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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — Lance Hanson has had a lot of firsts.
His Jack Rabbit Hill estates - which he started with his wife on Redlands Mesa in 2000 - was the first vineyard in Colorado to be USDA-certified organic.
Peak Spirits, an offshoot of Jack Rabbit Hill, is also Colorado's only organic distillery. The label's brandy, made from fresh, organic fruit, has made a name for itself nationally.
"It's really the only certified organic brandy in the United States," said Hanson, as he made a stop recently in Glenwood Springs on business. "We've been organic since the beginning."
Hanson's Jack Rabbit Hill wines are also the first, and only, labels featured in the Sustainable Settings state-certified tasting room. Sustainable Settings - at the Thompson Creek Ranch Homestead off Highway 133 in Carbondale - houses research, demonstration and educational activities focused on sustainable agriculture and green development.
"We really share a lot in common," said Hanson, of his ongoing relationship with Sustainable Settings. "We have a great relationship and real common values based around farming and general living practices. They have a unique ability to attract experts in green living techniques."
Hanson befriended Sustainable Settings founders Brook and Rose Le Van when the couple was buying chicken feed from one of his neighbors near Hotchkiss. Hanson and the Le Vans have dedicated their careers to research and implementation of all-natural agriculture.
His Jack Rabbit Hill estates - which he started with his wife on Redlands Mesa in 2000 - was the first vineyard in Colorado to be USDA-certified organic.
Peak Spirits, an offshoot of Jack Rabbit Hill, is also Colorado's only organic distillery. The label's brandy, made from fresh, organic fruit, has made a name for itself nationally.
"It's really the only certified organic brandy in the United States," said Hanson, as he made a stop recently in Glenwood Springs on business. "We've been organic since the beginning."
Hanson's Jack Rabbit Hill wines are also the first, and only, labels featured in the Sustainable Settings state-certified tasting room. Sustainable Settings - at the Thompson Creek Ranch Homestead off Highway 133 in Carbondale - houses research, demonstration and educational activities focused on sustainable agriculture and green development.
"We really share a lot in common," said Hanson, of his ongoing relationship with Sustainable Settings. "We have a great relationship and real common values based around farming and general living practices. They have a unique ability to attract experts in green living techniques."
Hanson befriended Sustainable Settings founders Brook and Rose Le Van when the couple was buying chicken feed from one of his neighbors near Hotchkiss. Hanson and the Le Vans have dedicated their careers to research and implementation of all-natural agriculture.
"That was the beginning of a great friendship with those folks," Hanson said. "We're looking very closely at what they're doing, as we're looking to expand and want to use their techniques and as many green principles, methods and materials as we can."
As the state's only certified organic grape grower, Hanson is diligent in his efforts to avoid herbicides, pesticides and biocides on his 70-acre farm. He is in the middle of completing the two-year biodynamic certification process, which promotes a green agriculture model.
"Biodynamics is a form of holistic agriculture that came out of lectures in Southern Germany and Vienna by Rudolf Steiner in 1924," Hanson said. "He predated 'organic.' This was really the first formal alternative-farming approach."
Hanson was looking to better his farming practices, and hopes to add black-fleeced Welsh mountain sheep for grazing, to help eliminate a need for mowing, and manuring in the vineyards.
A cost-effective approach that helps the environment, Hanson said.
"We were interested in more positive steps in farming. It's really helping us explore and discover the things in our ecosystem that we can use to grow," Hanson said. "Herbal teas (used to break down manure) and compost, and we can use livestock, we can use an insectary, which is a place, a habitat on your property you've designed to protect your environment. All those things are important. In a sense, it's helping us learn about those natural systems - we can leverage instead of just learning about poisons."
One of Hanson's newest organic products created with biodynamic principles is his Cap Rock vodka, made with grapes grown at Jack Rabbit Hill and pure, untreated spring water tapped from Grand Mesa.
As the state's only certified organic grape grower, Hanson is diligent in his efforts to avoid herbicides, pesticides and biocides on his 70-acre farm. He is in the middle of completing the two-year biodynamic certification process, which promotes a green agriculture model.
"Biodynamics is a form of holistic agriculture that came out of lectures in Southern Germany and Vienna by Rudolf Steiner in 1924," Hanson said. "He predated 'organic.' This was really the first formal alternative-farming approach."
Hanson was looking to better his farming practices, and hopes to add black-fleeced Welsh mountain sheep for grazing, to help eliminate a need for mowing, and manuring in the vineyards.
A cost-effective approach that helps the environment, Hanson said.
"We were interested in more positive steps in farming. It's really helping us explore and discover the things in our ecosystem that we can use to grow," Hanson said. "Herbal teas (used to break down manure) and compost, and we can use livestock, we can use an insectary, which is a place, a habitat on your property you've designed to protect your environment. All those things are important. In a sense, it's helping us learn about those natural systems - we can leverage instead of just learning about poisons."
One of Hanson's newest organic products created with biodynamic principles is his Cap Rock vodka, made with grapes grown at Jack Rabbit Hill and pure, untreated spring water tapped from Grand Mesa.
Sustainable Settings
Join Jack Rabbit Hill winemaker Lance Hanson at the Sustainable Settings Harvest Festival, a celebration of organic agriculture with speakers, live bluegrass, draft horse demonstrations and hay rides, wine tastings, ranch tours and a harvest dinner and dance. Hanson will serve his wines and organic brandy at the harvest dinner.
• When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, and 4-9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 19 • Where: Sustainable Settings, the Thompson Creek Ranch Homestead, 6107 Highway 133, Carbondale • Tickets: register online at www.sustainablesettings.org or call 963-6107 |
"It's very smooth, and it has a rich, satiny finish," he said. "The response has been surprising, considering how saturated the market is with vodkas."
Hanson plans to release an organic gin on the Cap Rock label in about three weeks.
And how do the spirits taste?
The proof is in the fruit, Hanson said.
Contact April Clark: 945-8515, ext. 16601
aclark@postindependent.com
Hanson plans to release an organic gin on the Cap Rock label in about three weeks.
And how do the spirits taste?
The proof is in the fruit, Hanson said.
Contact April Clark: 945-8515, ext. 16601
aclark@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO
