Urban Wineries in Denver Totally Worth Sipping

Urban wineries are popping up all over the United States, Denver is no exception. The Mile High City is now home to 10+ urban wineries in the downtown area alone, not to mention more than 150 statewide.

There are a handful of urban wineries in Denver that are pretty close together, making it easy to walk to your next stop. However, it’s easier – and more time efficient – to grab an Uber. Take a look a the map I’ve put together so you can see where each urban winery is located in Denver. To be honest, most of these wineries are more of a destination, makeing them worthy of a solo sipping spot. But, if you’re up for going hard, I’ve got your list.

Carboy Winery (400 East 7th Avenue, Denver)

With 30+ acres of estate vineyards in Grand Valley, Colorado, Carboy Winery is one of the largest producers in the state. Not only do they offer a tasting room in the historic Capital Hill neighbor of Denver, but there is a tasting room in Littleton, Breckenridge and Palisade, the heart of the Colorado wine country. It’s Denver urban winery is adjoined with Logan Street Restaurant, so you can sip and savor at the inside tasting room or on the patio. While Carboy does grow and produce Colorado wine, it has also expanded its winemaking operation to Washington state’s Horse Heaven Hills, planting 30 acres of vines.

Infinite Monkey Theorem Winery (3200 Larimer St. Denver)

To get a taste of the urban wine scene in Denver it’s only appropriate to start at The Infinite Monkey Theorem, one of the city’s leaders in kicking off the urban wine revolution and an industry leader in canned wine.

While Infinite Monkey Theorem Winery doesn’t have its own vineyard – after all it’s making wine in an old warehouse in downtown Denver – it does source its grapes from the Western slope of Colorado. This is a great Denver winery to visit to get a real feel for the quality of fruit grown and produced in Colorado.

Located in the River North Art District (RiNo), Infinite Monkey has been named one of the country’s top urban wineries and has a slew of award winning wines to sip. Just another reason why kicking off your wine tasting in Denver here makes sense. (Make sure to do a tour at Infinite Monkey Theorem Winery too.)

Balistreri Vineyards (1946 E 66th Ave, Denver)

The Balistreri family immigrated from Sicily to the United States in the early 1900s continuing the Sicilian tradition of producing wine for family and friends. Today, the family has grown their backyard vineyard into a full-scale, award winning winery and vineyard – Balistreri Vineyards.

Not only does this Denver winery provide tours and wine tastings but lunch pairings as well. As for wines, you can’t go wrong with anything you sample. The Balistreri Vineyard’s wines are regularly recognized for excellence at various international and local competitions.

TIP: Call ahead to make reservations for lunch and tours.

Bonacquisti Wine Company (4640 N Pecos Street, Denver)

Bonacquisti Wine Company is a family-owned, urban winery located in a funky, industrial warehouse space in Denver’s Sunnyside neighborhood. You’ll find their award-winnning Colorado wines in the tasting room, as well as regional and international wines the company blends and bottles. (In addition to a variety of awards, their 2017 Colorado Cabernet Franc and 2019 Rosso di Colorado both received 90 point ratings from Wine Enthusiast Magazine.)

Deep Roots Winery and Bistro (1516 Wazee, Denver)

Plan to visit Deep Roost Winery and Bistro is a family owned and operated winery and restaurant in Denver’s River North / RhiNo Art District. The menu consists of a variety of appetizers, pizzas and delicious deserts such as deep fried oreos, which would pair perfectly with their Malbec.

Colorado Sake Company (3559 Larimer St., Denver)

While not wine as we know it, Colorado Sake Company is technically a winery just one focused on sake. The company was has grown from a small startup to the largest American-owned sake company. At its location in downtown Denver, you can sip their selection of sake along with a variety of sushi for dinner or dimsum brunch. Make an evening out of your visit and hit the Denver Comedy Lounge at the back of Colorado Sake Company.

Spero Winery (3316 W 64th Ave. Denver)

Outside of the city you’ll fine Spero Winery. A family owner and operated winery that sources its grapes from Colorado’s Western slope (Palisade and Grand Junction), Pueblo and from Lodi, California, where to owners family members have a vineyard. The tasting room is only open on Saturday’s from 1-5pm, unless you call to arrange a private tasting.

Not totally Colorado but sip worthy…

These three urban wineries in Denver are fabulous, except they don’t use grapes from Colorado. Which means, they’re buying grapes from other parts of the country and bringing them to Denver to produce their wines. That’s totally cool, but you need to make sure you understand that you won’t technically be sipping Colorado wine.

Attimo Winery (Denver’s Ballpark neighborhood)

Attimo Winery opened its doors in downtown Denver’s Ballpark neighborhood back in 2019. The winery sources its grapes from Italy and produces its wine onsite. Along with a variety of wines, they also offer small food pairings.

Bigsby Folly Craft Winery and Restaurant (3563 Wazee, Denver)

This craft winery pairs California vineyards with the approachability of its tasting room located in the heart of Denver’s RiNo Art District. In other words, the tasting room is a lot of fun, the menu is delish and the wines are produced from California grapes. You’re not going to be sipping Colorado wine here BUT it’s still a great sipping spot.

Blanchard Family Wines (1855 Blake Street, Suite 120, Denver)

This family-owned winery produces wines from Sonoma County, they are extremely low-production and limited in availability. The tasting room is located in the heart of downtown Denver and makes for a fun stop to sip and enjoy not only Blanchard Family Wine’s but a variety of other Colorado wines featured in their tasting room. I personally love this approach since it’s a great way to experience more Colorado wine in one setting. They also have a tasting room in Golden if you’re heading up to the foothills.

Not an Urban Winery in Denver

There are a few urban wineries in Boulder and one in Evergreen that I think make great wine. I’m not going to go into too much detail here other than listing them. Ok, I went into a lot about Creekside Cellars because I kinda just love them.

Bookcliff Winery, Boulder

They did have a location in Palisade but I’m not sure what’s really going on since they sold last year and it’s under new ownership. The wines were outstanding, I’ll need to sip what the new owners are producing an report back.

Vinnie Fera Wine, Boulder

Kinda love the play on words here with vinifer grapes. Vinnie Fera makes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Boulder using grapes from California, Oregon and Colorado.

Creekside Cellars, Evergreen

Ok, so it’s not exactly Denver but Creekside Cellars is a perfect spot for wine tasting and lunch for a weekend outing. It’s one of my favorite Colorado wineries. The winery is in Evergreen so you can make day into more than just wine and lunch.

Start the morning off with a light hike at Three Sisters Park or Evergreen Lake. Then do a little shopping after lunch in the historical downtown area. When you do visit Creekside Cellars try to grab a table on the outdoor deck to enjoy the view and sounds of Bear Creek.

Creekside Cellars is a family friendly winery, aka kids are welcome! If you have kids in tow a patio table is a must. The servers will provide pieces of bread for the kids to feed the ducks in the creek, allowing you a little quite time for sipping wine. Make sure to sample the Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.

Looking for more Denver wineries to totally sip in Colorado? See Carpe Travel’s Colorado Wine Travel Guide.