Sunnyside Is Home to the Only Radio Show Hosted From a Working Winery

When Paul Bonacquisti lost his job in radio after being an on-air personality going by the name Paul Vincent at Denver radio station KDJM (92.5 FM), he decided to turn another one of his creative passions into a career in winemaking. He’d grown up making wine with his family as a hobby, and in 2006, he launched Bonacquisti Wine Company at 4640 Pecos Street in the Sunnyside neighborhood.

Before he took that leap, Bonacquisti’s wife encouraged him to pursue wine education, leading him to become certified as a Level II Sommelier by the International Wine Guild. Since then, his ready-to-drink, food-friendly wines have won double gold at the Colorado Governor’s Cup wine competition and received 90-point ratings from Wine Enthusiast magazine. A few years back, he decided to revisit his love of radio, and launched Denver Wine Radio, which is broadcast from the winery.

“Once it gets in your system, it’s hard to get rid of,” Bonacquisti says of on-air hosting. The show, which airs new episodes once or twice per month, features local winemakers and wine experts, as well as local musicians and artists, all with a focus on wine from the state. “It’s about discovering Colorado wine,” notes Bonacquisti, who is joined on the show by his co-host, longtime Denver radio legend ChaCha Chavez. Guests share their own journey in the industry and discuss what makes Colorado wine unique, often while sipping vino throughout the show.
Previous guest wine experts include Jenne Baldwin-Eaton, wine educator at the viticulture and enology program at Western Colorado College; Jeffrey and Ana Maltzman from Continental Divide Winery; Brad Page from the Colorado Cider Company; John Garlich from Bookcliff Vineyards; Jayme Henderson and Steve Steese from the Storm Cellar Winery; Mark and James Blanchard from Blanchard Family Wines; Michelle Cleveland from Creekside Cellars; Kyle Schlachter from the Colorado Wine Board; and Colorado Association for Viticulture & Enology executive director Cassidee Shull. Bonacquisti has also done a Riesling tasting with sax player Jason Justice from Gumbo le Funque and welcomed blues guitarist Jack Hadley to the show, among other local musicians and artists.

He’s devoted shows to exploring and sampling boxed wine, canned wine and specific styles, such as Cabernet Sauvignon. A big part of the inspiration for doing this radio show is simply getting the word out about wines from our state — “One more voice to bang the drum,” as Bonacquisti puts it.

He strives to breaks down any barriers or any reason that people wouldn’t be opting for Colorado wine. There is also a show with a Colorado-versus-the-world theme, where he and guests compare the same style of wine from locations all over the globe with the same varietal from Colorado. “We can compete with the rest of the world,” Bonacquisti declares.
Past episodes are available on denverwineradio.com as well as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more.

The radio show isn’t the only way that Bonacquisti ties his love of music into the winery. Vinny & Vinyl is his monthly wine and record club, which features his picks for a bottle of wine and a new funk, soul or R&B vinyl LP. With each release, there is a monthly listening pickup party at the Sunnyside location. The winery also hosts live music often.

Paul’s wife, Dr. Judi Diaz Bonacquisti, is also passionate about driving the winery’s involvement with local art and education development. Wine labels are designed by local artist Daniel Luna, and the winery has had partnerships with the Latin American Education Foundation, the Denver Scholarship Foundation and the Colorado Educational Services and Development Association.

For more information on Denver Wine Radio or to listen, visit denverwineradio.com. To learn more about Bonacquisti Wine, visit bonacquistiwine.com.