No need to get sideways in California for a life-changing wine tour. Save the airfare and stay in Colorado, which has more than 60 wineries - and not just on the Western Slope. Colorado is not just God's country; it's nectar-of-the-gods country.

Nearly two-dozen wineries line the Front Range corridor from Estes Park to Cañon City, many just a quick detour off the highway. All are small, family operations whose wines are not for sale in mega-liquor stores, but just in the winery; also perhaps at a local restaurant, a farmer's market, or a store or two. These are handcrafted, small-batch wines with a story to tell (and a winemaker at the ready to tell it).

So pick a weekend and plot your course. From Denver, you and your designated driver can either head north, stopping in Arvada, Broomfield, Boulder, Niwot and Loveland, or south to Littleton and Larkspur. Another option: Make it easier for yourselves and head straight to Ciatano Vineyards, four miles west of Lyons on 36 and with a tasting room filled with Colorado wines. There, at the Inn at Rock 'n River, you can taste the state's finest in a mood-lifting setting; overlooking a lush meadow dappled by shade trees, and a pond stocked with Mary Lou Gibson's trout.

We invited a panel of 10 wine-loving golfers to test 12 Colorado winessix white, six red under the direction of Doug Caskey, executive director of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board. He selected the wines for a blind tasting from a number of Front Range wineries: Ciatano, The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey in Cañon City, Trail Ridge Winery in Loveland, Balistreri Vineyards in Denver, and Boulder Creek Winery and Augustinas Winery, both of Boulder.

Before the first pour, a bit of background: The passage in 1990 of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Act (when the state had but five wineries) jumpstarted the wine industry here, setting aside sales-tax money for research and for the board that Caskey heads, and allowing wineries that produce fewer than 100,000 cases a year to open tasting rooms and sell their wares even on Sundays (keep that in mind in the event of weekend emergencies).

Sixteen years later the Colorado wine industry is still young compared with other states. "Washington and Oregon have a 20-year head start on us, California 200 years and Europe 2,000 years," Caskey says. "It takes about 20 years just to figure out what varietals to plant." Colorado wines have a distinct personality. "The flavor profile is unlike other regions in the U.S.," he explains. "We're a unique combination of hot climate-high desert-and extremely cool nights. The day-night temperature difference helps preserve the acidity in the wine. And because our soils are so alkaline, our wines are more reminiscent of Europe than California or Australia."

A taste in point: Colorado merlot is an assertive varietal, not soft and gentle on the tongue like the California merlot; it's more like a French Bordeaux, says Caskey. Some grapes, such as red zinfandel, don't grow well here-the growing season is too brief-but white zinfandel does fine (so any red zin produced here most likely comes from California grapes).

Caskey started off our event with some commonsense advice: "The idea behind wine-tasting is to notice what you like," he says. "Don't be swayed by snooty wine guys. What's most important is does it taste good to you right now, no matter what experts say."

Look for balance, he advises. Like a stool, wine has three legs, three components-acidity, alcohol and sugar-and all must be in balance (not overwhelming one another) for a wine to shine. The tasters sampled each wine, poured by Ciatano and Trail Ridge winemaker Tim Merrick. Each represented a different varietal, meaning the comparisons were based more on wine type than quality. Our participants tasted the wines in a sequence-to spare their taste buds from going into overload-from the lightest whites to the most complex reds. The lineup: sauvignon blanc, gewürztraminer, chardonnay, American riesling, riesling/viognier/gewürztraminer blend, apple wine, lemberger, rosato, cabernet Franc, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet Franc/merlot, syrah blend. In between sips of water and food our tasters sampled from plates piled with Mary Lou's trout and salmon spread, cheeses, cold meats, crackers and olives to augment the pleasure of the pour.

Though reticent at first, the tasters soon grew bold-swirling the wine (to release more molecules for sniffing), swishing, slurping, swallowing (some spitting instead) and sharing adjectives to describe and assess the various vintages. The favorite wines were clearly indicative of the tasters' preferences. Not a white-winer in the bunch. Though all wines received high praise from the tasters, the reds prevailed. The last four all received top ranking from at least one participant. But that could also suggest the cumulative effect of the evening. After eight tastes or so, life-and the wine that enhances it-is all good.