Wine Bar Pivot Pivots Name to High Treason As It Nears Opening

For the past year, fine-dining sommeliers Michael Ireland (Restaurant at Meadowood, Quince) and John Vuong (Ame, Gary Danko) have been readying their new, more casual Inner Richmond wine bar. The space is nearing ready for a post-Thanksgiving opening, with one major change to the original concept: the name. “We've been forced to move on from the name ‘Pivot’ as there seems to be a somewhat litigious grey marketer using the same name,” Ireland told Eater. The duo have settled on High Treason instead. “The message is the same but instead of, say, pivoting away from the pretension and elitism in wine, we are now fully treasonous toward it,” he said.

Ireland and Vuong want High Treason to be a respite from the stuffiness in wine. “We just want good wine for good people and to make things a little more inclusive than exclusive,” Ireland explained. They teamed up with chef Daniel Brooks to create a small plates menu of sandwiches, salads and comfort food based on the 30-wine list. The 47-seat space just secured its ABC license, and as soon as the physical space is ready, they plan to open. As of now, the retail portion (off-premise and wine club) should begin next week, with a full opening the week after Thanksgiving. “We're so excited to get this open,” Ireland said. “I want to open some bottles of wine for people.”