Silver Vines Winery opens in Olde Town Arvada

Brothers Jeff and Danny Chayer are originally from Minnesota, but they've spent the past four years working in the Texas wine industry. "He was a winemaker," Danny says of Jeff. "I was a manager of one of the wineries."

There, they learned the ropes of the craft, and, Danny says, developed a great relationship with the owner. But eight months ago, they decided to go it alone.

"We said, 'We can do this,'" Danny recalls. "So we quit our jobs and moved to Arvada."

Once there, they quickly found Olde Town, and while having a beer at the Archive Room, noticed a space for rent nearby at 7509 Grandview Avenue. They quickly signed the lease and got to work establishing Silver Vines Winery, which debuted last Friday with a grand opening party.

The brothers are sourcing their grapes from many locations across the U.S., including Lodi and Napa in California, New Mexico and Walla Walla, Washington. And they're making a broad range of wines, turning out chardonnay, pinot grigio and riesling along with cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah. Plus, they're making a late-harvest zinfandel dessert wine, which Danny says pairs well with chocolate.

The brothers aren't simply marketing their bottles, though. They've also built a tasting room where they hope to entice crowds with $5 tastings, wines by the glass (and by the bottle) and cheese trays for snacking. "We're doing acoustic music and blues and jazz on Fridays and Saturdays," Danny adds. And you can also pick up a bottle to take home -- or order a custom-labeled bottle as a gift.

Silver Vines is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday.