The Fall Season at Popina
I love New York City in all months; but September just hits harder. The city gets a bit crowded; but the energy is undeniable. Everyone’s back: temperatures are prime and the streets are buzzing. I’ve been busy trying to launch this wine shop; but all work makes for a boring man.
September Musings
Jen & Jason set to leave Brooklyn and remind us that being a regular somewhere is important (and we should all drink more champagne!) They’ve been a huge support for us throughout the years and we couldn’t be more grateful: dinner most Fridays, wine & provisions during Covid, catering for holidays, etc. They’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly: long waits for food, forgotten items, uncomfortable dining situations (before the side dining room had walls!) & they still showed up for us. The best part isn’t that my entire staff knows Jen and Jason—it’s that they smile when they know they’re coming in.
Kru wins Best Microlist (fewer than 100 wines) from The World of Fine Wine. I was bummed I couldn’t join the Kru crew at the Savoy in London for the awards ceremony; but can’t be more pumped for this team to take the W back to BK. I may suggest some wines that go with the food and help coordinate vendors; but Jeff and the team at Kru are the people responsible for pushing the program forward. Fueled by passion and inherent hospitality–they are showing up everyday doing the real work. They also got a nice shoutout from Jon Bonné on Resy; Restaurants around the country that define dining today
If you haven’t been to Kru–you should go. It’s truly a special place. Maybe out of your pad thai comfort zone; but definitely worth exploring. The food is next level, the service warm, and the wine list: well–apparently its world class 🙂
Had a blast at the 10th Street Wine Party–a party from the teams behind Penny and Claud. They invite wine professionals and collectors from across the city to mix, mingle, and pop some good vino! Hang with some friends, bump into some colleagues, and see some Popina regulars: doesn’t sound so bad; but I’ll admit I was a bit scared. Fear of being pinned in a corner listening to wine nerds talk about their favorite Vosne producer, hating on a vintage, or reminiscing about that epic dinner when they popped #🦄: let me show you photos!
Luckily the party was pretty chill with not much geeking out or showing off. The party is all about sharing and community with an educational edge. People get to taste wines they might not get to taste and it’s important to chase that his team and wine professionals in general know what benchmark wines should taste like. I brought 2001 chave hermitage, Selosse Rose, 2014 Cristal Rose, and 21 Lafon Charmes to share & I thought everything showed well. Got to try some great wine from producers like DRC, Mugnier, Rinaldi, Dujac, Keller, Leflaive, Ramonet, and many more. The next day was certainly a struggle.
More on the wine front: we did a collab with Courtney and Hannah from Thatcher’s Wine. The weather was great and the wine was flowing. Had lots of familiar faces in the house but also met some new friends. Lots of great wine shared.
October Excitement
Cruise up the Hudson. I went to school up in Poughkeepsie and it’s beautiful in the fall. Perhaps a hike or explore some of the towns along the river?
Sunday afternoon pint at ABC Beer. Zach always has the best beer selection and there’s something so nice about a slow Sunday.
Garrett Oliver and I are doing a collab dinner at Kru. There will be beer, there will be wine—and there will be lots of fun!
Jesus has been the backbone of Popina from the early days when our backyard was four picnic tables and a bunch of rocks. Jesus had a big job: receiving deliveries and prepping some of your favorite items: hot chicken, arancini, chess pie and many more Popina staples. He’s been an integral part of our team, our family and now he needs our help. Come drink some wine, eat some food, and celebrate community while raising money for Jesus and his family during this difficult time. If you can’t make the dinner but could help out in anyway: here’s the gofundme link.
If perfect weather and hot chicken milanese wasn’t enough of a reason–NY mag takes note of some VERY good wine deals for Sat/Sun lunch. Follow our IG for weekly specials.