With a sparkling glass of Aperol Spritz in hand, I happily wandered through the boisterous crowds of last April’s Durango Wine Experience Grand Tasting in Buckley Park. The Durango Wine Experience is the premier wine event in the Four Corners region and has become a favorite for locals and visitors alike. Attendees dressed in their springtime finery gathered to enjoy wine in our beautiful city at a choice time of year.
The two-day celebration always happens on the last weekend in April, with a “Walkabout” on Friday afternoon, a Grand Tasting on Saturday afternoon, and multiple associated wine dinners and seminars around town. Silver Oak, Twomey, and Timeless wineries hosted a workshop on oak-barrel aging at Eolus, while the Strater Hotel had a five-course pairing dinner. Gruet sparkling wines curated a four-course meal at Seasons, and Esoterra Ciderworks hosted a guided wine and cider tasting.
The main beneficiary of the Wine Experience is the Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado. Celebrating its 25th year, the organization is a philanthropic facilitator, helping to increase the efficiency and success of local nonprofit organizations while expanding the culture of giving in our communities. Unlike a private foundation, the Community Foundation gets its support from the public. The Community Foundation looks to the well-being of the total community, not just part of it. The Durango Wine Experience is their biggest fundraising event of the year.
The Wine Experience launched in 2007, and the Community Foundation took over the event just before the COVID-19 pandemic, after which it was suspended for three years. This year marked the fourth year the foundation has run it. In 2023, they implemented a grant program for 10 local nonprofits, awarding each $2,500 for providing volunteers to help with the event.
During the multi-location Friday Walkabout, the participating nonprofits positioned themselves in 10 downtown businesses, along with wine tastings and appetizers. You can taste great wine and food, and also get a flavor of the local nonprofit sector. I spoke with many of the volunteers, eager to tell me about their causes. To encourage people to meet and interact with the nonprofits, you can get an event passport stamped at each location; at the end of the event, a drawing reveals who wins a ticket to next year’s experience.
The 2025 nonprofit partners included the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency, or 4CORE, Chimney Rock Interpretive Association, Colorado Pet Pantry, Durango Baseball & Softball, Durango Montessori, Durango Nordic Ski Club, iAM Music, the Mt. Lookout Grange in Mancos, Our Own Lives, and the San Juan Symphony.
The 2025 Walkabout posted up at ReLove, the Durango & Silverton Railway Station, Overland, Old Barrel Tea Co., Durango Rug Co., Animas Trading, Azul, Charvera, Durango Coffee Co., and Visit Durango.
The Grand Tasting is the hallmark event of the Durango Wine Experience, featuring hundreds of wines from around the world, with some distilleries and local breweries also represented. In previous years, this great event was held on the lawn at the Smiley Building, but it outgrew that space and is now at Buckley Park.
As I waited in line to get into the park, I could see our local bar managers and liquor store buyers already talking to the wine vendors during the “Buyers Invitational,” held before the general public entered. Three large, white tents set up on the grass featured Durango’s finest restaurants, showcasing their cuisine with pairing recommendations amidst the wine tables. The delicious appetizers presented throughout the tents were provided by Eolus, Farm to Fingers Grazing, Glacier Club, Graze Colorado, Mahogany Grille, Meadow Market, Chimayo, Seasons, and 636 Main Ave.
Some of the wine vendors represented included Silver Oak, Delicato, Viña Concha y Toro, E&J Gallo, Banfi, Miraval, Wilson Daniels, Ridge, Santa Margherita, Vintus, Sutcliffe, Gruet, Baron’s Creek, and Terlato. Distillers and breweries included Locke & Co., Odell, Woody Creek, Spirit Hound, Marble, and Honey House.
Next year’s event might feature the Walkabout on 2nd Avenue, and the Grand Tasting might reorient the tents to allow for more seating. There is also discussion about building a phone app so participants can purchase their favorite wines online, on the spot.
The Durango Wine Experience is a celebration not to be missed; everybody is there to mix and mingle and have fun while also raising money for the Community Foundation. If you love wine and great food, make plans now to enjoy the Durango Wine Experience, April 24 and 25, 2026, in Buckley Park, Downtown Durango. Cheers!
By Billy Grimes
