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
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
6 1/2 Year Circumnavigation Aboard the 38' sloop, Azura
1989 - 1995
Azura Studios
Azura Studios, our art and design studio, opened in Minturn, Colorado.
1996
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
Azura As We Know it Today
Purchased the land for Azura Cellars and began construction of the Winery/studio.
2006
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
Meet Coco
Coco, the designer dog, joins the Azura family
2010
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
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
Azura Studios wins $100,000 Public Art Competition
Competition for creating public art in the Stapleton Park near Denver
2018