I've had very good luck with Vasque and Merrell.
A good winter boot, with heavy lining for very cold weather, tends to not be that great for hiking because they're not form-fitting enough. With a hiking boot you typically want good support and a fairly form-fitting boot. Tighter boots tend to reduce blood flow, which makes you more susceptible to frostbite. So everything's a trade-off. If you're going to be doing a ton of hiking, a Vasque or Merrell boot with a silk liner sock and a SmartWool hiking sock is fantastic. If you're not going to be doing a ton of hiking, the Danners, or even military "Mickey Mouse" boots are fantastic because they'll tend to be warmer. Danner makes excellent quality footwear. They specialize in more "work" oriented footwear, such as SWAT/Combat boots (not great for hiking), but they do have some excellent choices in hiking boots too.
I still have my pair of Merrell Arctic Blast boots, which aren't made any longer. This is my second pair, because the leather dried out and cracked in the toes...this was my fault because I didn't clean and treat the leather properly. However, they lasted for 5+ years with no maintenance, and I wore them every day, every winter. My current pair of them have taken even more punishment, and I'm going on 4 years with them. I take better care of them, but I do more hiking these days, so they're seeing more miles..
The closest pair I can find to my Arctic Blasts are the
Merrell Outbound Mid Leather Gore-Tex.
Whatever boot you are leaning toward, always, always, always try them on and walk around in the house/store with them. It's especially important to wear them with the sock combination you'll be using in the field. I'd budget about $200 on up for a really high quality pair of boots from Danner, Merrel, Vasque, etc.
