I am in Denver for a few days (Lone Tree actually) and have some time to do a little exploration. Looking for interesting wines stores and/or bistros to kill some time. Knowing that this board is frequented by many savvy world travelers, I thought I would ask for some recommendations.
Thanks in advance. KJF
Check out Village Wines at Castle Pines Village. Next door (but not open to the public) is Ruby Trust Cellars. Email Ray at info@rubytrustcellars.com and see if you can set up an appointment. The wines are very good. Another winery, in Sedalia, is Allis Ranch Winery. They might be worth checking out, too.
As far as retailers, Davidson, Incredible, Bubbles and Heritage are all near Lone Tree.
Downtown Denver has Wines off Wynkoop, which is ok, off 16th between Wazee and Wynkoop.
Amendment XXI is at 15th and Umatilla (other side of river)
Perhaps the most interesting (but also furthest) is
Proper Pour at The Source. It is awesome. Not a huge selection but very eclectic. 3350 Brighton, north of Downtown.
Not far from Proper Pour is The Infinite Monkey Theorem, An interesting “urban” winery in Denver.
Lone Tree is actually significantly SE from downtown Denver. In my opinion, both of the most interesting wine shops are on the other side of town. Check out Mondo Vino in the Highland area (NOT Highlands Ranch) slightly NW of downtown. A bit further, but worth the drive–especially if you are interested in Italian–is Primo Vino on Old Wadsworth Blvd in Arvada. There are numerous good eating spots, with most of them concentrated in the city itself vs suburbs. Don’t know if they fit the bistro definition, but are a few I like: Sushi Den, Potoger (farm to table), Fruition, Beast & Bottle, Il Posto, and Acorn. I also love Jax for seafood, which now has two Denver locations–one on LODO downtown and the other near Cherry Crrek, where I live. Have fun!
From the travel forum.
The Highlands Wine Seller at Lincoln and Quebec on the western edge of Lone Tree has a nice glass cellar room full of sometimes interesting/hard to find wines. They also do free tastings on the weekends.
Oh, and check out Creekside Cellars in Evergreen. Surprisingly good wines.
http://creeksidecellars.net/
Thanks for those quick replies. My experience with Denver was a very good meal at Panzano on a business trip. Am more low key this time looking to kill some time so the exploration of stores is a nice diversion.
Thanks for the recs - off to some now.
For restaurants, The Wooden Table in Greenwood Village is fantastic. I’ll second Acorn (and it is in the same building as Proper Pour and Crooked Stave Brewery). Domo, near downtown, is great for rustic Japanese. Emil-lene’s by the airport is a crappy little hole in the wall with amazing steaks.
For Denver peeps, Bedrock and Dirty & Rowdy have landed at Davidson’s. I’ve also noted some more obscure Cali labels like Westerly as well.
I was just in Denver last week and had three great meals at Guard and Grace (steakhouse), Stoic & Genuine (seafood), and Rioja (tasting menu). All three had nice a selection of wines that are fairly priced.