Why Wine Lists Need to Reinvent Themselves

Blaine Ryan Hunt
Jul 24, 2017 · 4 min read

Beverage Programs Begin to Embrace Seasonality

By Blaine Hunt | July 23, 2017


While there are no bells and whistles at the RiNo yacht club — no Zaltos, no Clos Rougeard, no Roumier — they do possess something that many establishments of their kind don’t: spontaneity. As a semi-regular at The Source Marketplace, the four-year-old development in the River North neighborhood that houses the RiNo Yacht Club, I have saddled up to the bar to enjoy a glass or two of wine on numerous occasions. With every visit, I am pleasantly surprised and excited to read a wine menu that has, at least slightly, made revisions from the previous visit. An old favorite, gone in deference to the season, is usually welcomed by an equally intriguing selection. The wine program at the RiNo Yacht Club is one that routinely rewards regulars.

With the continued refinement and progression of the Denver restaurant scene, I have noticed that far too often the wine lists at bars in the city are still considered an afterthought. Often overlooked in favor of craft cocktails or beer, the wine programs tend to be given to an enthusiastic, but unexperienced employee, or, even worse, left in the hands of a distributor looking to fill the list with bottom of the barrel selections that will help him or her meet their sales goals. Bars of the city, whether intentional or not, become bastions of Cougar Juice and the latest projects from Orin Swift. We can do better.

The owners of RiNo Yacht Club, Mary Wright and McLain Hedges, are also proprietors of natural wine shop Proper Pour, conveniently located directly across from the bar. The selections on the wine list closely mirror the producers found in the wine shop. If you’re looking for classic (though still Instagram-friendly) wines, you can choose from icons such as Volnay from Domaine Lafarge, Meursault from Jean-Marc Roulot, and Aligote from A. Et P. De Villaine. If you’re looking to try something slightly off the beaten path and have conversation fodder for the next Natural Wine Fair you’re attending, you can drink Chenin Blanc from Domaine du Collier, Valdigue pet nat from Cruse Wine Co., or skin-fermented Friulian white wine from Radikon.

The crux of working with such sought after producers, however, are the tiny allocations given out, often times as small as a single case per year. This is the beauty (and heartbreak) of the natural wine community. Once you develop a favorite producer, you return to purchase more and the stock, to your comsternation, has quickly been depleted. This, in many ways, is what makes the natural wine movement analogous to the slow food movement. We both patiently wait for the perfect moment in the season where our product is available, then almost as quickly as it came, we are left to lament it’s departure.


The pricing scheme is slightly unusual for both outlets. At the wine shop, the markups are sometimes substantially higher than average (most wine shops price their bottles at roughly fifty percent above wholesale price.) While at the bar, the prices are usually much lower than standard restaurant/bar mark-ups (restaurant selections are typically marked up 300% from wholesale prices.) The reason for this, I believe, is that the inventory is shared between the two outlets. The orders are placed for both properties through the same person and the savings you get at the bar are recouped with the slightly-higher-than-average retail prices.

If you want to pull a pro move, get a couple friends together and purchase a bottle of Foillard Morgon “Côte du Py” for $58 (high for retail, but about $40 cheaper than you’ll find it on most restaurant wine lists.) Order a couple of appetizers that are prepared in the kitchen at Acorn, then served dim-sum-style to patrons at the bar, and you have a sophisticated start to your evening for about $30 per person. Whatever you order, be sure to savor and embrace it; chances are high that the next time you return, it won’t be there. Change is good.

Wine List: 8/1O

Price: RiNo Yacht Club $$, Proper Pour $$$

While there are many entry-level selections in the $20-$25 range, the markup in the retail shop can be aggressive. The focus is on organic and biodynamic producers.

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