Meet the owner of Maison La Belle Vie Winery, John Barbier. Maison La Belle Vie is a 4.5-acre vineyard that has some of the highest quality wines in Colorado. Maison La Belle Vie Winery emphasizes quality, taste, and elegance in every wine.
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Q: What inspired you or led you to your current career?
A: I came to America in 1996 and mostly a restaurateur guy and I found an opportunity in Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado. I opened a restaurant in Glenwood Springs and then I opened a small restaurant in Grand Junction called Le Rouge Restaurant. (It was called Moulin Rouge but then the Moulin Rouge 3 years later said there is only one Moulin Rouge – you need to change your name, so I did.) I just love food & wine. My family is all farmers and they also make wine on a small scale for their friends and the village where they live. A few years ago, I decided it was time to move on from restaurants and I found this beautiful place here in 2004 and I had a great vision and I made it happen! Every year I just add on something. We try to create a place like a little France here. We try to provide great service, great ambiance, and of course a great product (such as wine or food). Now we are very busy and we have been doing very very well. The bistro has also been doing very well too for the last couple of years. We are also thinking about opening a little bistro type restaurant here in November or December where everyone can eat together. I also have a very good pastry chef from Belgium who is coming here once a week to do orders of macaroons, pastries and things like that. We’ll see how the community responds to these kinds of French pastries. We will be announcing the time/menu and additional details of these new ventures on Facebook. We’re also going to start something where if you have a group of people coming to your house you can order dinner for 6 people off the menu here and we will create that menu to-go for you for 6 people, from the soup to the dessert and the bread to the cake. We will try to keep everything affordable, so it’s not going to be restaurant prices. Great food and affordable. That’s the idea, people are busy, they want to just leave work and grab the food and the bread and maybe a croissant for the kids for the next morning, a bottle of wine, one-stop shopping!
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Q: Who would you like to see nominated as a Face of The Grand Valley?
A: Kristen Feller, my sister as I call her.
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Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?
A: I think my next home will be Portugal. It is peaceful, inexpensive, the people are great, and it is enjoyable. It’s like France 50 years ago – very laid back.
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Q: What is your favorite movie OR what is the first movie you remember seeing in a theatre?
A: My favorite movie is A Good Year.
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Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: Be kind to each other.
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Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: Be healthy.
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Q: What is your favorite music / 3 bands you would like to see (dead or alive)?
A: I just got to see Sting in Snowmass & he was AWESOME! Someone else I would love to see is Tina Turner.
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Q: What current/former local business makes you the most nostalgic about The Grand Valley?
A: There is a little business called Ghost Rock Farm that makes cheese and butter and they make their own breads. They have a little bitty farm not far away. I met them at the Farmer’s Market and she makes some bread that is very good. The butter is just like my grandma used to make and so is the cheese. When I see something like that which is done the right way – I get very excited!
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Q: Choosing any non-relative: with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? Where in The Grand Valley would you have lunch?
A: Morgan Freeman – I would cook for him!
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Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about The Grand Valley?
A: Community, especially Palisade.
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Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?
A: I would love to be somewhere on the beach part-time and also own a horse ranch in Montana.
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Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: I am very generous and humble.
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Q: What 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
A: Food, discussion, and family
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Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in The Grand Valley?
A: Frank Lemarie (my best friend). He is such a good friend and would drop anything to help any one of his friends. He is an artist, a chef, a driver, he can do it all.
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Q: If you were cast into a major motion picture and had your choice of anyone to be your co-star, who would you choose?
A: Sandra Bullock or Melissa McCarthy – I think that would be goofy and fun.
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Q: If you had a full-time staff member that was fully paid for, who would you choose & why?
Chef, Housekeeper, Driver, Coach, Physical Fitness Trainer or Nanny?
A: Physical Fitness Trainer
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