Postcards From Palisade

What’s a mafia princess doing running a winery in Western Colorado? The name might have started as an inside joke between friends, but the wine is serious business.

Hillary Eales spent six years at Meadery of the Rockies, Talon Winery, and St. Katherine’s Cellars before taking the leap and buying a winery and vineyard that she could make her own, alongside her husband, Casey. And Mafia Princess Wines was born.

Casey takes care of the grapes while working full time, Hillary takes care of the winemaking and tasting room, and they both take care of a couple sweet kids, an adorable dog, a cat that remained unseen, a few sheep, and a bunch of chickens.

Hillary and I tasted some of their Beaujolais Nouveau-style Colorado Nuovo in their cozy tasting room while we chatted about her path to the Grand Valley, how she went from EMT to winemaker, the wines she’s most excited about making, why biodynamic principles are a no-brainer when it comes to vineyard management, and about building an intentional community – making your own family away from family.

And of course, we got into some of those stories that led to her nickname.

For more about Mafia Princess Wines: mafiaprincesswines.com

For more about the podcast: postcardsfrompalisade.com

Two of Palisade’s top wine pourers share what really happens behind the scenes at your favorite tasting rooms. Amy DiMarzio and Michael Martin – currently pouring wine at Blue Beryl Winery, formerly at Mesa Park Vineyards – join me over a couple bottles of local red to share their favorite stores and lots of laughs.

Hear all about how Amy and Michael got into the wine industry, their funniest horror stories (Merlot man, anyone?), the best tips they’ve ever gotten, why they absolutely love working in the industry, what the best $13 Amy ever spent in her entire life was spent on, and how a gravel patio almost ended them both.

We also get into how Mesa Park’s closing broke their hearts, how friendly the Palisade wine industry is, who the most pretentious person in the valley is, the only French word Michael knows, used oak, and how they deal with unwanted advances from behind the tasting bar.

Go see Amy and Michael at Blue Beryl Winery: theblueberylwinery.com

For more info about the podcast, check out our website: postcardsfrompalisade.com.

Scott and Jessica Washkowiak own Field to Fork Farm in Palisade, where they’ve been growing organic and biodynamic crops and raising pigs and chickens for eleven years.

Scott and I chatted about the difference between organic and biodynamic farming, how important it is to him to be a first generation farmer, what it’s like to raise a kid on a farm, his top tips for backyard gardeners in Mesa County, the importance of good soil, and what a typical day is like when you get up before the sunrise.

Later, Jessica joined us and we talked about their pizza club, how they satisfy their surfing itch in the high desert, and the terrifying train accident that happened near their property earlier this year: why they’re so, so tired of talking about it, but why we can’t forget about it. Then we lightened things up by figuring out what kind of vegetables we all are.

For more info on Field to Fork Farm, including their farm stand’s hours of operation: fieldtofork-farm.com.

For more info about the podcast, check out our website: postcardsfrompalisade.com.

Laura and Brandon Black were happily settling into life in Denver when they took a trip to Palisade that ended up changing their lives forever. In 2018, after that fateful trip, Laura and Brandon bought a vineyard and winery and moved to Palisade. They had never made wine or grown grapes before, but they were confident they could figure it out. And they did! Very quickly, their Mesa Park Vineyards was producing award-winning wines and attracting a loyal following.

Then, in March 2023, they announced that they were going to shut down the winery to focus on fruit farming. After a collective gasp, followed by an outpouring of support and local panic-buying, Mesa Park Vineyards shut its doors and Mesa Park Fruit Company opened this season. Why did they decide to make this big change and what are they planning to do now? I talked with Laura to find out.

Find out where Mesa Park Fruit Company’s fruit is available at mesaparkfruit.com, instagram.com/mesaparkfruit, or facebook.com/mesaparkfruit

For more info about the podcast, check out our website: postcardsfrompalisade.com.

Wendy Videlock takes us through the rhythms of her life and work in the Grand Valley. Wendy was just named the Western Slope Poet Laureate by the Telluride Institute’s Talking Gourds program. She’s also a widely published and awarded poet, visual artist, teacher, a longtime Grand Valley resident, and the impish poem supplier for Palisade’s street poetry boxes.

Wendy and I chatted about why she doesn’t like to tell people she’s a poet when she first meets them, her goals for her time as the Western Slope’s top poet, why ranchers and barbers have a lot in common with poets, what in the world ekphrasis is, and why poets don’t just “say what they mean” but why you still shouldn’t be intimidated by poetry. We also chatted about how East Coast and Western poets are different in ways you might not expect, the place that drew her back to Palisade, and what her biggest goal is as a poet – and why it’s so related to where we live.

Wendy also brought along a stack of her favorite poems and treated us to a few. Live poems today!

To contact Wendy to arrange a reading, you can email her at coloradawendy@gmail.com. To find some of Wendy’s poems, check out the Poetry Foundation: poetryfoundation.org/poets/wendy-videlock and Wendy’s website: wendy-videlock.constantcontactsites.com

For more info about the podcast, check out our website: postcardsfrompalisade.com. Thanks for listening!

