Bar Pilar Newsletter (Feb 27)

Our inaugural newsletter (plus some big life updates!!)

Hi BP Club,

It’s been a big month. I’m starting with a (pretty exciting) life update and what you can expect from me on Substack this year. If you already read my update on socials and you’d rather skip straight to the standard newsletter, you can scroll down to “Champions (the best wines I’ve tried this month)” and start there. Also, because it’s our inaugural newsletter, it’s a bit long. Make sure you tap “View Entire Message” at the bottom if you’re receiving this via email, since some email apps may cut it off.

As you may have seen on my Instagram yesterday, I’ve made the decision to go all-in on this community after a full year of juggling this with my legal career. So if you’re reading this, thank you!!!! Thank you so so much. It’s because of your support and enthusiasm that I worked up the guts to do this, and I'm so appreciative.

What this means is that I’ll have more time for our community: better wine content, more dinner parties and hosting tips (which I love, but just haven’t had the time for this past year), and, finally, a real Substack. Here’s what you can expect from me on Substack this year:

• A biweekly newsletter for our entire BP Club. We’ll talk about the best bottles I’ve tried this month, what’s on my radar in the world of wine and food, beverage industry news, and the other things that take up my brain space (hotels, vintage fashion, music, and more). All subscribers (paid and unpaid) will receive this right to their inbox.

• For paid subscribers, a number of premium resources that I’ll be working very hard on. For those of you who have asked how you can support my work, becoming a paid subscriber is by far the best way. It will go a long way in allowing me to continue to make the best content for our community, and to only accept partnerships that genuinely align with our tastes. Exclusive features for paid BP Club subscribers include:

  • By popular demand, a continuously updated Cult Classics “cellar” featuring a full list of our Cult Classic wines, where to buy them online and in major markets, U.S. pricing, and key details on their history, production methods, and flavor profiles. The list is signiiiiiiiiificantly more built out than what we’ve done on social media (I’ve put out about 15 Cult Classics videos so far on my Instagram and TikTok, while our Cult Classics cellar on Substack already has upwards of 50 incredible producers). I’ll keep adding to it as I try more wines which qualify for our special list. It went up yesterday! You asked, I answered.

  • Also by popular demand, full recipes for the perfect wine pairings. I develop all of these myself and usually lead with the wine - designing the recipe around it - to make sure the pairings are top notch. There are already several up, and you can expect at least a few more - featuring both the recipe and the wine to go with it - every month.

  • Guides to throwing the perfect dinner parties (with wine as a central element of course), travel guides (guides to the Santa Ynez Valley, Paris, and my favorite wine hotels in the world are already up), and more. Similarly, you can expect at least a handful of new guides like these every month.

Alright now that we’ve gotten the logistics out of the way, let’s get into our inaugural newsletter. Thank you guys again for making this all possible, I can’t explain how much I appreciate your support, and I’m really excited for this next year with you all.

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CHAMPIONS (the best wines I’ve tried this month)

I’ve been so into Sekt lately (German and Austrian sparkling wine - it varies in quality but when you get the good stuff it’s reallyyyyy good). There’s something about imagining yourself cruising down from the slopes in Lech and pouring yourself an après bubbly that’s so idyllic in February. The bottles from Peter Lauer and Rebholz are outstanding.

I also introduced my boyfriend to Keller (a total Cult Classic Riesling producer) over dinner at Anajak Thai. I haven’t seen him that impressed since his first sip of Dagueneau. For anyone curious about how my quest to convert him to white wine is going - it’s going very, very well.

This is nothing new, but I’ve been on a major Sauternes kick. I despise winter (even in LA) and the only way for me to get through it is with a lot of Sauternes and Barolo, which pair well with the winter months. I’ve been ploughing through my stash of Suduiraut and Guiraud paired with everything from Thai food (hi Anajak and Northern Thai Food Club) to blue cheese.

And then of course there are our Cult Classic additions from this past month: Sandlands (all over California), Pierre Péters (Champagne), and Corison (Napa). We talked about these on socials, but full details (where to buy them, production methods, range of pricing and more) are now in our Cult Classics Cellar.

POWER COUPLES (the wine & food pairings I’ve been obsessing over)

My go-to happy hour snack this month has been toasted sourdough bread with butter (really really good butter, like the Beurre Bordier from Maison Bordier) topped with salmon roe and paired with a Blanc de Blancs Champagne (like Pierre Péters, Laherte Frères or Billecart). Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

I love making lamb and red wine pairings any time of the year. It’s one of those pairings that’s perfect for any occasion, any temperature, any crowd (except like.. vegetarians..). I’ve really been leaning into robust Riojas lately, and the rack o’ lamb recipe I developed to pair with a bottle of Marqués de Murrieta was fantastic. I’m working on getting that one up on the recipe section of our Substack in the next few days.

And then of course for Valentine’s Day we did an Omaha Steak with a bottle of 2018 Pontet-Canet (we couldn’t wait to open it, and it was already drinking beautifully, so I don’t regret it for a second). I’ve also been having Sauternes with everything: Thai food (like this recipe I made from Hot Thai Kitchen), blue cheese, foie gras, apple pie, on its own.

WINE AND DINE (what’s on my radar for eating & drinking well - in LA and around the world)

Between work transitions, spending last month in the Middle East, and - this month -redesigning our house, I’m a little off my groove in terms of dining out. But I did finally try out Camelia (it’s a project from the same team as Ototo, one of the best sake bars in America, so I knew I’d love it). Their wine list is highly intentional and playful, and their koji-roasted chicken with grilled cabbage was outstanding with the Thomas Puechavy Chenin Blanc we ordered. The wine came from their curated list of winemakers who had switched careers, working in completely different industries before wine, so let’s just say I secretly felt affirmed.

As far as restaurants on my radar go, I’ve been getting raked over the proverbial coals by my friends for not having dined at Etra (LA) or Torrisi and Sailor (both New York), though none are especially new. Two newcomers to the LA fine dining scene - Ki and Seline - and two new hotspots in New York - Le Veau d’Or (technically a reopening) and Bridges - have obviously caught my eye.

But the LA restaurant I’m really dying to try is Backbone, a New American restaurant tucked away in Glendale. The “New American” description is usually an automatic turn-off for me, and I never go to Glendale unless I’m craving Zhengyalov Hatz. Backbone, however, is the brainchild of the former owners of McCall’s Meat & Fish, which is perhaps the best grocery store - if you can even call it that - in the country. It’s where I get our Omaha Steaks, our Snake River Farms hot dogs, our Maison Bordier butter, our Brothers Products dips, and limited-edition cheeses. These guys have exceptional taste, and I can’t wait to see what they’ve done at Backbone.

SPILL IT (industry news, trends, and my two cents)

In case you missed it, I was on last week’s Business of Drinks podcast! I’ve been a huge fan of the podcast for a while, so it was a big honor to actually be interviewed. One of the big topics we covered was how I think the emphasis on “accessibility” and “relatability” in the wine industry are a bit overblown. We may be seeing that young people are drinking less wine, but I don’t think the solution is to show them cheap wines or dumb the topic down. Young professionals in particular want wine to remain part of an aspirational, global, sophisticated lifestyle. We just want a way to get started. On the podcast, I talked with

Caroline Lamb

about what types of content perform the best, and advice to brands for working with content creators. Give it a listen here and, as always, let me know what you think. My interview starts around 45:25.

Business of Drinks overall has been a great resource for me as I try to learn more about the business side of the beverage space and how brands are navigating today’s market. Some other episodes I’ve really enjoyed are Ep. 41 with Fawn Weaver of Uncle Nearest (on the importance of mission and narrative in brand building), Ep. 50 with David Duncan of Silver Oak (on adapting to the modern world and building a cult brand in a very old fashioned industry), and Ep. 34 with Clement Pappas of Surfside (on the importance of local launches and the growth of RTDs).

