DINING REVIEW: Pair drink with buffalo, pork or beef and an unrivaled atmosphere

Wines of Colorado, a cool little restaurant and tasting room at the base of the Pikes Peak Highway in Cascade, causes almost everyone driving by to do a double take.

After all, "wine" and "Colorado" are not two words most people put together.

It's a bit like ski resorts in Kentucky. Most people are surprised to find they exist at all, and are doubtful they are much good.

"I moved here from California," said the man pouring us samples from a row of cabernets. "And when I saw the sign that said Wines of Colorado here, I thought, boy, that must be one tiny store."

In fact, Colorado has 750 acres of vineyards and 64 licensed wineries. It has been producing wines for more than 100 years, and some really good wine for about a decade.

(Colorado Springs founder William Jackson Palmer is thought to have dabbled in viticulture.)

Wines of Colorado has brought together most of the state's wineries in one place with good, affordable food and one of the best patios in the region.

Most of the building is devoted to selling bottles. Stacked cases of bold Palisade tempranillo, crisp viognier, choke cherry merlot and spiced mead made from fermented honey make aisles around a bar where customers can sample flights of wine before buying.

Many of the offerings are quite good. The biggest obstacle to really falling in love with Colorado wines is the price. They can cost two or three times as much as comparable West Coast bottles. I suppose that is the cost of going local.

At one end of the tasting room is a small, eclectically decorated dining room. At the other end is a sprawling, multilevel patio that goes right down to the pine-shaded banks of Fountain Creek.

The menu is anything but snooty. Owner Marv Parliament, the one-time marketing manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, always wanted a roadside barbecue joint, and he's come up with something similar.

The only things more revered by local diners than the choice tables on his patio are his burgers.

The juicy Colorado Wine Burger on a fresh kaiser roll ($8.50) is so stuffed with juicy grilled onions, roasted green chiles and sautéed mushrooms that toppings tumble out at almost every bite. It's delicious.

Parliament is not using freshly roasted green chiles, but he is not using the slimy, tasteless canned version either. He gets very nice, thick, flavorful peppers frozen from Hatch, N.M. They are particularly delicious matched with the buffalo burger ($9.50), which is juicy with a nice hint of gaminess. Parliament recommends pairing it with a nice cabernet sauvignon.

For the very good Smoked Pork Tenderloin Sandwich ($8.50), topped with Swiss cheese, grilled onions, roasted chiles and a sweet but spicy red chili sauce (tastes like Sriracha), he recommends a glass of fumé blanc. But the sandwich is so tasty, it would be good with just about anything.

The thin, tender slices of pork Parliament smokes on the patio are an apt escort for roasted chiles. The whole thing is pressed and grilled like a panino to make a gooey, warm mess worth raising a glass to.

Other things are only OK, and some things are worth avoiding. The Stuffed Portabello Ravioli Salad ($9) was a nice mix of spinach, tomatoes, slivered almonds and red onion topped with rich, savory ravioli; but what sounded like a vegetarian dish came with bits of bacon lurking about.

The chicken tortilla soup - which should have been a thin, spicy broth - was actually a thick, somewhat bland chicken-white-bean chili. And at $6 for a mug, it was overpriced.

The grilled, 12-ounce rib-eye with two sides ($20) is the most expensive thing on the menu. Rib-eyes are supposed to be a little fatty, but this one pushed the limit. When I ordered it rare, it came with only the slightest hint of pink. It wasn't bad, but there are better places to drop an Andrew Jackson on a steak.

Smart diners will be rewarded by sticking to sandwiches and house favorites such as the made-from-scratch Chicken Pot Pie ($8.50). Dessert is mostly cake slices made elsewhere - pretty good but not worth breaking your diet for.

The sweetest thing is the experience as a whole: To be able to have a great burger or sandwich in a gorgeous mountain setting, listening to the song of the nearby creek and sampling new wines is a great way to spend a few warm summer hours.

A toast to Wines of Colorado for making it possible.

Wines of Colorado
**** (Authentic Colorado experience)

Address: 8045 W. U.S. 24, Cascade
Contact: 684-0900, winesofcolorado.com
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. daily. Shorter hours in winter.
Entrees: $8.50-$20
Alcohol: Lots and lots of wine
Credit Cards: Yes