What does it take to run a winery at nearly 8,500 feet above sea level? At Misfits Winery on Woodland Park’s west side, the answer involves a lot of patience, a willingness to do things differently, and grapes sourced from Colorado’s Western Slope — because nobody’s growing Cabernet in Teller County at this elevation. The operation is small by design, the tasting room is unpretentious, and the people pouring the wine are the same ones who made it.
The winery sits in a low-profile commercial strip near the intersection of Highway 24 and West Henrietta Avenue — not the kind of address that signals a destination. But the locals know it, and on a weekend afternoon the parking lot fills with a mix of regulars who bring their dogs and out-of-towners who stumbled across a Google result. The tasting room inside is comfortable without being overdone: wood, dim lighting, a bar that invites a slow conversation rather than a quick transaction.
Misfits makes the kind of wines that reward paying attention. They work with fruit from the Grand Valley and other Western Slope appellations, then do the fermenting and finishing here in Woodland Park. The altitude does affect production — lower atmospheric pressure, cooler fermentation conditions, and a dry climate all leave fingerprints on the final product. Whether that’s strictly measurable or partly mystique, it gives the winery a genuine story that isn’t borrowed from Napa or Europe.
The wine list rotates, but expect a range that leans into Colorado-grown varietals: Merlot, Syrah, and some lighter reds that work well in a mountain climate where people tend to be colder and hungrier than they would be at sea level. The whites and rosés are worth considering too — not afterthoughts, but actual options. Tastings run around $10 to $15 for a flight, which is reasonable given that many pours are generous and staff tend to explain what they’re serving without reading from a script.
The name deserves a moment. Calling a winery Misfits is either a marketing move or an honest self-portrait, and here it feels closer to the latter. This isn’t a place chasing wine country aesthetics or demographic trends. The owners have made something that fits Woodland Park’s character — a mountain town that tends to attract people who prefer doing things on their own terms.
Going midweek means fewer people and more time with whoever’s behind the bar. Weekends, especially in summer, can fill up — not uncomfortably crowded, but busy enough that a reservation or early arrival is worth considering. There’s no food kitchen on site, though local pairing boards or small bites sometimes appear. The drive in from Colorado Springs takes about 45 minutes, and the winery makes a natural endpoint for anyone who’s already spent time on the trails or at the reservoir.
It’s the kind of place where people end up staying longer than they planned, which in Woodland Park — where things close early and the pace is deliberate — counts as a real accomplishment.
