Forbes Five-Star, Zero Excuses, All Bottles
Southwest / Lake Avenue · Colorado Springs · Fine dining, European-inspired contemporary American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 14, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at the Penrose Room arrives like a leather-bound declaration of intent — this is not the place you order the second-cheapest bottle to avoid judgment. The room itself, perched above The Broadmoor's lake with mountain views and the occasional live piano, sets expectations high, and the cellar doesn't blink. Classic European and California heavyweights anchor the list, and it reads like someone actually curated it rather than just calling a distributor rep.
France is the backbone here — Burgundy gets serious attention with names like Domaine Leflaive's Puligny-Montrachet on the list, and Bordeaux is well-represented with Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac holding court. California shows up confidently with Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon and Opus One covering the prestige end of the Napa spectrum. The breadth extends internationally, but the list never loses its classical spine — this isn't a place chasing trends, it's a place that knows exactly what it is. If you're hunting for natural wine or low-intervention producers, look elsewhere; this cellar speaks in the language of grand tradition.
Estimated at 15–25 pours, the by-the-glass program reflects the list's overall character — expect well-known, reliable options at prices that match the white-tablecloth setting ($20–$40 a glass). Don't expect a rotating experimental slate; the BTG menu skews toward the approachable end of an otherwise grand cellar. It's a solid program for guests who aren't committing to a bottle, but the real action is in the full list.
Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac — $150–$250
Lynch-Bages punches well above its Fifth Growth classification and consistently delivers the kind of structured, cedar-and-blackcurrant Bordeaux that feels at home in a room like this. In a cellar that runs well into the stratosphere, it's a relative anchor of reason.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet
Most tables in a room like this are ordering Cabernet. The Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet is a world-class white Burgundy from one of the appellation's defining producers — and in a sea of red-wine-ordering hotel dining guests, your bottle will be the most interesting thing on the floor.
Opus One
Opus One is a fine wine, but it's also one of the most recognizable names on any American luxury list, which means it carries a prestige markup on top of an already steep restaurant markup. At a hotel of this caliber, you're paying for the name twice. The Lynch-Bages does more interesting work for less.
Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon + Prime beef entrée
Caymus Special Selection is a rich, full-throttle Napa Cab with the kind of dark fruit and structure that was essentially made for prime beef. It's not a subtle pairing, but subtlety isn't always what you came to the Penrose Room for.
🔥 The Bottom Line
The Penrose Room is the rare hotel dining room where the wine list actually earns the five-star billing — deep cellar, proper service, and a sommelier who's there to help, not perform. The markups are real and the prices are serious, but so is everything else about this experience.
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
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