Cheers! Wine & Dine at These Unique Experiences Throughout Colorado
Aspen/Snowmass
If you haven’t taken a horse-drawn sleigh to a gourmet meal, it’s time to make a reservation at the Pine Creek Cookhouse. Percheron draft horses pull wooden sleighs through the snow past scenic mountain views for an unforgettable lunch or dinner at the base of the Elk Mountains. Your guides will make sure you’re cozy under blankets for the twenty minute ride to the Cookhouse. Once you arrive, enjoy a locally-sourced meal featuring fresh fish and wild game prepared by the Chefs. Seatings are available for lunch or dinner.
Boulder
Boulder’s Corrida offers a unique rooftop experience in their alpenglobes, which accommodate up to six guests for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. Relax in a cozy, heated globe with views of the Flatirons under the stars. Executive Chef Samuel McCandless’ sumptuous four course tasting menu honors the Basque region of Spain with assorted tapas, Iberico pork, langostinos, and a Valrhona chocolate tart or sorbet for dessert. Wine, cocktail, and zero-proof pairings are available as well.
Colorado Springs
Manitou Springs’ Cliff House is in a beautiful setting near Pikes Peak, and its décor is an homage to the Victorian style of the late 1800s. The Cliff House Dining Room has received the 4-Diamond Award in fine dining from AAA, a DiRoNA Award, and multiple awards from Wine Spectator. Executive Chef Chris Lynch’s menu features entrees including Rocky Mountain trout, grilled Wapiti elk ribeye, and Vancouver Skuna Bay salmon. Their wine cellar boasts over 800 bottles and the two Master Sommeliers on staff can guide you with selections to complement your meal.
Denver
Bigsby’s Folly Craft Winery offers a variety of experiences for oenophiles. With the Winemaker for a Day package, guests can create their own Bordeaux blend with guidance from the resident winemaker and take home a bottle with a custom label. The Group Blending Session invites participants to blend their own red wine and learn to cork, bottle, and label it from start to finish. The Wine Bottling Experience shows guests the step-by-step process to fill, cork, foil, and label bottles of the red blend using machines in the facility.
Crested Butte
It’s only fitting in Crested Butte, known for its laidback lifestyle, that Soupcon offers elevated dining in a cozy mining cabin. The four-course Tasting Menu from Executive Chef John Leonardi begins with an inspired jumbo lump crab and Kaluga caviar canape. Other decadent options include Colorado elk frites, Hokkaido scallop ceviche, Maine lobster risotto, or duet of duck. Add wine pairings for each course, including a 2016 Chateau Rouget Pomeroi Bordeuax, a 2006 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-Du-Pape Rhona or a Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose Champagne.
Lake County (Near Beaver Creek & Vail)
The Tennessee Pass Cookhouse offers an alpine experience that combines epicurean delights and outdoor adventures. Guests have the option of skiing, hiking, or snowshoeing a mile through the San Isabel National Forest near Leadville to work up an appetite for the four-course, candlelit backcountry dinner. The solar-powered yurt will have a fire in the 10th Mountain Division stove to warm guests upon arrival. All food and drinks arrive by snowmobile from the Nordic Center, and there is an emphasis on locally grown products. Their wine list focuses on sustainable, biodynamic options.
Morrison/Evergreen Area
Open since 1963, The Fort is an authentic adobe structure that was built by from 80,000 mud and straw bricks by artisans from Taos, New Mexico. It was designed as a model of Bent’s Fort, an historic fur trading fort built in 1883. With views of the iconic Red Rocks in the Foothills, The Fort’s menu highlights wild game and buffalo, with stand-out items such as roasted bison marrow bones, quail eggs, rattlesnake and rabbit sausage, elk medallions, and buffalo tenderloin filet mignon. On weekends, Eric Many Winds Hererra performs Native American flute music for guests.
Steamboat
Located in downtown Steamboat, Harwig’s offers the only wine cellar in town and a four-course tasting menu through Harwig’s Reserve. On Friday evenings, a limited number of guests can experience refined table service, a curated menu from Chef JJ, and a wine list that has received numerous accolades including Wine Spectator’s Best Award of Excellence since 1996 and Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Restaurants in the US. Fresh oysters, poached lobster, and foie gras can be added to the fresh, locally inspired menu which changes weekly.
Summit County
Sauce on the Blue in Silverthorne offers limited seatings in private yurts for romantic dinners or family celebrations. Your group can dine at 3:45pm, 5:45pm or 7:45pm and enjoy the menu of hand-tossed pizzas, Colorado favorites like lamb sirloin or rainbow trout, or a variety of pastas. Enjoy an Old World Flight or New World Flight of wines with your meal.
Telluride
Cosmopolitan’s Executive Chef Chad Scothorn has led culinary teams in kitchens from Beaver Creek to Argentina, and his talent has been recognized by the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. This cozy restaurant across the street from the gondola in Telluride, features locally sourced ingredients and old-world cooking. Standout menu items include the house smoked duck breast and the Snake River Ranch Kobe eye of rib eye.
