Boulder, Colorado, is known for its mountain trails, farmers’ market and outdoor-loving residents. But its food and wine scene is another reason to visit—and one that may soon become much less of a secret. In January 2027, the Sundance Film Festival is set to move to Boulder from Park City, Utah, bringing around 85,000 visitors to the city.
The change also means a shift from Utah’s tightly controlled alcohol market, where wine prices are marked up 88.5% over cost, to Colorado’s more flexible system, where retailers and restaurants set their own prices. Colorado also prohibits diners from bringing their own wine to restaurants. While that may seem restrictive, it encourages restaurants to build ambitious wine lists rather than relying on corkage.
Boulder’s reputation as a serious wine destination owes much to Bobby Stuckey. After becoming a Master Sommelier, he left Napa Valley’s French Laundry to open Frasca Food and Wine, a restaurant devoted to the cuisine and wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in northeastern Italy. The move seemed audacious at the time, but Frasca went on to welcome visiting winemakers, help launch the Frasca Hospitality Group and inspire a generation of sommeliers and restaurateurs.
The city’s other wine lists can demand time and attention, too. That’s striking in a place of about 70,000 residents—plus roughly 38,000 university students—where casual outdoor clothing is the norm. Yet Frasca is often full of diners dressed up and enjoying wines such as Schioppettino.
Boulder’s concentration of biopharma, aerospace and technology businesses may help explain its wine-minded community. Stuckey points to well-educated residents who travel widely. Wine critic Jeb Dunnuck is one example: originally drawn to Boulder by a job at Ball Aerospace, he later used his engineering skills to build the database behind his subscription wine business. He also recruited editor Audrey Frick from Stuckey’s team.
Boulder native Brett Zimmerman, also a Master Sommelier, represents a longer local tradition. Retailers Wayne Belding and Sally Mohr helped him prepare for his exams, and Zimmerman later took over their business. He now runs Boulder Wine Merchant, which hosts regular producer tastings, and founded the Boulder Burgundy Festival in 2011.
For Zimmerman, the setting is part of the story. Boulder residents place a high value on quality of life, he says, whether that means biking, climbing, skiing or spending time with friends. A good bottle of wine fits naturally into that lifestyle.
In the glass: wines of the Columbia River Gorge
Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge offers plenty of opportunities to pair winery visits with farm-to-table food. At Hiyu Wine Farm, a fava bean, mint and ricotta dish accompanied the Aesalon 2023, a field blend of Spanish and Portuguese white and pink grape varieties.
At Analemma, the Mosier Hills Syrah 2022 was an ideal match for the winery’s lamb bolognese. Here, the food is as much a reason to stay as the wine.