Candlelit Burgundy at 11,966 Feet Above Sea Level
On-Mountain (See Forever Trail, Lift 14) · Telluride · Italian Alpine / Wine-Focused Fine Dining · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 26, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Alpino Vino’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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You skin up or ride a snowcat to get here, and the first thing you see is a candle-lit wooden hut with a tight but serious wine list waiting inside. For a mountain hut perched nearly 12,000 feet above sea level, the fact that there's a Raspail-Ay Gigondas and a Tronquoy-Lalande Saint-Estèphe on the menu is quietly absurd — in the best possible way. This place knows exactly what it is, and it leans in.
Fourteen labels isn't a lot, but every slot earns its spot. The list skews Old World and French-leaning with Italian sensibility — you've got Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis rubbing elbows with Olga Raffault Chinon and a Langlois Sancerre that has no business being this high up a mountain. There's a Chateau de Cosse Sauternes for dessert, a Peyrassol Provence rosé that reads more serious than its category suggests, and Le Mesnil Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs for the table next to you celebrating something you weren't invited to. The gaps are real — no Italian reds to speak of despite the alpine Italian concept, which is a little strange — but what's here is curated with intent.
All 14 bottles are available by the glass, which is generous and genuinely useful given this is a prix fixe tasting menu context where you might want to jump around. Pours run $18–$36, which stings a bit at the top end — the Tronquoy-Lalande Saint-Estèphe at $36/glass adds up fast — but the program is designed for flights alongside courses, and that framing makes the by-the-glass program feel like the point, not an afterthought.
Clos La Coutale Malbec Cahors — $18/glass, $72/bottle
At $18 a glass, this is the most affordable pour on the list and one of the most food-friendly. Cahors Malbec is structured and earthy — nothing like Argentine Malbec — and it holds its own against charcuterie and hearty mountain pasta in a way that the pricier bottles can't always justify.
Olga Raffault Chinon
Raffault is one of the most respected names in Chinon and Loire Cab Franc in general, and most people skiing into a mountain hut are going to reach for the Champagne or the Bordeaux first. Their loss. This bottle offers a savory, cool-climate Cab Franc experience that fits the alpine mood better than anything else on the list.
Tronquoy-Lalande Saint-Estèphe 2018
At $36/glass or $144/bottle, you're paying a significant alpine premium for a solid but not exceptional Saint-Estèphe. This wine retails well under $40 a bottle in most markets. The wine is fine — it's the math that isn't.
Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis + Handmade pasta with butter and mountain herbs
Brocard's Chablis is lean, mineral, and cut with enough acidity to slice through butter-rich pasta without overwhelming the delicate herb notes. It's the kind of pairing that makes a multi-course tasting menu feel like it was actually thought through.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Alpino Vino is a genuinely weird and wonderful place to drink wine — a snowcat-access candlelit hut with a focused Old World list and the altitude to prove it's not trying to be anything else. Markups are real and the list is short, but the context alone earns the Wild Card badge: you will not drink Olga Raffault Chinon at 11,966 feet anywhere else.
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