In Denver, craft beers and their many varieties have been getting all the attention of late. Meanwhile, wine bars have been quietly popping up all over the metro area.
“At these local tasting rooms, passionate sommeliers and wine enthusiasts are pouring vintages crafted by a wide variety of excellent producers, from smaller, boutique vineyards to large-scale operations,” notes 5280 magazine. “Whether you’re a pét-nat connoisseur or don’t know a chardonnay from a sauvignon blanc, there’s a wine bar in Denver that will satisfy your palate,” the magazine adds.
5280 recently listed its wine bar favorites. Here are a few of the notables:
3563 Wazee St – For “affordable, easy-to-drink whites, reds, and rosés with vintages crafted for its brand in Napa and Sonoma valleys,” notes 5280, this wine bar, named after the owners’ late golden retriever, is a great choice. Try it out at happy hour, Monday through Thursday, 4 to 6 p.m., “when you can get nine-ounce pours for the six-ounce price and nibble on plates like artichoke ad tomato bruschetta and jalapeno-cheddar elk sausage flatbread.”
400 E. 7th Ave; 6885 S. Santa Fe Dr, Littleton – 5280 likes the bar’s “industrial-chic interiors,” not to mention its popular Colorado wines, “sourcing grapes from Grand Valley as well as its own vineyards in Palisade.” At happy hour you’ll get $2 off of wines by the glass or a $30 bottle that comes with a board of meats and cheeses.
3200 Larimer St – 5280 doesn’t mention how this 14-year-old bar got its unusual name. But it does note how it got its renown: for introducing “the company’s first single-serve canned moscato to the masses at the 2011 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.” Other canned offerings have followed. Get the same wines on tap in the Theorem’s RiNo tasting room.
1100 E. 17th Ave – This “might be the closest you can get to a Parisian Wine escape in the Mile High City,” notes 5280. In fact, the owner couple moved to Denver from the Paris suburbs in 2020 – to our benefit. Sip your wine while enjoying French offerings like quiche, oeuf-cocottes (baked eggs), and croquet monsieurs and madames. “Idle away an afternoon at one of the bistro tables, reminiscent of a charming Parisian café, or soak up the sun on the adjacent patio,” says 5280.
2868 Fairfax St – Here, you’ll find around 40 offerings by “lesser-known winemakers,” along with a shifting menu that’s written on the bar’s chalkboard. “Linger over a glass of French crément or Oregon pinot noir at the sleek bar adjacent to the glassed-in wine cooler, or on lime-hued, velvet couches flanked by plants and an art installation…,” suggests 5280. Happy hour is 4-5 daily, when glasses of wine are half off.
4412 Yates St – Sip your wine amid the cool ambiance of this Berkeley gem, which features hardwood floors, exposed brick, “a sleek, marble-topped bar, and a jungle of plants.” You’ll be in good hands, as the bar’s owners Jenn and Jarett Feinstein “spent years exploring vineyards and tasting rooms in California’s Santa Barbara County, where Jenn also gained experience overseeing Sunstone Winery,” reports the magazine. Enjoy their many choices of “boutique natural wines from around the world.”