Christine Benedetti

1 month ago | aspendailynews.com | Christine Benedetti

Whenever people ask why I live in Aspen, my response is always the community. During this campaign for Aspen City Council, one of the questions that’s been asked several times is some version of “do you agree with local columnists that Aspen has lost its soul?” My answer is no. Surely how people experience Aspen shifts as years go by, and yes, things have changed. The town has gotten more expensive and more exclusive (but also, so has everywhere).

2 months ago | aspendailynews.com | Christine Benedetti

Writing and endurance sports make for an unlikely comparison, but it’s one that author Lauren Groff does poetically. Groff, a former collegiate athlete who runs, skis and plays tennis, likens writing a book to the same pursuit. “It’s a muscle, for me at least — this is not universal for every writer — but for me I’m an animal and I have to train my animal body to receive the work that I need,” she said.

Jun 16, 2024 | aspendailynews.com | Christine Benedetti |Geoff Hanson

Editor’s note: Our intrepid and hungry writers hit the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen on Friday and Saturday and came back with a range of reports. Writer Christine Benedetti opens today’s Reporter’s Notebook with her observations of the event’s morning and night festivities, while Josie Taris reacquaints herself with Southern cooking, and Geoff Hanson, now sober for 11 years, finds something to sip on, sans alcohol.

Jun 12, 2024 | theaspenlocal.com | Christine Benedetti

One of the top-selling and most-awarded American-made single-malt whiskeys in the world started in the '70s as a hobby. Jess Graber distilled, batched and gave bottles of his hooch to friends around the holidays. They liked it, and soon acquaintances were asking to get on his Christmas list, too.

Jun 5, 2023 | theaspenlocal.com | Christine Benedetti

The Roaring Fork Valley isn’t known foremost for its local food. But its roots are inherently in agriculture, from Carbondale’s famous McClure potatoes to Glenwood Springs’ strawberries and Snowmass’ rich ranching history. Today, there are local food champions, and the valley’s tourism organizations banded together to put them—these farmers, chefs, restaurateurs, distillers, brewers, ranchers—on the literal map.