Denver's Best Wine Bars

An Oenophile's Paradise

Beer may be our city's specialty, but wine has by no means fallen by the wayside. Locally crafted vintages are gaining in popularity even as wine stores and wine bars open up all over the place. Fantastic wine selections, excellent food and a relaxing atmosphere are musts when looking for a truly superior wine bar; and these selections are the cream of the crop.

1. Z Cuisine À Côté

What started as a tiny, classy French restaurant in the Highland neighborhood, Z Cuisine À Côté swiftly mutated: doubling in size and becoming half restaurant, half wine bar. The restaurant's menu is seasonal, created out of items that are fresh and produced locally. Z Cuisine's chef constantly reworks even those dishes that habitually appear on the menu, and nothing speaks to continued improvement like constant readjustment.

Such an active hand in the food offerings keeps the selection of dishes as wonderful and varied as the clientele, which usually consists of small groups of friends out for a night of fun and couples of all ages looking for great food and great wines. Many wines in the wine bar are available by the glass, and the staff is very helpful in offering selections by both your preferences and food selections.

2. Paris Wine Bar

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Set beside its original sister coffee shop and restaurant Paris on the Platte in LoHi, the Paris Wine Bar offers a quieter, more intimate space for oenophiles to work through the bar's seriously extensive list of wines. While many Highland residents just stop by for a calming glass of wine or two, you can work through the light fare of available food boards, featuring various meats, cheeses and fruits. The wine bar's darkened interior, devoid of ostentatious furnishings and free of unnecessary clutter, create the relaxed-yet-mature atmosphere that is so hard to find.

3. Trios Enoteca

Imitating the traditional look and feel of wine bars in Italy, Trios Enoteca is a tranquil escape where you can enjoy companionship, good food and superb wines. The LoDo location gives it an edge in atmosphere at least, with the historic building contributing to the vibe the wine bar wants. Frequent evening performances by local musicians provide a soothing ambiance, giving Trios Enoteca a reputation as a great date spot. The restaurant is large, with a wine list to match: dozens of wines by the glass and hundreds of wines by the bottle are available to fit any price range. Light entrees and appetizers are available and a cigar room lets guests enjoy their aromatic indulgences while still leaving plenty of room for non-smokers to move about.

4. Cork House Wine Restaurant

A lovely dinner menu, constructed of New American dishes and cheeses from around the world, exists to complement the wine list of the Cork House Wine Restaurant, not the other way around. Dozens of wines available by the bottle, glass or taster allow you to pick a favorite vintage or explore a variety of new tastes from around the globe. The happy hour menu consistently draws in the restaurant's Park Hill neighbors for after-work drinks and conversation. When the weather is favorable, a table on the restaurant's patio offers the chance to explore wines and indulge in our city's natural beauty.

5. Village Cork

Much smaller and less varied than other wine bars on this list, Village Cork provides a relaxing atmosphere where a few glasses of wine can be enjoyed along with light fare and quiet conversation. Assorted cheese and meat plates are pleasant supplements to the wine list, which includes wines by the glass, half-bottle or full bottle, as well as some tasting options. The selection at the Platt Park wine bar may be somewhat limited, but as a quiet retreat from the busy world, Village Cork is unbeatable.