Cowboy Country Hiding a Serious Wine Cellar
Granby · Farm to Table
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 7, 2026
RagingWine reviewed C Lazy U Lodge Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You're ninety minutes from Denver, surrounded by horses and hay bales, and the wine list clocks in at 200-plus bottles with Opus One and Gaja Barbaresco on it. That's a plot twist. C Lazy U earns its Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence honestly — this is not a list thrown together to impress city guests; it's curated with a real point of view.
California leads the charge and leads it well: Caymus, Silver Oak Alexander Valley, Jordan, Stag's Leap, and Nickel & Nickel Chardonnay cover the hits that ranch guests will recognize, while Opus One anchors the prestige tier for those celebrating something. France shows up with Louis Jadot and a Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny that has no business being this far from a Michelin-starred dining room. Italy brings Antinori Tignanello and Gaja Barbaresco — two bottles that could anchor a wine bar list on their own. The range skews heavily Old Guard California and classic European, with no real adventurous natural wine detour or New World wildcard, but that's a deliberate choice that fits the guest here.
Twelve to twenty options by the glass is a genuinely strong program for a ranch in the Rockies — most comparable properties offer six pedestrian pours and call it a day. We don't have the full rotating glass list, but with a cellar this deep there's real potential for quality pours without committing to a full bottle after a long day on horseback.
Jordan Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon — $50–$80 est.
Jordan is a known quantity that consistently delivers elegant, food-friendly Cab without the Opus One price tag. Against a menu of elk tenderloin and bison ribeye, it's the practical call — approachable, crowd-pleasing, and less of a gamble at altitude where big tannic wines can feel heavy.
Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny
Most guests here are reaching for California Cab, and who could blame them. But a Chambolle-Musigny at a Colorado dude ranch is genuinely unexpected — delicate, perfumed Burgundy that's almost comically refined against the backdrop of mountain air and wood-fired everything. Order it and quietly win dinner.
Opus One
Opus One is a trophy bottle that carries trophy-bottle markups everywhere it goes, and resort restaurants don't discount prestige. You're paying for the name and the moment, not a hidden value. Save it for a restaurant where the wine program staff can actually walk you through why it's worth it.
Antinori Tignanello + Grilled Bison Ribeye
Tignanello is a Sangiovese-Cabernet blend with enough dark fruit and savory backbone to go toe-to-toe with bison's rich, slightly gamey character. It's a more interesting call than reflexively grabbing a California Cab, and it holds up to whatever smoke and char comes off that grill.
The Bottom Line
A ranch resort wine list that punches well above its zip code — Gaja and Drouhin in Granby is genuinely surprising. The markups and lack of a dedicated sommelier keep it from Rager territory, but as a Wild Card it earns the badge: nobody sees a list this considered coming when they book a horseback vacation.
Delafield · Delafield · Farm to Table
I.d. is a comfortable, well-credentialed choice for wine in the Delafield area — the Wine Spectator recognition is earned and the list does its job without embarrassing anyone. Just don't come here looking to be challenged; come here looking to drink something familiar and good with a solid farm-to-table meal.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Chetek · Chetek · Farm to Table
A remote Wisconsin retreat with a Wine Spectator credential, an on-staff wine pro, and a focused California list is exactly the kind of unexpected find we love flagging. If you're making the trip to Canoe Bay — and it's worth making — the wine program won't let you down.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Delavan · Delavan · Farm to Table
Opus is the wine overachiever in a room that wasn't expecting one — a thoughtfully curated list in a historic Wisconsin inn that earns its Wine Spectator badge without relying on it as a crutch. If you're driving out to Delavan for a tasting menu, the wine list is a genuine reason to stay the full night.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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