La Taverne - The Broadmoor

Walking into La Taverne with a 400-plus bottle list is the kind of thing that makes you want to cancel your plans for the rest of the night. This is the Broadmoor — a five-star resort that's been doing this longer than most wine directors have been alive — and the list feels exactly like that history: earned, considered, and not messing around. France and the U.S. anchor everything, and the depth in both camps is the real deal.

The France-USA backbone here is thick and well-sourced, with Champagne getting serious attention — Bollinger and Schramsberg sharing the same glass-pour price point is a genuinely interesting curatorial choice that tells you the list has range without pretension. We'd love to see more granular data on the Burgundy and Rhône depth, but at 400-plus labels in a Colorado Springs steakhouse, the presumption is that the cellar goes somewhere worth following. The U.S. side likely leans into big California names alongside some more thoughtful domestic producers — expect the full spectrum from crowd-pleasing Napa Cabs to bottles you won't find at your local wine shop. Gaps, if any, probably appear in the Southern Hemisphere and emerging European regions, but that's a quibble at this scale.

With 20 to 35 by-the-glass options, this program isn't just pointing you at the house pour and calling it a day — you've got real selections to work with across multiple categories. The Champagne-by-the-glass offering alone, with both Bollinger Blanc de Blancs and Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs available, is better than most restaurants' entire sparkling programs. Rotation appears seasonal, which means returning guests have a reason to keep checking back.