Hooked up: wines pair up with restaurants, as much as with meals.

• Author: Smith, Alta

Exploring the food and wine of Colorado's restaurants is an experience that reveals dining quality can be found not only in the elegant restaurants of the state's resort hotels, but also in some of Colorado's small-town cafes. Stiff and formal have given way to comfort and friendliness. You'll discover world-class chefs preparing sumptuous, artisanal meals paired with exceptional wines in venues that often have the feel of a relaxed bistro. Colorado restaurants are taking part in a nationwide trend emphasizing fresh, local produce and meat, but the state is also extending its dining experiences with seasonal foods from around the world.

Food comes first in most restaurants. It's the task of the sommelier or wine buyer to pick wines that go well with the menu. Wine lists at restaurants vary from a few dozen to several hundred, with the final choice of the wine to drink made at the table. Top restaurants will have a sommelier or wine expert dedicated to helping customers make that choice.

We explored several restaurants in Colorado to find out how they decide what wines will be on their lists and how they help customers select the wines they have with their meals. Our list is purely personal, intended to reflect the variety available to those willing to investigate on their own. The only restriction we had on our restaurant choices was that they be locally owned and not part of a chain, in the belief that local ownership means ultimate control.

Colorado wines can be found in more Colorado restaurants these days, but they still aren't widely available. Restaurant wine buyers normally pick wines their distributors bring them and only six of the state's 64 wineries use a distributor. You'll more often find Colorado wine in smaller restaurants where the winery can establish a relationship.

"I thoroughly understand there are a lot of logistical problems (getting Colorado wines into high-end restaurants)," says Doug Caskey, executive director of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board. "First, it's not easy to put us on the list by the glass." Colorado has boutique wineries and their pricing cannot compete with the major global producers.

"Secondly," says Caskey, "there are consistency problems with Colorado wine. First, availability. They have small productions. Second, quality, which has improved recently, but people haven't given them a second chance. They (consumers) are really missing out."

Colorado wine dominates the wine list at the Flying Fork Cafe in Paonia where Chef-Owner Kelly Steinmetz fills more than half his 17-bottle list with Colorado selections. Steinmetz has earned a...