Pair Your Wine With Vinyl Albums At This Unique Denver Spot

Nestled in a quaint corner of Denver is Sunday Vinyl, a unique and award-winning wine bar. The name of the wine bar isn't trying to be clever, just accurate. Among the bar's world-class wine selection, featuring bottles from Sonoma to Bordeaux, is an equally world-class vinyl collection, which looks as thoughtfully curated as the wine menu. The bar specializes in elevated small plates, but it also has a few heavy-hitting "headliners" like wagyu flank steak. In fact, each menu section has a cheeky nod to the musical themes that run through the fabric — er, speaker wire — that binds the establishment together.

It looks like the audiophile gear at the bar is as high-quality as the ingredients: Music emanates from incredibly beautiful handmade Italian speakers from Sonus Faber while vinyl at the bar plays from a Marantz receiver and amp stack that, all together, is pushing darn near a high five figures. Everything about this spot exudes quality.

So Sunday Vinyl has a gorgeous space, an astonishingly organized vinyl collection, delicious food, and gear that is 99% of any audiophile's end game. Thankfully, the wine bar's sommeliers also have excellent taste in music, attracting clientele with what they're spinning on any given night. On its socials, the establishment highlights the artists as if describing a bottle of wine's flavor profile. For example, in a post on Instagram for its weekly "Somm Selections" series, the bar shared the following about the album Homework by Daft Punk: "Daft Punk's debut album involves strong electropop beats that we've all come to know and love them for." 

There's also something special about the tactile connection to music that vinyl brings to any listening session. It's intentional. You'll be putting on an album, listening to it, and letting it wash over you, not unlike when you taste a delicious glass of wine. Vinyl and wine, in that sense, are similar. They require your attention. You listen critically to music on a sound system that Sunday Vinyl provides, and when you're wine tasting, you're focused on the tannins and vintage. When combined, wine and vinyl are a special treat. 

Several studies, including a 2017 study published in Food Science & Nutrition, even found that certain music paired with specific wine varieties can affect your tasting. Master of Wine Susan R. Lin wrote a thesis on how specific musical tempos and pitches can elevate your perception of certain wine characteristics. For example, high-tempo music can bring out the brightness in wine. Seems like a good experiment to conduct with yourself or some friends and family at a spot just like Sunday Vinyl (or at home with your personal collection).