How do a cannabis company’s operations differ from other businesses? Why did the Palisade location of The Happy Camper Cannabis Company relocate across town earlier this year? How are they feeling about new competition in Grand Junction?

Whether you’re a regular or occasional consumer or you’ve never touched the stuff, there’s something for everyone (21+) in this episode. We go behind the scenes of a successful cannabis business with The Happy Camper Cannabis Company’s Partner and Senior VP of Marketing and Sales, Colleen Scanlon-Maynard.

For more info about The Happy Camper, check out their website: thcpalisade.com.

For more info about the podcast, check out our website: postcardsfrompalisade.com.

Why does Palisade have a lavender festival? How exactly does one celebrate lavender? Why does lavender grow so well here? Learn everything you ever wanted to know about lavender and the upcoming Colorado Lavender Festival from Festival Director Olivia Coe and Lavender Association of Colorado Treasurer and lavender farmer Lee Ann Nielsen of Nielsen Village.

For more info about the Colorado Lavender Festival and the Lavender Association of Colorado, check out their website: coloradolavender.org/annual-lavender-festival.

For more info about the podcast, check out our website: postcardsfrompalisade.com.

I catch up with Kathy and Scott Gilbert about alllllll the projects they have in progress right now: besides the Cygnus Coffee bus that we all know and love, they’re also working on the new Sempre Caffe in downtown Palisade, a yet to-be-named ice cream truck, longer-term projects at their G Road location by the high school, and one surprise thing. We talk about what brought them back to Palisade and so much more. It’s hard not to catch Kathy and Scott’s infectious enthusiasm, energy, and excitement for bringing tasty things to Palisade! Grab your favorite caffeinated or decaf beverage and hear all about it.

For more info about Cygnus Crossing, check out their website: cygnuscrossing.com or instagram: @cygnuscoffeebus.

For more info about the podcast, check out our website: postcardsfrompalisade.com.

Mark Williams is the owner of Palisade Pedicab and the driving force behind community groups like Bike Palisade and On Palisade. Bike Palisade organizes regular community cruiser rides and bike nights to get locals out and about on bikes in Palisade. On Palisade posts weekly Palisade event listings.

Mark and I chat about how he got into pedicabbing, lessons he’s learned along the way, what an ideal bike-friendly Palisade would look like, and lots more. We also hear from a few locals about what the weekly community rides mean to them.

For more info about Palisade Pedicab, check out their website: palisadepedicab.com.

For more info about the podcast, check out our website: postcardsfrompalisade.com.

Christine Moore is a yoga and dance teacher and yoga therapist based in Palisade. Christine and I chat about the difference between yoga and yoga therapy, the different classes she teaches – both regularly and for special events like the upcoming Grand Valley Yoga Fest, yoga philosophy, the history of belly dancing, what always draws her back to Palisade, how she takes care of herself so she can best take care of others, and lots more.

For more info about Christine and her classes and other offerings, check out her website: christinemooreshimmyogini.com

For more information about the Grand Valley Yoga Fest, check out their website. 100% of the proceeds of the festival go to mental health and suicide awareness programs in the Grand Valley: grandvalleyyogafest.com

For more info about the podcast, check out our website: postcardsfrompalisade.com

Today I catch up with a fellow Lisa: Lisa “Moose” Kral of Dancing In My Head Photography. Lisa has been one of the photographers for Colorado Mountain Winefest for many years and will be returning as the Palisade Bluegrass and Roots Festival photographer in June. She's also looking forward to returning as a photographer for the Palisade Peach Festival and lots of other local events.

Lisa may be best known for her ability to effortlessly capture Facebook-profile-worthy photos of people…along with her ardent love of the color purple. Lisa shares her path from desk job as an office manager to full-time photographer, the challenges of running her own creative business, how she and her husband Matt ended up in Palisade, her wildest celebrity and neighborhood encounters, and lots more.

For more info about Dancing In My Head Photography, find Lisa on Facebook (facebook.com/dancinginmyheadphotography) or Instagram (@dancinginmyheadphotography).

For more info about the podcast, check out our website: postcardsfrompalisade.com.

Jody Corey and Jeff Snook own and operate the Spoke & Vine Motel and Fidel’s, a cocina and bar in central Palisade. Jody and Jeff bought the old Mesa View Motel, remodeled it, and opened as the Spoke & Vine Motel in 2019. And then they very unexpectedly became restaurant owners when they bought the old Palisade Café and Wine Bar on two weeks’ notice, renovating that space into what is now Fidel’s. We talked about how they navigated both projects – relying on each other and the community for support, about the biggest surprises they encountered along the way, their favorite things about Palisade, and lots more.

For more info about the Spoke & Vine Motel and Fidel’s, check out their websites: fidelspalisade.com and spokeandvinemotel.com.

For more info about the podcast, check out our website: postcardsfrompalisade.com.

For our very first episode, we’re sending you a special greeting from Palisade. Learn a little more about the town of Palisade, your host, Lisa McNamara, and what you can expect from future episodes. 

For more, check out our website, postcardsfrompalisade.com.