August 4, 2026 - Manitou Springs, CO…read more A lovely little find tucked just off Main Street! It was quite crowded downtown, and we were ready for a break from the hustle and bustle, so discovering this winery was a treat. We settled onto the outside patio with our pup (dog-friendly!) and immediately relaxed. We did a tasting and enjoyed a glass of wine--four tastes plus a glass for just $15--and ordered a meat and cheese plate to share. We lingered over our wine and food and enjoyed some friendly conversation with the owner and his son. We left with 3 bottles to enjoy later. Definitely a great spot to escape busy Main Street.

We had so much fun here. You get tasting of 3 or 4 glasses and then a full glass for $15. What a…read moredeal. We added a fruit plate and artichoke dip, and both were good. Weather was nice, so we sat outside. Service was great - actually I think it was the owner. We sat here quite a while and weren't run off! We loved the merchandise inside as well, best and funniest cocktail napkins I ever saw. One said "Exercise makes you look better. So does wine. You pick." Tee shirts with a wine cork that said "screw it" We laughed all the way home with our purchases!

We went the day of their grand opening and it's a great spot to enjoy a great glass of wine. Great…read moreservice and enjoy the location by the trees.

Stopped in for a glass of wine. Small, quaint winery. We sat outside under an umbrella since the…read moreweather was nice. Quick, attentive service. We tried a red wine, a white wine and the sangria special drink of the day. All were very tasty. We will return soon and try some other wines!

The staff are always friendly and engaging. Atmosphere is quant. The drinks are unique. Good old…read morefashions. A great little place to enjoy friendly conversation over a few drinks. They are strong though and can sometimes go down too fast because they are done well. Very veteran and first responder friendly.

J was great bartending on a quiet Sunday afternoon. She created a custom drinks for my wife and I…read morefrom the moonshines available that was excellent and could've passed off as a Caribbean Island speciality. 300 Hundred Days is always our favorite spot to sneak away too and hope to get there more often in the future.

We had an amazing time last night at Carboy's new location in Colorado Springs. Lisa, Christian,…read moreStephanie and Charles did a phenomenal job taking care of us. They worked seamlessly as a team and made excellent recommendations. I highly recommend stopping by and enjoying some great wine and food.

I fear I'm obsessed…read more Carboy Winery is one of my new go to spots! By the second time I went, I signed up to be a member. Do I regret it? Absolutely not! It's a fantastic deal and the wine is delicious. About 80% of their wine menu is their wine. Made in Colorado in Grand Valley. It's unique because in Colorado Springs, I don't necessarily suspect that I'd find Colorado wine. But here we are! So thank you for opening a location down here because I always prefer local wine when I can try it! My favorite is the Albariño and the Blanc de Blanc. But you can't go wrong with First Light (can you tell I prefer white wine? Haha). Let's talk about food. Because the meat and cheese boards are great. They're huge and a good value! What I'll say, if you go for happy hour (3 to 6), it's $35 for a bottle and board. That is an incredible happy hour deal. But their light bites are great too! Tuna sashimi, the fondue, the bruschetta... oh! If you take anything from this review, TRY THE DESSERT BOARD. 4 for $15. Crème brûlée, pot de crème, flan, and chocolate truffles... every single one of them was incredible. My only complaint, I wish truffle fries were on the menu. That would be awesome. But the food is delicious nonetheless. I've gone five times in the past month. I've had a variety of servers. Cindy, Lisa, Charles, Stephanie... every single one of them have been great. Personable, attentive, and very kind. And everything always comes out fast! They are great and if you come, you'll get good service. The vibe here is great and when you look out the window, you see the mountains. The sunsets are crazy--bring sunglasses hahahaha. But I love how it feels cozy and inviting as if I'm actually at a winery in the northern part of Colorado. This place is a must try and I can't wait for the events to begin!

Mead is the way to go! The location is a little weird and feels like you are in the wrong place…read more Breweries are great and all but it's nice to go somewhere different. Definitely get the feeling that locals are welcome but if you're not a regular you just not on the same level. I will definitely look for their products in the stores but I don't think I will come back to the actual brick and mortar location. Ryan likes to act exclusive so he would love this place.

First off - before Honnibrook, I would never have sought out a meadery. My conception of mead is…read morethat it's overly sweet and overly boozy. Honnibrook is different - their mead is light, refreshing and they had so many fun different flavors to try! Everyone at the meadery was so nice and let us try the base mead as we walked in, to set a baseline for a mead without any of the flavoring. It was again light, crisp and not syrupy-tasting. My husband and I ended up getting a flight of 4 - the slushie mojito, earl gray lavender, island hopper and huckleberry. The earl gray lavender was delicious - we ended up getting a bottle to bring home! My only critical feedback would be the flight options - they had several flight options (1 taster for $4, then flights for 4 or 8). There was no economical benefit to getting a 4 or 8-taster flight, versus just individual tasters, so don't think the flight pricing makes sense since it's just a per unit price regardless of how many tasters you get. Definitely will be recommending this place to friends! flight prices

Elizabeth Brewing Company is exactly why Colorado's craft beer scene is still undefeated…read more Tucked inside a historic building in the heart of Elizabeth, this microbrewery delivers the kind of authenticity you can't manufacture. The taproom is warm and inviting, lined with colorful ceramic mugs and chalkboard art that feels handcrafted rather than corporate~designed. The standout for me was the Abominable Hombre (Horchata White Stout, 7.2%) ~ a beautifully balanced stout with cinnamon and vanilla notes layered over a creamy body and subtle roast. It drinks dangerously smooth for the ABV. The Pumpkin Killer (Sweet Potato Toasted Marshmallow Amber, 6%) was equally impressive. Complex but approachable, slightly sweet without being cloying, and perfect for Colorado evenings. Chris behind the bar elevated the experience. Friendly, knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about the beer, he made recommendations that were spot-on and took time to explain flavor profiles without any pretension. No food trucks? No problem. They actively support local restaurants and businesses, reinforcing their strong community roots. Between trivia nights, Friday Night Market events, and a dog-friendly patio, this is more than a brewery ~ it's a community hub. If you're driving through Elizabeth and don't stop here, that's on you.

