There’s (Wine) Gold in Them Thar Hills

Little Nell’s Somm Pans for Gems in the Cellar

The Colorado Gold Rush it is said, began in Idaho Springs in 1859 – just 79 ½ miles from Aspen. Now, a hundred-and-thirty years later, there’s another goldmine here. It can be found in the wine cellar of one of the country’s most revered resorts. The wine cellar at The Little Nell – one of the largest in the world, boasting 22,000 bottles(!) – is considered to be one of the most expansive collections of wine under one roof, in the world.

How lucky are Aspenians then, to have in their midst, a golden nugget like Little Nell? So, we’ll let Rachael Liggett-Draper – one of three sommeliers at the resort, who happens to be Nell’s first somm who’s not a male – tell the story of this bonanza.

Wine, Liggett-Draper insists, was not on her radar. “I disliked the taste of wine. I hadn’t found anything I enjoyed,” she has been quoted as saying. “I remember my family trying to teach me how to smell wine when I was like 22 or 23, and I was like, oh gross.”

But it wasn’t until she got a job as a host at an upscale bowling alley in Vail, that served high-end Champagne and Chateau Petrus (one of the world’s greatest wines; and at a bowling alley!) that she started reading “Wine for Dummies,” and her interest was piqued. (Full disclosure: I was the technical editor on that publication.)

Liggett-Draper arrived in Aspen in 2021 where she – along with wine director Chris Dunaway, Jesse Libby, and Adam Darlington – manage a 3,000-bottle wine list. Among those are eight wines from Colorado, which is on the come as the country’s 12th largest wine-producing state. Colorado has approximately 150 wineries which produce about 200K cases annually from a little under 1,000 acres planted, some of which are on the world’s highest wine-producing elevations at upwards of 6,000 feet. High-elevation wines have a special place in the global wine pantheon.

So then, is Colorado and Aspen a wine-centric place? I ask Liggett-Draper.

“Absolutely!” she answers emphatically. “… they are wine consumers. On the local end, you have a rich culture of talented sommeliers for how small the population is. The clientele has good taste and loves wine. But it’s such a small, beautiful area to have guests that are passionate about wine, it’s a little slice of heaven.”

“You’ve got the full spectrum of people still learning and developing their tastes (about wine). But you certainly have people who know their wine. We get a lot of collectors and people who know what they like.”  

About those Colorado wines on Little Nell’s list, which as far as I can ascertain, make it one of the largest assemblages of Colorado wine in Aspen. 

“We like to have representation from around the world,” she begins, trés diplomatically. “[but] it’s fun to see what’s happening with the next generation of Colorado winemakers. Colorado has a unique terroir that is coming into its own.”

“We serve Colorado. And people ask about wine upon check-in. There’s a curiosity. We’re watching as Colorado creates its personality. It’s new and developing; a new wave, energic style. Colorado has low-intervention organic wines; like the next generation of wine drinkers." 

“Coloradoans are joyous and adventurous and new wines look like that, too,” Liggett-Draper continues. “A joyous wine is not one that has to be cellared and contemplated."

She cites two examples of Colorado producers which are currently on Little Nell’s list:  Aquila and Ordinary Fellow – both Pinot Noirs. “They seem representational to the next generation of wine drinkers.” 

She concludes with this: “Aspen is in its own small little bubble. It’s Neverland -- play and fun. Wine sales have not slowed down for us. I’m watching the next generation of wine drinkers evolve; it’s kind of an anomaly. This is a place where people seek great restaurants and good wine. It’s a joyous place where guests are on vacation.” 

Alan Goldfarb is a longtime wine journalist. His work has appeared in the Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Decanter, Alta Journal among many others; and he’s interviewed Robert Mondavi. Francis Ford Coppola, Joan Baez, Daniel Ellsberg and Rupert Murdoch among hundreds of others.