The North Fork…An American Provence?

Only two regions in Colorado have been designated as an American Viticulture Area or AVA, by the federal government and the area that surrounds Paonia and Hotchkiss is one of them. The designation is used to identify unique geographic and climactic features that distinguish the qualities of a region’s grape-growing.

Professor Thomas Huber, who teaches geography and environmental science at the University of Colorado, says that the North Fork is a lot like the Provence region of southern France. Yes, we’ve heard people say that before but...