This was the big day for Paris, France, to sample Colorado wine for the first time. There were about 50 wineries at the U.S. Embassy for the American Wine Tasting, pouring wine for approximately 500 members of the French Wine industry, which included importers, restaurateurs, wine writers and local sommeliers.

The event's purpose is to promote American wines to France, and this year marked the first time Colorado was represented. Most of the wineries were from California, with Boulder Creek Winery and Varaison Winery the only two Colorado wineries participating. The crowd was quite serious and all business.

We found that most tasters were very curious about Colorado wines and very open to trying them. Most people were unaware that Colorado even produced wine and seemed excited to have something different than the usual California wines to sample.

Our wines were well received with one Master Sommelier calling his partners over to sample our 2006 VIP Reserve, which won Colorado's first ever Jefferson Cup this year. They seemed very familiar with Thomas Jefferson's love affair with wine (and he was the 2nd Ambassador to France for the United States), and were quiet impressed with our Jefferson Cup winner.

I really had expected to find a closed mind to Colorado wine in France but instead we found a very receptive audience with many compliments and several inquiries on how they could import our wine. It was a unique and very positive experience overall and a good day for the Colorado wine industry.

Mike Thompson is the co-owner of Boulder Creek Winery. He and his wife, winemaker Jackie, are in Paris for the American Wine Tasting, an event at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. Their 2006 VIP Reserve was poured to French industry experts.