Sweet Heart Wine & Cider to expand to Windsor

WINDSOR — Loveland-based Sweet Heart Brands announced Wednesday that it soon will open a wine, cider, restaurant and event venue in the RainDance development in Windsor.

The approximately 6,000-square-foot space at 2191 Covered Bridge Parkway had been home to Ted’s Backyard Patio, a scratch-kitchen restaurant that closed Aug.  20.

Sweet Heart’s winery and event center at 5500 W. U.S. Highway 34 in Loveland will remain open as the company’s flagship, and its Windsor location is being created in cooperation with The Water Valley Co., developer of RainDance. Its growing wine and cider production operations are located at The Forge campus in south Loveland,

“Loveland is home,” Sweet Heart Brands CEO Charles Oster said in a prepared statement. “Our family lives here, our flagship winery is here, our production is here, and our relationships with the city, the county and this community are incredibly important to us. RainDance isn’t a move away from Loveland. It’s a result of what Loveland helped us become.”

Master winemaker David Burks founded Sweet Heart in 2010 in a Loveland garage, then opened its brick-and-mortar tasting room in May 2017 and sold the business to Charles and Farah Oster in May 2024.

Charles Oster said expansion became important to protecting the experience guests have helped create in Loveland.

“There is something really beautiful that our guests, our team and the Loveland community have built together, and we want to protect it,” Oster said. “As more people discover Sweet Heart, space becomes a real consideration. Growth shouldn’t mean squeezing more and more people into one property. It should allow us to welcome more people into Sweet Heart while continuing to invest in and preserve the experience that made people fall in love with our Loveland winery in the first place.

“If we do this right, RainDance makes Loveland stronger,” he said. “It gives us room to grow while protecting the place that started it all.”

The Windsor space’s former occupant originally opened as Ted’s Sweetwater Grill in 2020 before rebranding and reopening as Ted’s Backyard Patio early last February with a new focus on smash burgers and pizzas. Following its closure, its management announced that existing Ted’s Valpak coupons could still be used for discounts at nearby local spots in the RainDance development such as The Grainhouse or The Sand Bar.

Water Valley founder Martin Lind told BizWest Wednesday that the space seats around 100 to 150 patrons, not counting event venues. He said he didn’t know how many people would work at the new Sweet Heart location, but added that Ted’s had employed around 20 full-time equivalent workers.

“This property has always had special meaning to us, and RainDance deserves something truly special here,” Lind said. “We weren’t looking for just another restaurant. We wanted the right concept and the right operator — something distinctive with the hospitality, reputation and staying power to become part of the fabric of this community. We hand-selected Sweet Heart because we believe they are that partner. Windsor deserves an experience of this caliber, and we’re incredibly pleased to bring one of America’s top wineries to RainDance.”

The Scout Guide named Sweet Heart one of its “Top 10 Wineries in the United States” last year, and by The Scout Guide in 2025. Last weekend, WineryAtlas, a national winery discovery and data platform tracking nearly 15,000 wineries, named Sweet Heart as the No. 1 winery in Colorado.

The company has expanded its Northern Colorado footprint through Tesoro, a tasting room at 253 Linden St. in Old Town Fort Collins, as well as its events business, its Loveland wine and cider production operations called “The Cellar” and a growing portfolio of locally produced hard-cider brands.

Sweet Heart selects wines and grapes from California growing regions and produces its beverages in Loveland. At RainDance, its wine program will stand alongside its locally produced hard cider, with both receiving equal billing.

“The deeper we got into RainDance, the more obvious the fit became,” Oster said. “We already have an incredibly strong Sweet Heart customer and member community in Windsor and Weld County. Combine that with this property, the surrounding community and what Martin has created here, and it became clear very quickly that this was the right next move for Sweet Heart.

“We don’t see this as another tasting room,” he said. “We’re creating Sweet Heart Wine & Cider at RainDance — bringing together our wines, our cider brands, food, events and hospitality in one extraordinary environment. We believe it can become the living room of RainDance.”

