Denver sits at the the gateway to the Rocky Mountains. In the winter skiing rules, yet summer may have more interesting events. After the snow melts, the mountains shine for the summer/fall season of 2018 with exceptional food and wine festivals. Here is a sampling of the best and most unique experiences.

Telluride Wine Festival

After Butch Cassidy robbed the bank here, Telluride eventually turned into a ski and resort town.  The TWF has an innovative program that is smaller than similar wine festivals in attendance, yet exceptional in food and pairings. The Patron program features vintner seminars, winemaker food events, special seating, sommelier education and of course, stunning mountain views. As this is small event, there are no lines for any events.

Top Taco, Denver

Top Taco is THE EVENT if you want to taste never-made before creations paired with lively libations, all with chefs trying to win the big prize and bragging rights. The location is the Stanley Marketplace, just east of Downtown, a blend of indoor and outdoor restaurants in a park setting. The VIP pass is the ticket to extra tastings so you can sample all the tacos and the 40 various tequilas. This experience provides a VIP tent complete with more unique tacos, it’s own bar and entertainment action. Just about every taco imaginable means every taste preference has plenty of options.

North Fork Uncorked

The wines produced for this festival come from the highest elevation in North America on the Western Slope of Colorado. So, a little different taste twist from this climate and soil. The two day event combines farmers, cheese makers, brewers, chefs, brewers and chefs in the multi-day event. Some great picnics and tours, but the real attraction is the intimate interaction with the purveyors and community. Like Wine Festival meets county fair!

Denver Food & Wine Festival

This is a festival where you can pick different events to attend on the five-day schedule. How about a cinema series with libations and the foods featured in the film? The ultimate dinner experience is a five-course dinner from famous chefs on a railroad bridge under the stars. The Grand Tasting features over 700 wines and spirits combined with tasty bites from over 40 select restaurants. The cocktail “mixologist” of renown is crowned during The Shakedown competition which also features local restaurants making bites to match the creativity of the cocktail.

Keystone Wine & Jazz Festival

Keystone is about 80 miles west of Denver, and for the summer and this festival, the base area gets converted into a stage with jazz, wine varieties, seminars, and of course, really good food. Here you can pick which seminars and tastings fit your schedule so you can pursue activities like mountain bike rides, golf or fly fishing. The festival kick-starts with free gondola rides to the top of the mountain for great views of the valley. Keystone may be the most family-friendly ski resort in Colorado, as they provide numerous options in KidTopia.

Colorado Mountain Wine Festival

The Colorado home of world famous peaches and cantaloupes is also the hub of the Colorado Mountain Wine Festival. Start off with with painting and wine and see if the combo gives you the eye of a Master! As the vineyards are spread a bit, use the special bus tour to get around easily while you sample.The Grape Stomp at the Festival in The Park as a smashing selfie-station.

In golf, talk is expensive, and sometimes performance is cheap. Well, at least in a sense it doesn’t add up to the advertising and product claims.

 

In the case of TourEdge, and their Hot Launch 3 irons and woods, there is a definite match between the claims and performance. They say they match the performance of clubs at one half the price. So let the games begin, a bold claim, but does the performance match the claims?

 

The HL3 irons and woods were designed to give the average golfer a custom club at a reasonable price. Made and assembled in the USA, there is a lifetime warranty for all their clubs. All this sounded good, so off I went to purchase two HL3 clubs to test. Moreover, even more interesting, from ordering to arrival was just 48 hours, which is the typical turn around time. Nice not to have to wait two weeks for your clubs!

My Cobra Irons and Driver are excellent. And since I was custom fit at the PGA Tour Superstore, I had all the fit data. The clubs picked for testing were the HL3 iron-wood in a 6-iron loft and configuration, and a 10.5 driver. In the irons, same shaft (KBS Tour Steel), same set up in length, lie angle and grip. The only difference was the iron wood is just slightly more substantial in swing weight than the Cobra iron. The real difference was in price. The complete set of the HL3 iron-woods in steel is just over $500, while the same set of Cobra irons were just shy of $900. If you choose the get the more traditional cavity-back HL3, the iron set is only $419.

After a warm-up, I alternated five shots with each six iron until I had used 40 golf balls. The results were that the HL3 went just as far, but was far easier to hit consistently, likely from the iron-wood design. Easy-to-hit is an essential factor in that I like to play golf, yet time for practice is very limited. The Cobra iron was just a tad more precise if I wanted to work the ball, but only a slight difference. My overall impression was the performance for how I can devote time to golf was very good for quite a bit less money. I should note, I don’t always carry a handicap as time is tight, but will consistently score in the 80s. I have been told I have a relatively sound and repeatable golf swing.

On to the drivers, where there was a real difference in price. $189 for the HL3 in a 10.5 head, and about $400 for the Cobra in a 10.5 head. Once again, I alternated balls with each club. Four shots with the HL3, then four with the Cobra. Granted, it is a little challenging to tell distance without a launch monitor, but with that many golf balls, you get a feel for the club and performance parameters. The result was that the Cobra went little farther, maybe 3-5 yards. However, the HL3 Driver was more natural to hit consistently. They each have a different sound, but after 20 balls total with each, I was used to each sound. My bottom line is I would probably trade 5 yards for keeping it in the fairway more of the time with the knowledge that I can swing a little more confidently. For those with a slice tendency, the driver also comes in an off-set model.

Traditionally, TourEdge has been an exceptional hybrid, wood and driver company, and irons didn’t get much attention. The Hot Launch 3 irons all the way to driver are worth consideration because they perform well, and in the dollar per performance factor competition, they are the clear winner for the average golfer.