Whether you favor Nordic or Alpine skiing, an essential component of the wintry pastime is the post-ski meal—the big respite after a long day in the snow. For those with a passion for wining and dining, this moment is not complete without a glass—or bottle—of something special to cap off the evening.
We've selected 10 restaurants from top ski regions across the United States and Canada whose wine lists provide plenty of tipples for a cozy cool-down after a day hitting the slopes. These Wine Spectator Grand Award– and Best of Award of Excellence–winning restaurants offer wine lists with excellent breadth and depth across many regions, styles and vintages. For more options in all kinds of climes, search all of Wine Spectator’s Restaurant Award–winning restaurants, including all our Grand Award recipients.
Do you have a favorite you’d like to see on this list? Send your recommendations to restaurantawards@mshanken.com. We want to hear from you!
Colorado
Element 47
The Little Nell, 675 E. Durant Ave., Aspen, CO
Telephone (970) 920-6330
Website www.thelittlenell.com
Grand Award
Tucked high in the Rocky Mountains at the luxurious Little Nell hotel is flagship restaurant Element 47, whose name is a reference to silver’s number on the periodic table and Aspen’s founding as a mining town. The real riches, though, are in the restaurant’s hefty 19,845-bottle cellar. The Colorado institution has earned a Grand Award every year since 1997. Today, wine director Chris Dunaway’s list offers 3,105 selections, with strengths in Burgundy, Bordeaux, California, the Rhône Valley and Italy, with star selections from the likes of Armand Rousseau, Jean-Louis Chave and Ridge. These are served alongside dishes like Wagyu tartare, scallops topped with hazelnuts and caviar, lobster tortellini and much more from chef Matt Zubrod’s menu.
Flagstaff House Restaurant
1138 Flagstaff Road, Boulder, CO
Telephone (303) 442-4640
Website www.flagstaffhouse.com
Grand Award
Skiers passing through Boulder, just a morning’s drive from Keystone and Breckenridge and roughly 20 miles from Eldora Mountain Resort, will find both mountainside views and a Grand Award–winning wine list at Flagstaff House Restaurant. Wine director Ali Yakich’s 4,000-label list features depth in Burgundy, Bordeaux, California, Italy, Champagne and the Rhône Valley, with several vintages of Dom Pérignon going back to 1970, more than 20 of Penfolds Grange and a considerable collection of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Alongside these 16,000 bottles, chef Chris Royster offers a variety of dishes on the restaurant’s four-course prix-fixe menu and the tasting menu. This includes Spanish mackerel escabeche, Texas pharaoh quail, Colorado lamb rack and parsnip arancini. Several canapés are also available, including Royal Belgian osetra caviar and prime steak tartare.
Allred’s Restaurant
Telluride Ski & Golf Resort, 565 Mountain Village Blvd., Telluride, CO
Telephone (970) 728-7474
Website www.allredsrestaurant.com
Best of Award of Excellence
If it’s mountaintop dining you’re after, head up to Allred’s Restaurant at the top of the Telluride Gondola for sweeping Rocky Mountain views. There, wine director Andrew Shaffner’s Best of Award of Excellence–winning 1,100-selection list excels in choices from California, Burgundy and Italy. In addition to more than 20 wines offered by the glass—including H. Dönnhoff Riesling and Hartford Court Chardonnay—there are a handful of selections available in 2-ounce pours, which the restaurant offers using a Coravin preservation system. Sustainably sourced meat and seafood are the focus of chef Michael Gorman’s hearty, seasonal menu, which includes dishes such as elk loin with butternut squash farro risotto and a pomegranate demi-glace, as well as Wagyu beef carpaccio with crispy capers and Grana Padano cheese.
Frasca Food & Wine
1738 Pearl St., Boulder, CO
Telephone (303) 442-6966
Website www.frascafoodandwine.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Inspired by northeastern Italy’s Friuli–Venezia-Giulia region, Boulder’s Best of Award of Excellence–winning Frasca Food & Wine presents a 740-wine list created by co-owner Bobby Stuckey and maintained by wine director Carlin Karr. True to its theme, Frasca’s list showcases Italian picks (with more than 30 percent dedicated to Nebbiolo), along with wines from Burgundy, Champagne and California. Chef Ian Palazzola offers a variety of pastas, meats and seafood dishes inspired by Northern Italian cuisine. These are featured across two menus: the quattro piatti (four courses, $140) with more rustic dishes like tagliolini with duck ragù, and the Friulano tasting menu showcasing some of the finest of Italian mountain cooking ($195, and an additional $185 for optional wine pairings).
