After a year-long struggle to sustain their wine bar in the heart of Washington, DC’s Chinatown neighborhood during the COVID-19 pandemic, our clients made the bold decision to close their doors and reimagine their business. For over a decade, they had curated a menu of global wines focusing on small-production and minimal intervention vintages. In their next chapter, they sought to distill that same passion into a new format: a wine retail destination with a clear focus on tastings, conversation, and education.

Our design approach centered on elevating the wine itself—transforming it from a menu item into the protagonist of a spatial experience. Early studies explored symmetrical rows of display shelves, filling the central space with “product” in a traditional retail method. 

The breakthrough came when we pushed the product to the perimeter. This opened the center of the space to become a “dining room” for tastings and classes, anchored by a sculptural chandelier—an atmospheric canopy of suspended lights evoking both the glint of glassware and the subtle luminosity of the wines themselves.

Just as the wine selection champions individuality and nuance, the space was designed to feel equally distinct—inviting, layered, and intentionally flexible.

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