Wine Tasting with The Wichita Experience

Bart here! Jamie Stratton is probably Wichita’s best known wine aficionado and proprietor. He holds a spectacular wine tasting event once a month at the Candle Club. The Candle Club has been a Wichita icon for over 60 years. It gives you the feeling of a Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra-designed night club, a very cool old school vibe.   I had the opportunity to attend Jamie’s wine tasting group, The Wichita Experience, earlier this week.  

He sets up a theme around a grape variety or wine region and hand picks the wines to showcase the theme.  These are all wines that can be purchased locally and generally all within budget. This evening, there were 6 northwestern American Pinot Noirs—2 from California, 3 from Oregon, and 1 from Washington!  It’s so fun and interesting to taste the same grape, but from clearly different regions/terroir and varied wine making practices and styles.

I thought 3 stood out above the rest, and this was the general agreement of the entire group. Jamie polls the group at the end and tallies scores.  The clear standout of the evening was the 2021 Oregon Territory Pinot Noir. Classic Pinot Noir notes of raspberry and cherry fruits leap from your glass with soft floral, earth, and toast notes framed by notable tannins and mouthwatering acidity, all the while leaving a silky soft mouth feel. It’s just wonderful, and for the price, spectacular!  Regularly $24 and now $18 at Jacob Liquor!

My second choice was the 2021 Joel Gott Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. This opens with raspberries, pomegranate, and cranberries.  It is bright and clean with velvety smooth tannins (the structure that dries out your mouth) and good acidity with a long, pleasing finish. This is usually $31, but now on sale at Jacob Liquor for $21.

Third and tight in the running was 2021 Bold Wine Co. Pinot Noir from Monterey CA. Typically $29 and now on sale for $24 at Jacob.

Turns out, the crowd favorite was the cheapest one! I am just home now from picking up several bottles for my own cellar.  A perfect, low cost, every day drinking wine. A well-stocked cellar will have several “daily drinkers” in your favorite grape varieties for those ‘I just want a glass of wine’ kind of evenings! And this is another example that price does not necessarily indicate which wines are best. There are some great, affordable wines that you will love!

Jamie runs a wonderful event with guests genuinely interested in tasting and learning more about wine.  This event is open to everyone, so help spread the word and join us next month. Jamie is an educated and engaging teacher! Check in at Jacob Liquor for the time and theme of the next event. I promise you will not be disappointed. See you there!