Sommeliers Sebastian Zutant and Brent Kroll want to give Washingtonians a sneak peak at their respective coming-soon wine bars. You’d think they would be foes because they’re about to be competitors, but they’ve been friends for a decade.

The double pop-up will occur at 2 Birds 1 Stone on Sunday, April 9 from 6 p.m. to midnight. Kroll and Zutant will pour half-glasses of six wines each that are representative of the selection customers can expect at their bars. There will also be a food menu to complement the wine from Doi Moi Chef Sasha Felikson. No tickets are necessary, just roll up.

Kroll, formerly of Neighborhood Restaurant Group, is readying to open a wine bar in Shaw, as originally reported by Young & Hungry. He’ll focus on having a robust by-the-glass list of quirky, undiscovered wines from cool regions as well as traditional wines paired with food from Chef Tony Conte of Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana.

The bar going into1336 9th St. NW will be called Maxwell Park. For the pop-up, Kroll will showcase some of his favorite styles of wine including Greek assyrtiko and lambrusco alongside snacks like rye toast with hay-smoked salmon and creamy tofu purée.

Zutant, who is still a partner at The Red Hen and All Purpose, is striking out on his own with a soon-to-be-named wine bar with his wife Lauren Winter.Since natural wine, among other things, will be a focus he’ll introduce Washingtonians to the unadulterated style of vino at the pop-up. 

He’ll also offer samples of French wines from lesser-known regions like Alsace and Jura paired with mini boudin blanc sausages with red wine mustard and sauerkraut. 

The pair is also tied together having both worked for Fat Baby Inc., the restaurant group behind Doi Moi, 2 Birds 1 Stone, Estadio, and Proof. Zutant was Proof’s opening wine director where Kroll has been biding his time as the restaurant’s general manager over the past seven months. Fat Baby Inc. will be a partner in Kroll’s forthcoming wine bar, which he named after a park he played in while growing up in Detroit. 

2 Birds 1 Stone, 1800 14th St. NW (basement), 2birds1stonedc.com