Italy-First List That Earns Its Stripes
Downtown · Colorado Springs · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 14, 2026
Wingman Metrics
Walk into Oro inside the historic Mining Exchange Hotel and the wine list feels like it was built with intention — not just filler. The Italian-first approach is clear from the jump, and with a sommelier on staff, someone here actually cares about what's in the book. It's a proper hotel restaurant wine list done right, which in Colorado Springs is not a given.
The list runs 80 to 130 bottles deep with a serious Italian backbone — Sangiovese from Tuscany, Nebbiolo from Piedmont, and Falanghina from Campania give you a real tour of the boot without feeling like a geography lesson. California and the Pacific Northwest round out the New World side, which keeps the non-Italophiles from feeling left out. Champagne makes an appearance for celebratory pours, though producer details stay under wraps. The gaps show up in the Southern Hemisphere and anything adventurous — this is not a natural wine list, and it doesn't pretend to be.
Twelve to eighteen options by the glass is a genuinely strong program for downtown Colorado Springs, and the Italian regional spread likely carries through here too. Falanghina showing up by the glass would be a genuine win — it's exactly the kind of white that makes people put down their Chardonnay and ask questions. Rotation isn't confirmed, but with a sommelier steering the ship, there's reason to think the pours stay fresh.
Falanghina (Campania) — null
A white from Campania on a Colorado Springs list is already a minor miracle. Falanghina is bright, mineral, and food-friendly in a way that punches well above its typical price point — order it before the table defaults to Pinot Grigio.
Nebbiolo (Piedmont)
Most tables at an Italian restaurant reach for Chianti and call it a day. The Nebbiolo from Piedmont — whether it's Barolo, Barbaresco, or Langhe — is where the real character lives. Tannic, earthy, and built to go the distance with red meat and rich pasta, it's the bottle the table next to you probably won't order. Their loss.
Premium Champagne
Unnamed premium Champagne in a hotel restaurant is almost always a margin play. Without knowing the producer or vintage, you're likely paying a serious markup on a name-brand bottle you could grab at retail for half the price. If you want bubbles, ask your server what they actually have before you commit.
Sangiovese (Tuscany) + Hand-made pasta
Sangiovese and fresh pasta is one of those combinations that exists because generations of Italians decided it was correct, and they were right. The wine's bright acidity cuts through rich sauces and keeps each bite tasting like the first one.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Oro is the kind of Italian restaurant wine list that actually respects the cuisine it's serving — Italian-focused, sommelier-guided, and deeper than you'd expect in this market. Markups keep it from being a destination wine stop, but as a dinner-and-a-bottle situation, it more than holds its own.
Broadmoor · Colorado Springs · Steakhouse and American
La Taverne is a well-run, properly staffed wine program inside one of Colorado's most storied resort properties — expect to pay for the privilege and the setting. If you stick to Jordan and Peter Michael and resist the siren call of the trophy bottles, you'll drink very well here.
Solid Range
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Broadmoor · Colorado Springs · Italian (Northern Italian, trattoria-style)
Ristorante del Lago is the rare resort restaurant where the wine program actually earns some respect — the Italian focus is real, the sommelier knows the list, and a few genuinely exciting bottles are hiding in there if you look past the marquee names. Just go in knowing you're paying Broadmoor prices, and order accordingly.
Solid Range
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown Colorado Springs · Colorado Springs · Steakhouse
Famous Steakhouse is the dependable old hand — the wine list won't excite you, but it won't embarrass you either, and with a prime rib in front of you and a Stag's Leap in the glass, that's a perfectly decent Thursday night. Just don't come looking for discovery.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Manitou Springs · Colorado Springs · Mexican / Tex-Mex
Crystal Park Cantina is a genuinely fun spot for tacos and margaritas with a mountain view — lean into that and skip the wine entirely. The list is overpriced grocery store inventory with no ambition, and no amount of scenery changes that.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Manitou Springs · Colorado Springs · Upscale American, Contemporary Fine Dining
The Cliff House wine program is the dependable friend who always shows up dressed well — you know exactly what you're getting, and it's genuinely good, even if it never blows your mind. For a special occasion in the mountains, this is a comfortable, well-run room that will take care of you.
Solid Range
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown / West Colorado · Colorado Springs · Fine Dining / Steak & Seafood
Pepper Tree is a reliable wine stop for what it is — a classic Colorado fine-dining room where the tableside Steak Diane is the main event and the wine list is a well-behaved supporting cast. Don't come here chasing discovery, but do come knowing you'll drink decently without drama.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Toledo / Reynolds Corner · Toledo · Italian
There's one reason to come here for wine: Thursday. Half-price bottles on a standing weekly basis is a genuinely good deal, especially on the Santa Margherita. Any other night, the markups are steep and the list doesn't justify them.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
West Toledo/Monroe Street · Toledo · Italian
Carrabba's Toledo isn't a destination for wine — but it's not an embarrassment either. The Ruffino Chianti Classico alone earns its keep, and if you stick to the Italian side of the list, you'll drink reasonably well without drama.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
La Jolla · Chula Vista · Italian
Marisi is a reliable Italian wine list with genuine ambition hiding behind a steep markup structure — the producers are right, the regions are right, but you'll pay for the privilege. Go for the Produttori Barbaresco and the Pre-Phylloxera Barbera, and you'll leave satisfied.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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