Guy Drew Vineyard and Mesa Verde Pottery have teamed up to serve locals and tourists.
Visitors to Cortez’s iconic Native American arts market on Highway 160 can now enjoy local wine at Guy Drew’s wine tasting room and retail store.
Situated in a stylish gallery inside Mesa Verde Pottery, the tasting room has a full selection of wines from Drew’s McElmo Canyon vineyard.
New selections include the meritage merlot, syrah, metate red and a sweet riesling, plus more varieties. Wine is sold by the glass or the bottle.
“It gives people a chance to taste wines before they buy. It has been good and it is a more convenient location than driving down McElmo,” Drew said.
Behind a sturdy, circular bar he pours his speciality wines, expertly explaining each one, while spinning stories about the region.
Customers can relax in comfortable seating, or peruse artwork by Dolores artist Joseph Robertson, currently featured in the gallery.
Jay Tipton, of Mesa Verde Pottery, likes the arrangement too.
“I bring him tourists, and he brings in locals to my shop. It’s a symbiotic relationship,” Tipton said.
Customers can take advantage of a wide variety of Native American arts and crafts nicely arranged in an open-floor format. Mesa Verde Pottery carries Ute Mountain Ute pottery, an expanded jewelry line, quality rugs, reproduction native artifacts by Norman Lago, fine woven jackets by Darby Maddess, stylish Southwest pillows by Kathryn Eckart, and fine aspen sculptures with turquoise inlays by Mancos artist Jimmy Cook, plus a lot more. Tipton enjoys representing local artists and his prices are very reasonable.
Drew and Jay encourage locals and visitors to sample some wine and then enjoy the vast selection of interesting items and artwork for sale.
Happy hour is from 4:30-6 p.m. featuring $2 off a glass of wine.