Oct. 3, 2011
Aaron Collett
[email protected]
It is said that to err is human and to forgive is divine. But too much wine at D’Vine Wine will probably make you more likely to err.
D’Vine Wine is a small, locally run winery in Manitou. It makes almost all of its wine in-house, even employing a full time winemaker, or vintner.
It offers tastings at a low rate, and the bottles are competitively priced. The winery even offers customers the chance to create their own flavor of wine, complete with personalized labels.
There is also a VIP club, which gives members free tastings, discounts on bottles, and unique, members-only seasonal wine flavors.
The store does very little classic advertising. “We have trouble keeping wine on the shelves as it is,” explained Dean Fagner, the owner.
Instead, D’Vine Wine works with local charities and donates proceeds from personalized bottles to each charity. Right now, it is actually featuring Clyde’s Cabernet/Sauvignon/Merlot Blend; $7 of the proceeds from each bottle are going to the Big Cat Sanctuary.
D’Vine Wine also has an unusual fermenting method. In classic winemaking, you would ferment the wine in oak barrels, giving the wine the tannin flavor that makes it taste like wine.
Instead, the wine is aged in glass barrels and a mesh bag filled with oak chips is placed inside the barrel. This allows them to create more unique flavors by mixing types of oak.
It makes the fermenting take less time, as well, as the oak has more surface area for the wine to contact. This process also makes the production a bit greener, as the wine-soaked oak chips are then given to local chefs to use in cooking and grilling.
This is a spectacular shop for college students. “You can come 100 feet off of the main drag and basically have the place to yourself,” said Fagner.
“Chicks love it here,” adds Tracy Fagner, co-owner. “They don’t feel like they’re being hit on all the time. It’s not a meat market at all. Great place for a first date.”
Because of D’Vine Wine’s hidden, almost unknown location, it doesn’t feel like a normal Manitou Springs bar. Said Fagner, “We get that comment all the time, that the girls are thrilled that it’s not a club atmosphere.”