Colorado’s First Urban Winery?!
Infinite Monkey Theorem proves a point in Denver
by Richard Betts

Last year I traveled roughly 200,000 miles to many corners of the globe drinking wine, making wine, eating some of the most memorable meals and meeting some of the most interesting people. This year I am well on track to do the same. So it came as something of a surprise that I did not have to journey 36 hours to some rural area in the middle of nowhere to bump into one of the most wonderful vinous surprises of my year. In fact, all I had to do was make the 25-minute drive from my home in Boulder to a small Quonset hut in the Santa Fe arts district of Denver.  In this hut the young and affable Ben Parsons has founded The Infinite Monkey Theorem winery. Ben originally hails from the U.K. and learned how to make wine at university in Adelaide, Australia. I have talked about Ben’s wines in the past, when he was making the goods at Sutcliffe Vineyards in Cortez, but now he’s doing it on his own, and we see Ben at his unfettered best.

To supply his Quonset hut with wine-making materials and to gather the grapes for his 2008 harvest, Ben managed to drive a mere 25,000 miles last summer. In a tour of the hut, he showed me tanks he’d picked up in the Pacific Northwest and fermenters, bins and a crusher he collected from parts far and wide. Then there’s the issue of the grapes. Last we checked, there weren’t many growing in downtown Denver, so Ben makes the long trek back over the mountains to the Western Slope to Palisade, where he has a line on the best stuff grown.

As for the theorem itself, Wikipedia defines it as one in which if given an infinite amount of time, a monkey hitting keys on a typewriter will, eventually, produce the work of Shakespeare. Maybe so, but it has not taken Ben anywhere near that long to turn out some of the finest Colorado wines I’ve ever had. In fact, had I tasted them blind I would have thought of other, more famous winegrowing areas.

Ben’s wines include Chardonnay, Syrah and Malbec. I recently sampled nine, most of which were made in quantities of 150 to 400 cases (read: tiny), and all were varietally correct and, um, delicious!

My favorites included the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend, which was bright, citrusy, mouthwatering and plain old yummy. I typically only enjoy the “other” cabernet — Cabernet Franc — when it’s called Cheval Blanc. But I was really enthralled by The Infinite Monkey Theorem’s 2008 Cabernet Franc. It is loaded up with rich, black fruits, flowers and tobacco — it smells amazing, is plush and goes down so easily. The good news is, it’s hard to pick a favorite as they are all really good. Additional good news is that Ben’s wines are now found in most corners of the state, so you are likely to find them at your favorite merchant or restaurant.

As for me, I am excited to have seen Ben grow into his own super-cool space and will continue to share with you all of my fun finds via these pages, as well as one short, good thought a day from the road at http://twitter.com/yobetts.

Richard Betts is a master sommelier and founder of Betts & Scholl wines and Sombra mezcal. He writes about his global discoveries in wine and food for edible ASPEN.

Find it!

The Infinite Monkey Theorem 931 West Fifth Ave.
Denver
(970) 260-0710
www.theinfinitemonkeytheorem.com

Hours: by appointment