The Owners of Nocturne Jazz Club Are Opening Their New Wine Bar in RiNo

A strip of Denver known more for beers and cocktails will soon be home to a new bar specializing in natural wine and small-production winemakers. The owners of Nocturne Jazz & Supper Club will open Noble Riot in the former home of Greenlight Lab sometime this spring. Greenlight closed earlier this month in the alley between Larimer and Walnut streets. And Noble Riot was originally supposed to go into the former Rebel Restaurant space.

Given recent uproar around the topic, Noble Riot doesn’t want to bill itself as a “natural wine bar,” according to co-owner and sommelier Scott Mattson.

“There’s a contentious debate about natural wines — some pretty extreme opinions and camps are being formed in the somm community,” Mattson said. “Saying that all natural wines are flawed while promoting homogenous, additive laden, industrial-scale wine is totally insane. We look forward to being a moderating voice in the conversation by serving wines that have integrity and make people happy.”

Mattson, his wife Nicole, and their business partner, sommelier Troy Bowen, plan to serve wines with stories from around the world as well as meaty shared plates like elk tartare and duck rillettes. They’re starting out in the small room previously occupied by Greenlight Lab, but they want to expand their bar to include a wine class studio and back alley patio space.

Greenlight Lab closed so its owners could re-focus on their restaurant design business, for which that bar was a test concept.

• Experimental Bar Greenlight Lab Has Ended Its Run in a RiNo Alley [EDEN]
• Nocturne’s Owners Won’t Open a New Wine Bar in the Old Rebel Restaurant [EDEN]
• A Wine Bar Takes Over the Rebel Space [EDEN]