Wine bar with a view opens on Port lakefront

Cavelier Wine Bar in the Newport Shores  building on Port Washington’s lakefront opened its doors last week.

Owner Kelly Brown said the idea of opening a wine bar came two years ago.

After seeing the available space at Newport Shores, she said she knew it was the place to make it a reality.

“There’s nothing like it,” Brown, who also owns Locally Inspired in downtown Port, said about the space, noting its floor-to-ceiling windows and patio area offers patrons breathtaking views of the lake and marina.

Although Cavelier is on the first floor, Brown said the lake-facing side is raised so  the parking lot doesn’t obstruct the view.

“There’s nothing blocking the view,” she said.

The bar’s unique name, spelled “cavelier” instead of cavalier, is derived from French Great Lakes explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Brown said.

“I was digging into the history of Port Washington and saw his name and liked it,” she said, adding that the bar’s decor reflects an “old-world” aesthetic.

“I also liked the idea of exploring,” she said, comparing it to her invitation for patrons to explore Cavelier’s selection of nonalcoholic drinks.

“People will be able to see that focus (on nonalcoholic options) on the menu,” Brown said. “Our wine, beer and cocktails all have nonalcoholic options.”

Brown said she partnered with Nite Cap Beverage Consulting to create the menu, which was the consulting company’s first one with nonalcoholic options.

The philosophy behind their nonalcoholic cocktails is to keep the taste as similar as possible, she said.

“Every cocktail ingredient is the same but the spirit is nonalcoholic,” Brown said. That is possible, she said, because of Lyre’s, a nonalcoholic liquor brand that offers a full line of spirits, including near zero-proof bourbon, gin, rum and others.

“Honestly,” Brown said, “for most of the spirits you can’t tell the difference.”

While it is a wine bar, Brown said her priority was not having a daunting wine list.

Instead, she hopes to stock the bar with wines customers wouldn’t find on supermarket shelves but would still enjoy.

“We tried to partner with distributors of small wineries,” Brown said. “So you’re getting something new but great.”

In addition to selling wine by the bottle or glass, Brown said, Cavelier offers flights — small amounts of different wines ­— for customers to try.

Cavelier will host a wine club, she said, in addition to activities like paint-and-sip events, puzzle challenges, sunrise yoga and game nights.

When planning Cavelier, Brown said, it was apparent there wasn’t space for a full-service kitchen.

Instead, Cavelier offers snacks from local businesses like the Chocolate Chisel and Bernie’s Fine Meats, she said.

The bar will also have doughnuts on the weekends, she said.

Brown received a $25,000 loan from the City of Port Washington’s revolving loan fund for Cavelier.

“That was extremely helpful,” she said, noting it helped cover set-up costs and purchase products.

The fund offers small loans that have reduced fees and simplified legal documents to new and expanding area businesses, city officials say.

Cavelier is located next to the Venue, an event space that was originally intended to be a restaurant.

While Cavelier opened last week, its grand opening will be Friday, May 31, at 3 p.m.

Cavelier is open from 3 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays, 3 to 10 p.m. on Fridays, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.