chokecherry, sand plum, and white grape wines. Lamm has participated in the county fair for nearly two decades and enjoys the down-home atmosphere of the competition -- which ties in closely with his agricultural background.
"Being a farm boy, I enjoyed watching the grapes grow and got in on picking [originally]," Lamm said. "I'm a perfectionist so you just have to work it, work it, work it until you like it."
Personal preferences and values were embodied in each winemaker's entries, none more so than Norma Jean Fouche.
She grew up working for an Italian family in Rockvale and steadily learned the trade of winemaking. She started by making wine jelly and participated in the farmer's market and the county fair in 2017. However, Fouche has a unique way of choosing the produce with which she makes her wines.
"My wines are whatever I can gather out in the country, of our neighbor's trees, it's local stuff," she commented.
She's placed several times at the county level, as well as the state fair and enjoys focusing on berry and fruit wines. This year, she has entered a mulberry wine and a honey-pear and apple wine.
"[I enjoy it] because it's natural, it's locally grown and I like the taste," she said. "[It's fun] seeing the flavor and taste for the year. It always seems like it's different."
The comradery amongst the winemakers, like the wines themselves, has taken years to cultivate and grow and each year's county competition serves as a fun time not only to compete but enjoy one another's company. The pride in local produce also emanates during the event and, even those who are not actively involved in the wine-making process enjoy supporting the event.
"If you don't use your local wine, kind of like a local grocery store, you're going to lose it. You'll lose the knowledge," said Lamm's wife, Marty.
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