Colorado Breweries

With ample supplies of fresh, clear mountain water, sunny weather, and an abundance of creative residents, Colorado is a state where breweries flourish. With a combination of familiar names and one-of-a-kind microbreweries, Colorado's beer scene is thriving. In every corner of the state, beer connoisseurs and others past of the age of 21 can taste locally made brews. Many of the operations offer some combination of tours, brewpubs, restaurants, and special events.

In Golden, visitors can see where Coors had its start with a Colorado brewery tour on the itinerary. From its humble beginnings in 1873, this Miller-Coors operation has grown into one of the biggest operations in the world, with 22 million barrels brewed every year. Along the way, tour participants can see this brewery in Colorado at work, as they tour the stills, malt house, and packaging facility. The tour concludes at the hospitality lounge, where adults can sample the brews, and everyone can visit the gift shop.

Another one of the large-scale Colorado breweries is open for tours in Fort Collins. When visiting the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, visitors have a chance to learn how the beer is made and packaged in this state-of-the-art facility. They can visit the Clydesdale Hamlet and get up close to the gentle giants often seen in Budweiser ads. This tour also ends with a chance to sample and shop.

Fort Collins has become a hotspot for Colorado breweries. Guided tours and tastings are available at the Odell Brewing Company, and the New Belgium Brewery. One of the largest craft brewers in America, New Belgium is blazing trails in energy conservation, and running on wind power. About an hour outside of town, Boulder Beer is another option for a Colorado brewery tour in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.

Based in Durango, the Steamworks Brewing Company crafts ales, lagers, and stouts that have garnered award after award. This brewery in Colorado operates two pubs, where patrons can watch the brew masters at work, taste the fruits of their labor, and enjoy a great meal. The nearby Ska Brewing Company is another place to embark on a Colorado brewery tour.

When spending time in the Pikes Peak region, visitors can add a visit to Colorado Springs breweries to their list of fun things to do. Bristol Springs crafts ales from quality local ingredients, as does the Phantom Springs Brewing Company, which occupies a historic building right in the center of town.

For many a brewery in Colorado, the Great American Beer Festival is the highlight of the year. This annual special event brings together breweries and beer connoisseurs all in celebration of American brews. This festival is one of the most popular things to do in Denver in mid-September. Denver's Great Divide Brewing Company has won many awards at the festival. Its taproom, tours, and shop are open during the festival and all year.

In addition to all of the Colorado breweries, the state is becoming an increasingly popular place to make wine. More than 60 wineries, many centered around the Colorado River Valley just outside Grand Junction, produce merlot, cabernet, shiraz, and mead crafted from locally gathered honey.

New Zealand Wine Tours

As if New Zealand food wasn't good enough, you then have the New Zealand wines. Maybe it's the climate and soil that makes the New Zealand wines so good. Perhaps it's the dedication to quality that helps to produce splendid bottle after splendid bottle. Of all the New Zealand wines, Sauvignon Blanc is the frontrunner, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't treat yourself to the other varietals. From the Pinot Noir, to the Riesling, the New Zealand wines are done right. The contrasting settings found in the different regions of New Zealand help the country to produce the variety of wine that it does, and most of the varietals enjoy a slow ripening period. This helps to give them a distinctive bouquet all their own.

New Zealand wine tours are up there with some of the best in the world. If you are the kind of wine lover who dreams of trips to destinations like Napa or Tuscany, then you might as well add New Zealand to your list of hopefuls. If you've already been to other great worldly wine destinations and have yet to savor the New Zealand wines, then it's high time you plan a few New Zealand wine tours. Since most of New Zealand's top wineries are found near the coast, you can imagine the range of views and area activities that can be enjoyed on the side. The Auckland area is a top New Zealand wine-producing region. You'll also find Waiheke Island to have quite a bit of merit itself. The wines here that earn the highest praises are Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Waiheke Island is known to produce some wonderful red wines, such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The first vines to ever be planted in New Zealand were in the Northland region. Found north of Auckland, the Northland has producing New Zealand wines for almost 200 years. The Bay of Islands and Kaitaia are wonderful places to visit, if not only for the wines, then also for the beaches and area activities.

The best known New Zealand wine region is Marlborough, which is found on the northeast coast of the South Island. The first vines here weren't planted until 1973, but it only took some 20 years for the region to move it's way to the top. The Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough is some of the best produced anywhere in the world, and you can enjoy it firsthand at the Marlborough Food and Wine Festival. It's one of the top New Zealand festivals, highlighting a number of gastronomical delights. For those who like Pinot Noir, head to the southeast coast of the North Island. It's here that you will find Martinborough, where every bottle of Pinot Noir seems to be amazing. There are more wonderful New Zealand wine regions to explore, and all of them are prime destinations for New Zealand wine tours. New Zealand Garden and wine tours are becoming more and more popular, and for good reason. Enjoying a lovely glass of wine while strolling through vineyards and amidst flowers is nothing short of sublime. You can book New Zealand garden and wine tours for a half or full day, or enjoy extended tours where your personal guide will escort you to some of the best regions and wineries. Often times, you can find New Zealand wine tours that are included in bigger New Zealand travel packages, which is nice for those looking to pair trips to wineries with other fun pursuits.

Enjoying New Zealand wine garden tours doesn't have to be an expensive endeavor. At Hawke's Bay, for example, you can hit 4-5 wineries on a day trip, and spend well under $100. Your wine guide will not only serve as a wine guide, but also as an area guide as well, explaining different points of interest along the way. You can get more luxurious, and thus more pricy, if you want, which is something that true wine-enthusiasts should consider. Imagine meeting the winemakers when taking your personalized New Zealand wine and garden tours, or following up a tour with a helicopter flight over the vineyards.