Inside L.A.’s Most Exciting New Wine Shop

Thatcher Baker-Briggs is hoping that his new wine store in Los Angeles will take some of the intimidation out of shopping for your next bottle.

Thatcher’s Wine Brentwood, which opened Friday, is the first physical location for Baker-Briggs, the wine-world wunderkind who has more than 16 years of experience in Michelin-starred restaurants. As the go-to guy for oenophiles around the world, he’s been helping them build out their collections for years. Now he’s bringing his expertise to the neighborhood he calls home.

“I want to create this experience where anyone can sort of walk in and get all of the good things about luxurious shopping but make it so that whether you’re buying a $20 bottle or a $2,000 bottle, you feel comfortable in that space,” Baker-Briggs told Robb Report.

Those two ends of the wine spectrum are represented here, with the front of the store highlighting more affordable bottles, in the $20 to $75 range. The back cellar, meanwhile, will have high-end and rare bottles for special occasions or serious drinkers. Whichever section you end up in, though, the experience is built with luxury at the forefront.

In particular, Baker-Briggs is bringing his Michelin experience to the retail world, with Thatcher’s Wine being billed as a “Michelin-style” wine shop. Some of the other employees also come from that rarefied fine-dining world, and while many associate Michelin with high prices, Baker-Briggs said that it’s really more about the service and level of care. Whether you’re popping in for five minutes and running out with a bottle, or sticking around for half an hour and leaving with a case, your experience will include the same attention to detail.

“I’m really quite excited for the entire west side of Los Angeles to be this place where there’s wine culture,” Baker-Briggs said. “People can walk in and learn something or find something that they’ve never heard of, take it home, open it, drink it, love it, and then get excited about it.”

The space, featuring warm wood tones and couches that invite you to take a seat and stay a while, will also host tastings and events. A custom hi-fi sound system will be put to good use, spinning soul, jazz, and Motown tracks. Eventually, Baker-Briggs would love to collab with people in the worlds of art, sports, and fashion. (LeBron James and and other celebs have homes in Brentwood, so the store is certainly well positioned to connect with those sorts of A-listers.)

For now, though, Baker-Briggs is just excited about introducing unique people to unique wines—in a space that beckons you to step inside and have a drink.