Prospect
Aspen's Wine List Actually Earns Its Altitude
Aspen · Aspen · American
Reviewed April 7, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walk into Prospect and the wine list hits differently than you'd expect from a spot serving breakfast through dinner in a ski town. This isn't a resort afterthought — it's a considered, 300-plus bottle program with a sommelier behind it and a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence to back it up. The range from grower Champagne to Austrian Grüner to Oregon Pinot tells you immediately that someone here actually cares.
Selection Deep Dive
The list earns its credential across every major region it touches. Champagne is a serious strength — Krug and Bollinger anchor the prestige end while leaving room for exploration. California gets the trophy treatment with Screaming Eagle and Opus One for big spenders, but Aubert Chardonnay is the more interesting conversation. France shows real depth through Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet and Domaine Weinbach in Alsace, while Italy punches above its weight with Giacomo Conterno Barolo and the cult-level Miani Friuli. The Austria and Germany pocket — Trimbach Riesling, Grüner from Prager or F.X. Pichler — is the kind of thing you almost never see this well-stocked outside of a dedicated wine bar.
By the Glass
Twenty to thirty-five options by the glass is a serious commitment, and at $14–$35 a pour, there's range from entry-level to legitimately exciting. The rotating quality here depends heavily on sommelier Claire Crosby's hand, but a program this size almost always yields a few smart picks per visit. If you're dining alone or just want to taste around without committing to a bottle, this is one of Aspen's better setups for it.
Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir — $60–$90 (est. bottle)
Eyrie is Oregon royalty — the vineyard that put Willamette on the map — and it tends to be priced more fairly than California cult Pinot at spots like this. On a list full of four-figure Burgundy adjacents, this is where you drink well without apology.
Miani Friuli
Most tables walk right past Friuli on a list and go straight for Burgundy or Barolo. Miani is one of the most obsessively crafted white wine estates in all of Italy, producing Ribolla Gialla and Friulano with intensity and age-worthiness that shocks people the first time. If it's on the list and you order it, you'll feel like you cracked a code.
Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon
Look, it's Screaming Eagle — we're not saying it's bad. We're saying that in a mountain resort context, the markup on a bottle that already retails at stratospheric levels makes this a vanity purchase, not a wine decision. There are ten more interesting bottles on this list for a fraction of the price.
Giacomo Conterno Barolo + Colorado lamb loin with caponata and babaganoush
Conterno's Barolo is built for exactly this kind of dish — the high acidity cuts through the richness of the lamb, the tannins lock in with the protein, and the earthy, tar-and-rose complexity plays off the smoky sweetness of the caponata and babaganoush. This is the pairing you'd kick yourself for missing.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Prospect isn't coasting on Aspen's wine budget or its Wine Spectator badge — Claire Crosby has put together a list that would hold up in any serious food city. Markups are what they are in a ski resort, but the depth and range here are the real thing.
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