I’ve also been talking to a few wine companies about their social media strategies. One of my key recommendations (while I’m no expert, I have been chronically online for the past year) is that the founders or CEOs should be the ones in front of the camera, getting to know their community and telling the story of their brand wherever possible. This doesn’t mean taking pictures or doing trendy social media challenges. It means developing a true personality and familiar face to attach to your brand, which your customers will identify with.

Maxi Riedel (@maxiriedel) is one of the best examples I’ve seen in the wine industry - he represents the sophistication of his brand while being hilarious, relatable, and someone I’d just genuinely want to hang out with. Further, because he’s always showcasing his (fairly glamorous) day to day life and travels while pouring fantastic wines into his Riedel glasses, he’s able to effortlessly situate his brand within the universe of these luxury experiences, destinations, and wines. This both subtly and clearly communicates the product as a high-end brand without it ever feeling forced or sales-y. Another great example from outside the industry is Reid Moon from the Instagram account @moonsrarebooks.official. He’s the owner of a rare bookstore in Provo, Utah - a place I had literally never heard of before coming across his account. He has amassed over one MILLION followers from highlighting key rare books from his collection, narrating in a fairly simple style while wearing his signature spectacles and patterned suit jacket or vest. He’s deeply enthusiastic, eccentric, and consistent. I will now literally fly to a place I had never heard of, and have no other reason to go to, just to meet him and buy one of his books. I don’t even care which book it is. If you’re having trouble picturing what I’m talking about, go to his page and watch 5-10 videos. Then imagine this same strategy applied to a collector, importer, or store with an impressive portfolio of rare and special wines. Magic.

AFTER HOURS (everything else I’m obsessing over at the end of the day, over a glass of wine - travel, fashion, music, more)

I got back from the Middle East a few weeks ago, where I was hanging out with my parents, who were there for work. We spent most of our time in Bahrain and Qatar, with a brief stop in Dubai (my stops in Dubai are always so brief, I’ve never gotten to properly enjoy the city). None of these are wine destinations, obviously, but I came back with some thoughts on hotels, date syrups, and music (from my very long flight).

We stayed at a bunch of top rated hotels in the region. The Jumeirah al Qasr in Dubai was by far the standout. It’s complete Gulf opulence (not everyone’s taste, and not usually mine either, but I feel the best way to enjoy this region is to lean in), stays true to its Arabian identity throughout its design, and its staff exhibit top notch hospitality training. Despite the palatial setting, it’s actually quite family friendly. Few places combine grandeur and ease like this.

We also stayed at the Banyan Tree in Doha (sigh, disappointing. If you’re going to go maximalist, you really have to get it right, and they didn’t. Look at The Ned or the Mandarin Oriental instead for your visit.), as well as the Habitas at Ras Abrouq (they definitely have some kinks to work out in terms of their hospitality and guest communications, but the villas and location were stunning). We also stopped by the Raffles Al Areen Palace in Bahrain for lunch (beautiful design and, while I can’t say from experience, the villas do look impeccable, but I can’t really imagine what I’d do there all day).

I have to say the thing I miss most from the trip is Bateel - a luxury date (as in the food) chain. I brought back the cardamom date dhibs and a big jar of their cardamom (it’s next-level cardamom) and have been layering them over my yogurt and fruit every morning, dreading the day I run out. If someone opens a Bateel in the U.S. I will spend big money there. Just saying.

For music - I released a sexy dinner date playlist (Wine & Dine) this month on our Spotify for Valentine’s Day (though I’ve been told it’s also good for grinding at work late at night?? not sure how I feel about that) and 070 Shake’s Petrichor was the best album I listened to on my long flights. As background vibes (for writing things like this newsletter, or coming up with new ideas for content) I’ve been listening to a lot of La Lom, as well as Talking Timbuktu by Ali Farka Touré and Ry Cooder.

For anyone interested in non-wine publications and social media pages, I’ve been loving

Nadine // The Stanza

(a Milan-based investor’s perspective on hospitality and fashion) and Outlander (a really oustanding fashion and culture media outlet).

For fashion and design - I’ll have more to report once we’ve made some progress on our house design :)

Cheers guys, really excited about this <3