Photo by Brandon Amato
Most restaurants build menus around food. Under Pressure builds them around wine. For their upcoming wine bar, Michelin award–winning sommelier Juan Fernando Cortés (the Chastain) and Adam Berlin (Buena Vida Tapas Bar and Chicheria) will design its menu by choosing wines first, then creating dishes designed specifically to match those flavors. Under Pressure Wine Bar is slated to open in late 2026 in the former Pig-N-Chik BBQ space on Roswell Road near Chastain Park. Before the brick-and-mortar debuts, the team will introduce the idea through a series of Thursday evening pop-ups starting May 14 at Brush Sushi in Buckhead.
“We want to find the wines that really blow us away,” Cortés said, describing an approach in which chefs taste those wines and build dishes around them—adjusting flavors and textures until the pairing lands—an advantage, he noted, because “a chef has the ability to modify the flavors of a dish, whereas we can’t modify the wine.”
That collaboration often begins with a sense of place. A crisp Albariño from Spain’s Rías Baixas, for example, naturally points toward seafood—mussels, prawns, or oysters drawn from the same coastal traditions that shaped the wine itself, Cortes explains. By anchoring the process in the glass, chefs can taste first and then fine‑tune seasoning, texture, and components until the pairing feels intuitive rather than forced.
A focus will be education and guidance from the servers, so guests can try wines they might not otherwise order, including both New and Old World varietals and natural and biodynamic options. There will be 200 to 300 options with a robust by-the-glass selection, including up to eight sparkling wines. Flights will be available, too. A key tool for making that possible: large-format bottles. Wines age more slowly in larger bottles, allowing the bar to support higher-quality pours by the glass.
“It’s going to be a serious wine bar,” Cortes says.
There will also be a vermouth list and a tight cocktail menu centered on classics.
Food at Under Pressure is intentionally restrained, designed to support the wine rather than compete with it. The menu will balance indulgent touches like caviar service with familiar anchors such as meat and cheese boards, truffle fries, and a classic Caesar salad, alongside a rotating selection of seasonal dishes. With both full and half portions of all menu items, guests can keep it casual with a single glass and bite or build a more expansive, choose‑your‑own tasting by pairing multiple wines with smaller plates.
The bar’s sense of identity extends well beyond the glass. Inspired by David Bowie, Under Pressure leans into a glam‑rock aesthetic, with velvet textures, a mirrored ceiling over the bar, and vintage Chastain Amphitheater concert posters shaping the space. The 2,000‑square‑foot interior will seat up to 150 guests and include a spacious covered patio designed to feel like a neighborhood oasis.
“Who doesn’t like David Bowie?” Berlin exclaims. “Juan has brought a lot of that kind of rock-and-roll ethos to being a sommelier. He’s someone who can recommend wines to you very unpretentiously.”
Even at the pop-ups, vinyl DJ Capt. Mudfish will spin music from Bowie, Queen, and other ’80s icons. The initial pop-up series runs May 14 through June 4, taking over Brush’s main dining room and bar on Thursday evenings, with special à la carte dishes designed to pair with Under Pressure wines. Brush’s full sushi menu will also be available.
