Rows of neatly trellised grape vines will be coming to the Boulder Valley if the LaGazza Grower’s Cooperative has their way.
According to Bob Young, one of the Cooperative members, LaGazza (Italian for “magpie”) is planning to plant over 40 acres of wine grapes along South Boulder Road starting later this year.
“It turns out that the Boulder Valley offers certain very positive conditions for the production of wine grapes.” said Young. “This type of crop is wonderful for this area because the yield per acre is high in value, the water requirements are very modest and the growing season is long enough for certain varieties which are cultivated as far north as Canada.” “These properties lead to a real sustainable agricultural program for the area requiring minimal resources but providing a labor intensive activity since much of viniculture is based on skilled hand labor.”
LaGazza has been working with the Colorado State University Extension Office and consultants in site selection and business plan development. Scott Anderson, another founding member of the Co-op pointed out that an already developing wine industry has begun to make its presence known in the area and currently at least seven wineries are in operation in Boulder County. “In fact, at one time prior to Prohibition, we have seen reports that some 200,000 acres in Colorado were under grape cultivation.”
Founding members of the Cooperative include Young, Anderson and an entrepreneur from Colorado Springs. The business plan includes expanding the Coop to a total of as many as twenty members.
The LaGazza plan is to start the agricultural planting program in the fall of 2009 in anticipation of a first full harvest year occurring in 2013.
In addition, the partners have had some discussion of developing a LaGazza Winery in the Boulder area as well. For more information, LaGazza can be reached at 720-310-2724 or at the Cooperative website www.lagazza.com.
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Contact Info:
Bob Young
rpyoung_reg@
303-324-1398