Most important - good beer…read more Nice tap room - very cozy. Cool brick fireplace. I do agree with other comments on accessibility, but I'm not sure what could really be done. It was too windy/chilly to be outside but the patio looked awesome. Now, on to the beers. We sampled quite a few. I enjoyed the Scottish Ale, my wife really liked the Banana Cream Hefe, and our friend was a big fan of the White Stout. We all liked the Chili beer and the sour went down well. Flights are almost a must with such a selection. The soft pretzels available to order were pretty good (yes, we were surprised). Annnnnd... you can order from a couple of nearby restaurants and they will deliver a meal to you right there. Super-friendly staff.

The tour/tasting from start to finish was really amazing, James was phenomenal, from being very…read morepersonable, humorous, and knowledgeable. The history of 291 shared and how it still plays a role today was really cool. The whiskey of course was also nothing short of amazing, hearing the differences in the process for the batches and then tasting that difference was excellent. Highly recommend to anyone and everyone, as soon as we came home we were telling people about it. Thanks for a great experience in our staycation.

Came for the Flagship Tasting experience (pre-booked on the webpage), stayed for a cocktail in the…read morebeautiful lounge, left with a quality rye! Srsly look at my pics for the love they poured into making the space inviting and calm. What a gorgeous place to sip delicious whiskey. The tasting was fun, our guide was delightful. Afterward, we ordered cocktails in the lounge- so good! I had a sazarac- of course with that quality rye! And my companion got the most perfect whiskey sour. Located in a non-descript location, highly recommend!!

I attended the 2022 event, which was well planned and executed. I pre-purchased my ticket on the…read morewebsite, then showed my phone's email at the entrance upon arriving. The next stop was to pick up a (tiny) tasting glass and 6-bottle wine tote. The lady working that table seemed a little disheveled and probably could have used another volunteer to help her and to direct folks to her (I can see how some people might have walked past her). This was my first wine-tasting event since returning to the U.S. after nearly 4 years in Chile and California before that. I was excited to try North American, and more specifically, Colorado wines, talk to the winemakers, and enjoy some music. Luckily, I did all of those things, but so much of my experience was through the lens of Chilean festivals and prices, which may have been an unfair comparison (after all, land and agricultural employees are much more expensive in the U.S.). As for price, with the generous military discount, my ticket was only $25. Since this is a charity event for Habitat for Humanity, you can add on a donation to the nonprofit as well. The price was in line with what I would pay in Chile, but the size of the glass was somewhat embarrassing, and every person I spoke with mentioned how unusually small it was. I guess you could add it to your port-wine-glass collection? The first tent I came upon had a LONG line of people. I stood there for a long while before realizing that the festival goers were not well versed in proper wine-festival etiquette, that is, to accept a tasting and step out of the way so that others can taste in a timely manner. These folks were gaggled around the table, tasting every wine as if they were at a private tasting at a winery. This rude behavior was a real turnoff for me, so I found another table. Notably, this event was PACKED with food trucks and vendors. I especially liked the Hawaiian reggae music coming from the Island Style BBQ tent--took me right back to Honolulu circa 2013! As for the wines themselves [fair warning, I prefer dry wines to sweet]: I tossed out 99% of the tastings after the first two sips. The few that I actually finished included: - Nebbiolo from Bad Bitch Cellars (their Reckless Red merlot blend is also quite good) - Gino's Rosé from Avanti Winery (made with pinot noir and pinot grigio grapes) - Pinot Noir and the Pinot Grigio from Deep Roots Winery - Maréchal Foch from La Noue Dubois - Symphony in Red and Sophie's Red from Mountain Spirit Winery (also had the best prices with bottles selling for less than $20). - Cabernet Franc and Syrah from Chill Switch Wines (all unfiltered and very smooth) It was great that the event provided the wine totes (brilliant, actually), because I then used it to store my purchases. I also made a point of not purchasing from vendors who were impolite or didn't seem like they wanted to be there (there were a few), no matter how good the wines were. One thing that others pointed out was that this was a no-pets-allowed event (service dogs only). Unfortunately, many folks ignored that and brought Fido along. I'm a dog person, so I didn't particularly mind the friendly, well behaved dogs, but I saw this same disrespectful behavior at our National Parks recently, so I cannot say I'm surprised. Rudeness and flouting regulations is just a new normal for Americans, I suppose. As for the music: AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!! I was truly impressed with all of the performances from jazz to Motown to oldies to a Heart/Journey cover band. All of the musicians did a tremendous job, but I was surprised at how few festival goers stuck around for the headliner band at the end. Yes, there was a little rain and grey clouds throughout the day, but I guess folks were drunk and tired and had other evening plans? I came prepared with my picnic blanket and snacks and took a cat nap on the well manicured lawn before the show started. Note: There is a VIP ticket option as well, but it didn't seem to be much of a benefit, and no one I spoke with regretted not purchasing that ticket. The add-ons included two chats with winemakers (which you can do at the tasting tables) and "front row" seating at the concert on the lawn. With no bad seats on the lawn and an open dancing area right in front of the stage, this isn't really necessary. Bottom line: This is an excellent event and I hope to continue to attend it as long as I'm residing in Colorado. Definitely not to be missed!

This event was a lot of fun! Great music, lots of wonderful samples of wine…read more http://www.vinoandnotes.com/