Wine museum in Palisade moving forward | Western Colorado

“It will be the largest public display of wine -related artifacts in North America,” High said. “The core of Theresa (High) and my permanent collection contains over 18,000 historical wine related objects.”

The building itself will also be historic. High is proposing to restore a building on Third Street in Palisade that is over a century old and had been used as a fruit processing and shipping facility, Community Development Director Brian Rusche said.

“The building you probably recognize,” Rusche said. “It’s the Palisade branch of the Grand Junction Fruit Growers Association, which was constructed in 1909 and served as the sales point for the Mountain Lion brand label back in the day.”

High is proposing to extend the building to the west, which will house the museum. He also plans to have a wine bar in the northern half of the building, which will include a rooftop deck.

“We would love to have a roof deck over the wine bar that’s a little bit smaller in square footage, but have staircases and elevators that go up from inside the new part of the building up onto the roof deck,” High said.

In order to accommodate the rooftop deck, an outdoor fire egress would be needed. In order for the outdoor staircase to fit, High said he would need a variance to allow a 5-foot setback from the property line.

In addition to the setback variance, High requested a variance to allow an 8-foot security fence around the courtyard space he plans for in front of the building. It would not be a privacy fence, but be iron and maintain the view of the building from the street.

“Because of the type of objects that are going to be in this museum, and some of the late-night escapades of some of the people in the town on occasion, I felt it necessary to put an 8-foot security fence,” High said.

The new portion of the building would incorporate design elements from the existing structure, including the arched windows and the taller rectangular windows. Several members of the community spoke in favor of the project, including two former mayors, which was noted at the meeting.

“What they’re proposing, this museum, unless you have had any kind of exposure to the kind of items that will be in this museum, it’s something that is going to attract many, many, many people,” Roger Granat, a former Palisade mayor, said.

Several members of the public spoke about the tourism draw the museum would have. Trustee Jamie Somerville called the project “unbelievable.”

“I never thought I’d see anything like this in Palisade and I think it’s just, I’m at a loss for words,” Somerville said.

In addition to the two variances, the Trustees also extended the deadline for vacating a right of way in front of the property. The town will vacate that right of way if a building permit is applied for for the project by June of 2022.

The Trustees also granted a Vintners Restaurant Liquor License for the new operators of Grande River Vineyards.