Colorado Wine Grapes

The Colorado Climate Center partnered with the Colorado Wine Industry Development board to create a map of Colorado areas best suited for viticultural exploration. Three major considerations for aspiring Colorado viticulturists are 1. Severity of cold winter temperatures (particularly in the late fall and early winter), 2. Soil texture, and 3. Access to irrigation water. The map below shows areas best suited for cold-hardy hybrids only (blue), and European varieties (red) based on considerations 1 and 2. Specific criteria are listed below:


Please note that A) raising grapes in any of the shaded area is not a guarantee of a successful crop, and B) raising grapes in unshaded area is not a guarantee of a failure. Local conditions may vary.

Hybrids only recommended (blue): In order to be contoured as an exploration opportunity for cold-hardy hybrids, a grid cell must avoid all of the following freeze conditions in at least 50% of years:

  • A hard spring freeze (28°F or lower) following bud break (estimated as May 15th)
  • A fall freeze (32°F or lower) prior to harvest (estimated as September 30th)
  • Rapid onset of seasonally-unprecedented cold air in fall (temperatures in October of less than 10°F where the previous seasonal minimum is at least 10°F higher, or temperatures of less than 0°F in November where the previous seasonal minimum is at least 10°F higher)
  • Deep cold early in winter (below -15°F before January 1st)
  • Extreme cold in mid-or-late winter (below -20°F after January 1st)
Exploration opportunities for European and hybrid grapes (red): In order to be contoured as an exploration opportunity for both European grapes and cold-hardy hybrids, a grid cell must avoid all of the following freeze conditions in at least 50% of years:
  • A hard spring freeze (28°F or lower) following bud break (estimated as May 15th)
  • A fall freeze (32°F or lower) prior to harvest (estimated as September 30th)
  • A rapid onset of seasonally-unprecedented cold air in fall (temperatures in October of less than 10°F where the previous seasonal minimum is at least 10°F higher, or temperatures of less than 0°F in November where the previous seasonal minimum is at least 10°F higher)
  • Deep cold early in winter (below -5°F before January 1st)
  • Extreme cold in mid-or-late winter (below -15°F after January 1st)

Weather data in this study were from the Parametrized Regression on Independent Slopes (PRISM) Model developed at Oregon State University. Data resolution is 800m (~one half mile). Soil texture data used are from the Soil Survey Geography (SSURGO) dataset courtesy of US Geological Survey.

For more information on this project, please contact Peter Goble.