The tasting ends and I’m now thoroughly ready to settle in and talk wine. The exact opposite happens. Reynolds takes me outside, down the street, and into a small construction site — behind a door the very same shade of green as the wine bar’s. Parcelle has something new up its sleeve: beer. The space will house a specialty shop for beer and gourmet items like olive oils, cheeses, charcuterie, maybe even cigars, with a bar in the back for enjoying beer. Despite the dust, saws, and cardboard boxes, I can see it. The space has high ceilings and exposed brick. There’s lovely wood detailing and a counter laid in handsome, brown terra cotta tile. The spirit is Old World and evocative of someone who’s spent time in, and adored, the quotidian rhythms of Europe.

Beer was Reynolds’ first love; he lived in Colorado when the craft brew scene was just emerging. Since then, he admits, a lot of beers have overcomplicated themselves. “Triple coffee, chocolate-brewed stouts. It went really experimental and kind of gross. But there's a bunch of old-guard European breweries that make really elegant beers. And there are some brewers who are as skilled and passionate as great winemakers — who are making beer in places like New York and Vermont.” This is the type of beer Reynolds is interested in spotlighting. While the wine bar will hold true as a sexy evening destination, the beer bar will be for an earlier crowd, “An 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. kind of thing.”

Back at the wine bar, we talk about the front of the building — a mysterious, verdant wall punctuated by small, circular windows with a rounded doorway, à la Bilbo Baggins’ house in “The Hobbit.” The front was inspired by the wooden facades of London, a contrast to New York City’s big glass windows. “To see inside,” says Reynolds, “you have to walk through the door. We're not trying to be exclusive or anything, but I think it creates a little bubble. You're within the space.” The exterior’s creamy jade carries across Parcelle’s furniture, an entire set by Gio Ponti reupholstered in a fabric sourced by Reynolds’ friend, an interior designer named Paul Renwick. They landed on their exact shade of green when Reynolds saw a Prada jacket of the same hue. A lighter, more electric green embroiders the wall coverings: whimsical flora inspired by artist Clara Kirkpatrick’s illustrations.

Reynolds says that we’re experiencing a pendulum swing in wine and food: Flavors are getting lighter and brighter, a trend stemming from a reaction to wine in the ’90s and early 2000s. “Wine was pushing itself to be big and rich — so white wines were oily, creamy, and floral. And red wines — this idea of a big, bold red was at its peak.” These powerful wines were hard to drink. “It's the same thing with food. Food is now less about butter, cream, and rich, thick stocks. It's all about olive oil, raw vegetables, vinegars, and fermentation. It's the same correlation happening with big and rich wine to now light and acidic wine.” According to Reynolds, we’re now beginning to arrive at a flavorsome middle ground.

You can feel this balance across Parcelle’s stunning food menu designed by chef Ron Yan, featuring two categories: snackier classics and full-meal dishes, with some on the delicate side (“bluefin tuna + heirloom tomatoes” or “Japanese cod + pickles”) while others are deeper and richer (“spicy mussels + bacon” or “lamb shank + curry”). Chef Yan, of Chinese heritage and hailing from Beijing, Toronto, Hong Kong, Dallas/Plano, and Austin, takes a globally-inspired approach to his dishes. Take the crab fried rice: “It’s awesome with a whole bunch of different white wines,” Reynolds nods, excitedly. “A fancy bottle of white Burgundy or a super-salty kind of natural Spanish white wine.” He bemoans the Eurocentricity of food programs in most wine bars. “Every wine bar is Parisian-inspired. Yet China and Japan are some of the largest buyers of everything from natural to collectible wines. And I promise you, they're not like, ‘I have to have this Burgundy with a French dish.’ Ron brought in these amazing little Chinese sausages, and they’re going to be so good with this section of Italian wines because they’re fatty, umami, and have all these flavors. These kinds of flavors just work well with wine. I learned that through Ron.”