OUR STORY

We've lived a life of beauty & wine.
Now we can't wait to share it with you.

How we started

Azura was the name of our sturdy sailboat which carried us safely around the world. When we opened our design and art studio in Minturn, CO Azura seemed a particularly fitting name for the venture. By 2006, we had out grown our small studio space in the Vail Valley. Vail is a wonderful place, but it just doesn’t offer a lot of viable space for artists. We had to look elsewhere. Luck would have it that we came across an abandoned miniature burro farm in Paonia with a most amazing view. The idyllic North Fork Valley with it’s verdant farms and snowcapped mountains couldn’t have been more perfect! We bought the property and started to build our dream studio and gallery. Since the property was a mile off the highway and on a road with 3 other wineries it was almost inevitable that Azura would become a winery as well as a gallery.

Serendipity

We hold the fact that we quickly made the acquaintance of Steve Rhodes, one of the original winemakers in the Valley, as a further sign that we were on the right track. Steve was a great character, known to be a bit quirky, but we hit it off and he could not have been more generous. He shared his passion and knowledge of winemaking and graciously loaned us his equipment. We were on our way!

TY & HELEN

Our Journey

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Design Concepts San Francisco

Designer/Owner of Design Concepts Inc, a business that produced store
display fixturing for major department stores in the US and internationally.

1967-1989

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6 1/2 Year Circumnavigation Aboard the 38' sloop, Azura

1989 - 1995

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Azura Studios

Azura Studios, our art and design studio, opened in Minturn, Colorado.

1996

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Prima

Purchased a 44' Catamaran in Connecticut and sailed to Miami. Participated in
invitational art fairs around Florida in the winter and then on to the Bahamas.

2006

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Azura As We Know it Today

Purchased the land for Azura Cellars and began construction of the Winery/studio.

2006

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Azura Opens

Azura Cellars & Gallery opens to the public. First vintage at Azura Cellars produced under the guidance of Steve Rhodes, one of the pioneering winemakers in the North Fork Valley.

2007

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Meet Coco

Coco, the designer dog, joins the Azura family

2010

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Great Loop

Completed the Great Loop, a 5,000 mi trip from Florida to Montreal and back on our 34'
Power Catamaran ``Azura 2.``

2015-16

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Colorado Winemaker of the Year

Bret Neal named Winemaker of the year. Ty Gillespie becomes ``Director of Winemaking`` and Brett becomes our winemaker at Azura.

2017

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Azura GALLERY

Azura Studios wins $100,000 Public Art Competition

Competition for creating public art in the Stapleton Park near Denver

2018

This is the best winery in Paonia!

~ Sarah

Beautiful spot! Love the yachts-

~ Carolyn

Loved your wonderful place. Very special. Will be back!

~ Pam

Great service. Even better wine!

~ Michaela

Wow! Great job. Bravo! 4 star. A must see!
~ MJ & John