RainDance will become the flagship taproom and consumer showcase for Sweet Heart Brands’ hard-cider portfolio, including Climb Hard Cider, Patriot Press American Hard Cider, Sweetheart Cider and Black Bear Cider. Guests will be able to order cider flights, rotating taps, seasonal and experimental releases, food pairings and special events.

Sweet Heart also plans to expand its cider portfolio into wholesale distribution throughout the region.

“We’re serious about cider,” Oster said. “We’re building real cider brands with distinct identities and significant ambitions. RainDance gives those brands a flagship home — a place where people can experience them and then recognize and seek them out throughout Northern Colorado.”

The apple orchard adjacent to the new restaurant won’t be  used as a supply for its ciders, but Oster said the symbolism is striking.

“It’s hard to imagine a better setting for what we’re building,” Oster said. “We’re fermenting and crafting hard cider right here in Northern Colorado, and now we’ll have our flagship cider brandroom sitting alongside an apple orchard in this incredible agricultural landscape.”

Besides its indoor and outdoor spaces, the property will feature a full commercial kitchen, bar infrastructure, gathering and event areas, and access to the surrounding landscaping, water, orchard and recreational amenities. The company envisions it as combining wine, cider, food, weekend brunch, live music, wine and cider releases, private celebrations, corporate gatherings and community events.

“Sweet Heart’s mission is to create experiences for people to connect,” Oster said. “When you look at what Martin and his team have spent decades creating at Water Valley and RainDance, there is incredible alignment. These are communities designed around experiences and connection. Our job is to create a place worthy of that.”

Golf carts and low-speed vehicles have become part of the lifestyle connecting neighborhoods, golf, recreation, restaurants and amenities throughout RainDance, and Oster said “we want people to golf-cart over after a round, meet their neighbors for dinner, stop in for a glass of wine or locally made cider, bring family for brunch or come hear music on a beautiful evening. The goal isn’t simply to build a successful restaurant. The goal is to become part of the rhythm of the community.”

Megan Nickelson, Oster’s daughter and a member of the Sweet Heart Brands marketing team, represents the next generation of the family business and will be involved in helping tell the story of Sweet Heart’s continued growth across Northern Colorado.

As part of its collaboration with Water Valley, Oster and his team plan to explore potential opportunities with the Colorado Eagles minor-league hockey team owned by Lind as well as other parts of the broader Water Valley ecosystem as the relationship develops.

“There is a much bigger Northern Colorado opportunity here,” Oster said. “Martin and his team have created extraordinary communities, golf, sports and entertainment experiences. Sweet Heart has built wine, cider, hospitality and events. Bringing those worlds together opens up some very exciting possibilities.”

At its core, Lind said, the partnership is rooted in a shared belief about hospitality and community.

“We have spent decades creating places where people want to live, gather and make memories,” Lind said. “Sweet Heart understands that philosophy. They have built their reputation by creating experiences around wine and hospitality, not simply selling a product. That’s why we believe this is such a natural fit for RainDance.”

Sweet Heart Brands and Water Valley have finalized definitive agreements and are now working on operational details for the new location. Additional information regarding hiring, menus, wine and cider offerings, events and community programming will be announced in the coming weeks.

Oster told BizWest Wednesday that the opening will be done in two phases, with the taproom hopefully ready by mid-October for fans of the Eagles, and that the restaurant would follow, likely by early December. He said he is probably “a day away from hiring a general manager” for the restaurant and that Sweet Heart plans to hire a professional team to develop its menu.

“We want to be elevated but approachable,” he said, adding that food offerings should be appropriate for a winery but also family-friendly.

“This is an important next chapter for Sweet Heart Brands,” Oster said. “We’re bringing everything we’ve learned about wine, cider, food, events and connection into one remarkable property. We’re excited to be coming to Windsor, excited to be part of RainDance and excited to build something this community can be proud to call its own.”

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