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Wide-framed windows give way to the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, while a Steinway & Sons concert grand piano located below the stage adds elegant charm to the room. The wines served are of good quality and the various furnished conversation areas offer guests a quaint communal atmosphere.
The space is called 217 Wine Bar—Stanley’s newest offering for guests and local community members. 217 is located in the main building of the Stanley Hotel, formerly the music room.
In the late Victorian era, the music room was used as a designated ladies’ tea room. The women would hold seances, play cards and drink tea—which has now become wine tasting.
217 Wine Bar opened to the public in late July and has been serving it ever since. However, the grand opening is still underway, as finishing touches are still being put on the space. Still, bars still have a lot to offer their patrons.
Maitre D David Czapp of 217 took a tour of the space and all it has to offer on Monday 14 November.
“John Cullen [owner of The Stanley] Wanted to give customers an experience that was different from anywhere else in town,” Czapp said of the thinking behind the bar. “You can buy booze all over town, but there’s nothing quite like it. It is a low pressure environment and we regularly have fun with all our clients. “
217 Wine Bar offers more than 50 kinds of red wine, white wine and sparkling wine, and some menus will change according to customer preferences. One of the best-selling wines on this list is 217 Cabernet Sauvignon. Those who purchase a bottle of this delightful red can personalize the logo and place it on the ceiling raptor inside the bar as a symbol of remembrance.
“We bought it for birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, you name it,” Czapp said. “People love celebrating in this bottle and it’s really high quality.”
217 also offers an extensive range of locally brewed beers and non-alcoholic beverages, making it a great place to cover everything.
For food options, patrons can enjoy a two-meat, two-cheese or four-cheese, four-meat charcuterie board with biscuits and fresh fruit. Vegan hummus is also on the menu for a light snack.
When it comes to food, Czapp explains that thanks to Stanley’s Michelin-starred chef—the very best—the food served goes well with any drink combination one might choose.
“Honestly, I don’t know how he did it,” Czapp said with a laugh. “Whether it’s red wine, white wine or beer. The chef makes everything that tastes good. The menu is also great for tasting itself, as it’s not a full meal – people can enjoy their wine without feeling bloated.”
While 217’s fine wines and sophisticated design raise the bar for the competition, it’s the bar’s one-of-a-kind entertainment that sets it apart from any other in Estes Valley.
As mentioned earlier, the presence of a Steinway and Sons concert grand piano has become an entertainment factor, while the stage below it has universal acoustic potential.
Steinway has its own unique history. The original owner of The Stanley, FO Stanley, gifted the hotel to his wife Flora in 1909 after it was completed. Since there were no microphones or speakers available to amplify the sound at the time, stages were built to achieve this effect.
In short, the sound entering the stage is reflected from the smooth curve of the dome-shaped ceiling, which allows it to spread throughout the room at relative volume levels.
With these two instrumental masterpieces, guests have the opportunity to play a Steinway. However, as Czapp explained, only those who were good enough to be worth touching the keys were allowed.
“You can usually tell if a person really knows how to play by the reactions of their friends,” Czapp explains lightheartedly. “If the friends are in awe of playing, they’re usually up to the task, but if they’re sitting there with chopsticks and joking with their friends, they probably won’t.”
In addition to the classical entertainment brought by the piano performance, the so-called “wine songs” sung also provide customers with a unique experience.
The story behind these tunes is that when Czapp was hired, he was asked to find wine-themed songs to sing to customers.
“The idea behind this type of entertainment is to give people something to say,” Czapp said. “You give them shows that have conversations. People have good conversations and good wine — that’s what we want.”
The problem with these drinking songs, however, Czapp found, was that they were a little too depressing. Thinking creatively, Czapp came up with a solution to this problem—making wine-based parodies out of existing songs.
Czapp’s plan is to move the plot with music-based running time, and make these boozy parodies out of it. Once plans were drawn up, Czapp began performing to audiences, and clients began writing their own parodies, the idea took off.
“Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, Queen, Johnny Cash, you name it, someone has written a song about it,” says Czapp. “The Brotherhood of Justice, Gloria Gaynor, Helen Reddy, they’re all in there, and they’re all funny.”
As Czapp holds up a book full of lyrics, Czapp speaks articulately about this newfound trend of song parodies of customers trying to hand-write their own parodies.
Along with the wine tunes, Czapp shares historical stories, tells about Ghost Tail, and introduces Stanley’s backstory.
“We put that entertainment into it, it’s an experience for the customer, and that’s what we’re aiming for, and that’s what we see,” Czapp said.
In the next phase, prior to the grand opening of 217, plans are in place to add a chocolate shop to accompany the wine tasting and to place a new bar to complete the refurbishment process.
217 Wine Bar is open 7 days a week – weekdays from 3pm to 10pm and weekends from 2pm to 10pm.
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