What’s with all the wine at Anajak Thai? Don’t sleep on these bottles from its massive list

Wine, wine everywhere: bottles stacked on bottles, crowding every spare surface space, taking every inch of unclaimed countertop, packed like sardines between the tables, layered like a phalanx three soldiers deep atop the bar. “It’s almost like we’ve become more wine than restaurant,” laughs sommelier John Cerasulo, the driving force behind the restaurant’s wine program. “I remember we had those little faux-leather, cardboard-bound mini A-frame menus that sit on the table,” Pichetrungsi recalls; by-the-glass offerings included Coppola Pinot, Kendall Jackson Chardonnay and imported plum wine filled to the top of the glass “I want us to be a place that rewards knowledge,” says sommelier John Cerasulo, “and I also want to be crowd-pleasing, and traditional, and kind of on the natty side too, but with wines that are made correctly while feeling alive and fresh.” Pichetrungsi learned how to cook from his dad but fell into wine of his own volition, hanging around wine shops like Everson Royce in Pasadena and avidly consuming wine books. “These choices we make in our lives — it’s like they’re communicated by the wine itself.” New wine director Ian Krupp, left, sommelier John Cerasulo and chef and co-owner Justin Pichetrungsi collaborate on Anajak’s wine menu. Emrich Schönleber “Frühlingsplätzchen Grosses Gewächs” Nahe 2020 — Wine programs like Anajak’s offer difficult-to-find bottles, often obtained via allocation, a system whereby favorite clients like restaurants and bars can obtain sought-after wines from importers and distributors.