At more than 9,000 feet above sea level, Telluride Reserve hits the heights with a food and wine festival that facilitates real connection between attendees, chefs and winemakers (and the fantastic food and drink they provide). In this episode of the In Good Taste Denver Podcast, you’ll meet the founder and organizer of the event, Nicole Jarman, who tells us how Telluride Reserve came to be, what it’s like to attend, and provides some tips for making the most of the event. Listen (and see below), the exclusive discount code Nicole offers for InGoodTasteDenver.com readers and podcast listeners too.
The road to Telluride winds through some of Colorado’s most breathtaking country, a trip that feels less like a drive and more like a preview of what’s ahead. And once you arrive, the scenery is only the beginning. Telluride Reserve is a food and wine event built with real intention, centered on relationship-building, learning, experiencing, indulging and exploring.
The connections part was really obvious to me during my conversation with Nicole Jarman, the founder and executive director of Telluride Reserve and Jarman & Co events. During our podcast chat, she explained that there are many opportunities for the people attending the event to have meaningful conversations with the people behind the food and drink they’ll be having – and in fun ways like a welcome event, hikes, dinners, educational opportunities and more.
But what impressed me most was learning that the way some of the chefs and wine purveyors get matched for their paired dining experiences is at their own request. Nicole explained that, sometimes, a chef has heard about a certain winery, or had their wines, and reaches out to see if the winemaker would like to create a food and wine dining experience – and vice versa. Or maybe the chef and winemaker worked together previously and had so much fun, they wanted to pair up again for this year. In other words, it isn’t just a random assembling of people – it’s real connections. Surely, that camaraderie and mutual respect comes through for the attendees of the event.
Here’s What You Need to Know About Attending Telluride Reserve
WHEN:
July 30-August 1, 2026
WHERE:
At various locations throughout Telluride. The Telluride Reserve organizers have put together an easy guide for how to drive, be driven or fly to the event.
They’ve also worked with several places that offer great lodging deals for the weekend.
WHAT:
As Nicole explains there are more than a dozen activities happening throughout the weekend. Get the details on each, including who the food and wine stars are behind each one, on the website.
Here’s just a sampling of the events that make up the Telluride Reserve Food & Wine Affair:
Thursday, July 30
Welcome Reception
Mingle with chefs, sommeliers and wine partners, sipping wines and bubbles while feasting on freshly shucked oysters and sushi. This is the opportunity to make initial connections for scheduled and more impromptu happenings over the three days.
Friday, July 31
Benedict and Bubbles Seminar is the chance to learn how to make Eggs Benedict perfectly at home – and what to pair with it.
Peaks & Vines: Colorado Meets Napa Dinner brings together Chef Matt Vawter, James Beard Foundation Award-winner “Best Chef: Mountain” as he prepares an Italian-influenced dinner with Chefs Sean and Melissa McGaughey of the Michelin-starred Troubadour and Quail & Condor Bakery in Healdsburg, CA, who are also Vawter’s partners in their new Breckenridge venture, Threefold Bakery. Each course is paired with wines from Mending Wall Winery.
Saturday, August 1
Hike & Sip with Bevan Cellars starts the day with a scenic 3-mile route led by local guides. Afterward, hikers are rewarded with a guided tasting of distinctive wines from Bevan Cellars.
Grand Tasting, held at Telluride Mountain Village’s Heritage Plaza is a relaxed afternoon exploring wines, spirits and small bites, getting to know new-to-you wines and meeting the winemakers and chefs behind the lunches, dinners and classes you’ve been attending over the course of the weekend.
Adieu BBQ wraps up Telluride Reserve with a feast with a grand finale. Several chefs prepare their BBQ specialties including slow-smoked brisket, a show-stopping smoked ostrich leg(!), Asian BBQ-inspired meats, with mini pies and banana pudding for dessert. Caymus Vineyards pours some of their best wines and there’ll be live music and, no doubt, a beautiful Colorado sunset for the event’s send-off.
There are a lot of offerings to choose from and no way to fit them all in. So, Nicole and her team created two curated packages that bundle a variety of events that all work perfectly, schedule-wise:
The Full Course Package is $1400.00 + fees and includes the July 30 First Pour Welcome Reception + July 31 Closer to the Stars: Dinner at Bon Vivant + choice of 1 seminar on July 31 and Aug. 1 + Grand Tasting with Reserve Access on Aug. 1 + the Adieu BBQ on August 1 + a specially-curated gift bag.
The Grand Finale Package is $345 plus fees. It includes entry to two of the most popular events of Telluride Reserve, the Grand Tasting + the Adieu BBQ both on August 1.
WHO:
See who you’ll be meeting, getting to know and benefitting from the talents of at Telluride Reserve with this handy section of the website.
Jarman & Co., who produces the event, has their own lineage to be very proud of. They are also the folks behind the Steamboat Food & Wine Festival and several fantastic Farmers Markets including the Breckenridge Farmers Market and Central Park Farmers Market. Clearly, they know what they’re doing. And, as Nicole explains, her fondness for Telluride runs deep because she’s been going up there for 30 years to enjoy all that the town has to offer.
TICKETS AND OUR EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT CODE:
Event tickets are available individually so you can choose the offerings and schedule you want. Or, you can take advantage of their two curated offerings above. Either way, this is the place to start.
Our thanks to Nicole and Jarman & Co. for offering our listeners and readers 10% off all tickets by applying code InGoodTaste2026 at checkout. You can use this code through August 1.
-By Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher of InGoodTasteDenver.com and host of the In Good Taste Denver Podcast. Photos courtesy of Telluride Reserve.
Comments are closed.