What music should you play in a wine cellar or wine bar?
In a wine cellar or wine bar, the music needs to accompany the tasting without ever dominating it. It sets a quiet elegance, suited to conversation and advice. Here is how to choose it, and what you need to know about compliance.
An atmosphere in service of the tasting
Wine cellars and wine bars share one particular feature: what they sell is talked about and tasted. The music is not there to take center stage, but to set a quiet elegance, suited to conversation, to the merchant’s advice, and to the pleasure of discovery. Too present, it breaks concentration; too absent, the venue feels austere. The right balance is all restraint.
The style: understated and refined
The musical families that best fit the world of wine:
- soft jazz and mellow standards, an elegant, reliable choice;
- bossa nova and Brazilian tones, warm without being loud;
- quiet soul and refined instrumental, for a calm modernity.
The idea is to stay consistent with the refinement of the venue, without falling into elevator-music territory. A carefully chosen selection is part of the service.
Volume: always in the background
This is the key point. Wine calls for conversation: customers ask for advice, comment, share. The music should therefore stay low to moderate, present enough to fill silences but always below the level of a conversation. A wine bar that pushes the volume loses what makes it valuable: the exchange.
Compliance: royalties apply here too
A wine cellar or wine bar that plays music is subject to public performance royalties. A wine bar where drinks are consumed on-site follows the standard cafe-restaurant fee schedule, calculated on seating and location. And as everywhere, a personal streaming account is off-limits for commercial use: you need a licensed source.
In practice
Soundtracking a wine cellar means aiming for elegance and restraint: an understated style, a low volume, consistency with the spirit of the venue, from a legal source. Horra offers curated playlists suited to tasting, fine-grained volume and scheduling control, and human support to stay compliant, at clear, public pricing.
Frequently asked questions
What music suits a wine cellar?
Understated, elegant music: soft jazz, bossa nova, quiet soul, refined instrumental. The goal is to set an atmosphere suited to tasting and conversation, without covering the exchange between the merchant and their customers.
What volume works in a wine bar?
A low to moderate volume. Wine is tasted and talked about: the music should stay in the background to leave room for advice and discussion. A present but discreet backdrop is the ideal.
Does a wine cellar have to pay public performance royalties?
Yes. As soon as a wine cellar or wine bar plays music for its customers, public performance royalties are due. A wine bar that serves drinks on-site falls under the standard cafe-restaurant fee schedule.
Is jazz a good choice for a wine bar?
Often, yes. Mellow jazz, along with bossa nova or quiet soul, naturally fits the world of wine: elegant, warm, never overpowering. As long as you keep the volume measured and the selection consistent.
An atmosphere that works for you
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