Ranch House Restaurant & Saloon
Devil's Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa, 3530 County Road 83, Tabernash, CO
Telephone (970) 728-4046
Website www.devilsthumbranch.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Colorado skiers have been able to enjoy the slopes at Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa since 1938. And since 2021, wine fans have been able to experience a Best of Award of Excellence–winning wine list at the resort’s Ranch House Restaurant & Saloon, where wine director Dustyn Hawley has assembled a 450-label list focused most heavily on regions in California and France. Among the nearly 1,800-bottle inventory, fans will recognize acclaimed names like Jordan and Schrader Cellars. There’s plenty from Oregon, Italy and Spain too, with many bottles priced less than $100. Chef Andrew Rosenfeld’s menu showcases locally raised Wagyu beef alongside "mountain cuisine" dishes such as bacon-wrapped elk and Colorado stuffed trout.
Rustico Ristorante
114 E. Colorado Ave., Telluride, CO
Telephone (970) 728-4046
Website www.rusticoristorante.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Ski buffs with a taste for Italian wines will find no shortage of choices at Rustico Ristorante. Wine director and chef Paolo Canclini’s wine list has won the restaurant a Best of Award of Excellence since 2003, with 1,525 selections that span the length of the boot and cover both classic and obscure regions. Guests will recognize well-known names like Piedmont’s Fontanabianca and Alto Adige’s Terlano. Canclini’s menu includes classics like caprese salad and calamari, as well as a wide range of pastas, pizzas and grilled cuts of beef
Swiss Chalet
Sonnenalp Hotel, 20 Vail Road, Vail, CO
Telephone (866) 284-4411
Website www.sonnenalp.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Old-world Alpine charm comes to Colorado at Swiss Chalet, Sonnenalp Hotel’s Best of Award of Excellence–winning restaurant. Much of the experience lies with wine director Zachary Lewison’s 900-label wine list, which concentrates on picks from California, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. The diverse, 5,300-bottle list is packed with pairing options for chef Joshua Marshall’s Swiss and European menu of dishes like baked escargot with herb-garlic butter, French onion soup and veal schnitzel with potato salad. Fans of fondue and raclette will find plenty to enjoy on the menu as well.
Maine
Havana Restaurant
318 Main St., Bar Harbor, ME
Telephone (207) 288-2822
Website www.havanamaine.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Just a short drive from cross-country skiing destination Acadia National Park is Best of Award of Excellence–winning Havana Restaurant on Maine’s picturesque Mount Desert Island. Wine director and co-owner Michael Boland’s 1,475-bottle list offers a wealth of options from Italy, Spain, Germany, France, California, Washington and Oregon to pair with chef Jan Daniel Antigua’s Latin-influenced American cuisine. The menu includes dishes like squid ink gnocchi with queso fresco, Brazilian lobster moqueca and crispy pork belly topped with pickled papaya atchara. Value seekers will find an abundance of wines to fit their budgets, including those on a list of picks priced $59 or less, as well as 23 wines by the glass. Fittingly, the restaurant also offers guests a range of cigars to choose from.
Canada
Post Hotel Dining Room
Post Hotel & Spa, 200 Pipestone Road, Lake Louise, Alberta
Telephone (800) 661-1586
Website www.posthotel.com
Grand Award
Boasting one of the very best wine lists in all of Canada, Post Hotel Dining Room makes its home in the hamlet of Lake Louise in the Rockies. After a long day on the slopes, skiers can stretch out with wine director Julian Simard-Gillis’ 3,600-selection list, which showcases wines from California, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhône, Tuscany, Piedmont and Australia, with plenty of values and Canadian selections in the mix as well. Chef Hans Sauter’s hearty fare spotlights Canadian meats and fish in dishes such as dry-aged Muscovy duck breast, Alberta bison tenderloin and mushroom tagliatelle. For those with a sweet tooth, the dessert wine list highlights nearly dozens of Vintage Ports, as well as a substantial vertical of Château d’Yquem.
Araxi Restaurant + Oyster Bar
4222 Village Square, Whistler, British Columbia
Telephone (604) 932-4540
Website www.araxi.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Less than a mile from Whistler’s Blackcomb ski resort, in the picturesque main square of the village, is Best of Award of Excellence–winning Araxi Restaurant + Oyster Bar. Wine director Jason Kawaguchi has sourced a collection of more than 1,000 labels, with extensive selections from California, Burgundy and Italy—as well as picks from top Canadian wineries such as Checkmate, Burrowing Owl—to pair with chef James Walt’s seafood-centric Pacific Northwest cuisine. Those dining in the restaurant’s heated outdoor bar can take in the goings-on of the town square below. Whether inside or out, guests can enjoy a plethora of oyster choices, chilled seafood platters and small plates with their wine before diving into heartier entrées (depending on how hard they’ve worked on the slopes). Dishes include miso-marinated sablefish with shiitake mushrooms, braised radishes and dashi broth; potato-crusted lingcod with pickled mussels, Swiss chard and vegetable chowder; and birch syrup–roasted venison with onions, rutabaga tatin and smoked haskap berry jus.
Edited by Chris Cardoso, Collin Dreizen, Julia Larson and Olivia Nolan
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