Jamie's Wine Bar [February 2020]

I really can't start talking about Jamie’s Wine Bar without first telling you a little bit about Wrigley Mansion. [the place where Jamie's is located] I fell in love with Wrigley Mansion the first time Shawn and I went to do a self-guided tour. The location is up on a private knoll in the Biltmore area. I don’t even think at that time I knew there was a restaurant there, and there certainly wasn’t a wine bar there yet!! The Mansion was built in 1931, by chewing gum mogul William Wrigley Jr. I’m positive you have heard of [and most of you have chewed] Wrigley Gum, it is still in most checkout lines today!!

William built the Mansion for his wife, Ada, as a 50th Wedding Anniversary!! [awww, so romantic!!] However, he died the very next year at the age of 70. The family continued to live in the Wrigley Mansion until 1973. There were several other owners before it was purchased by Gordie and Jamie Hormel [sound familiar!? Gordie is the son of the canned spam meat heir, Jay Hormel!!] in 1992, and not a moment too soon. The city was planning to build condos on this property after knocking down the Mansion!! What a shame that would have been, as you can see the beautiful entrance above.

Geordie and Jamie restored the Mansion and opened it as a private club. The idea was always to make it accessible to the public, while trying to keep as much of the original Mansion intact as possible. They wanted to keep the magic of the historical landmark alive so they could share it with locals and travelers alike. Mission accomplished!! This is one of my favorite things to do in Phoenix. Wrigley is my absolute favorite Mansions!! [not that I've been to a lot of them.. Haha] Sadly, Geordie died in 2006, but Jamie has continued to run and make improvements to this grand estate. She struck gold [in my humble opinion.. HA!!] when she turned the Mansion’s library into a wine bar!!

I have been to Wrigley Mansion, and Jamie's Wine Bar many times, taking many friends, but I think around Christmas is my favorite time to visit!! I took my friend Deb [who is pictured above and who you met last week] with me one year so I could share the incredibly elegant and beautiful Christmas decorations!! It has now become a [favorite] tradition for us to go every year during the season: to enjoy a glass, the ambience, and our friendship!! The Mansion is always having some wine event or another. My work daughter Hayley and I [pictured below] went to the Hartford Family Winery's five course dinner with perfect wine pairings for a little Holiday magic!!

Remember how I talked last week about walking around a grand mansion while drinking a glass of wine!? Well, below you can see a couple friends and I doing just that!! You all know Deb by now [or you should!! LOL] and let me introduce a fellow travel nurse Hannah Hoppe, which I pronounce, incorrectly I may add… as Hannah Hope!! Haha!! It’s a pretty interesting story how Hannah and I met. You see, at the time we were both traveling with the same agency and using the same recruiter. Long story short, our recruiter set us up on a "blind date." I could not be more thankful that we decided to meet up as Hannah has turned into one of my great friends!!

Wrigley Mansion has 24 rooms, some of them are off limits due to the "behind-the-scenes" of running three restaurants, six private dining areas, and the ballroom. I don’t know the history of all the bedrooms, [some of which are converted into dining rooms] but the Geneva Room is said to have been occupied by Elvis!! The décor, furniture, and chandeliers in each room are simply exquisite. The balconies show off the views, and each bathroom has a small lounge area!! Every “en-suite” bathroom is decorated differently and it’s fun to check them all out!! I read somewhere that there are 17 bathrooms, but more recent reports say there are only 12. [hilarious… “only” 12 bathrooms!! HA!!] Now you know I have to go back to tally them up!! Hahaha

I love that you can go to Wrigley Mansion anytime, get a drink at one of the bars, and just walk around and explore. So, you can see how I couldn't really just talk about Jamies Wine Bar, even if it's my favorite room in the house. [wink wink] It is a big part of Wrigley Mansion and seeped in its history... it comes as an entire package. I’ve been lucky enough to eat at Geordie’s Restaurant and Lounge, Christopher’s [for our anniversary one year] and Jamie’s Wine Bar. I have attended wine events, a Queen’s tea service at high noon, and watched a friend get married in the beautiful terrace gardens. [via video live steam] I still need to make it for one of the monthly Jazz nights!!

Wrigley Mansion is another one of those places I could go on and on about. I have so many photos and memories of my adventures with Shawn and/or good friends. Now, I do have to tell you about the above photo. This is taken out my side door [I'm sure some of you may recognize my saguaro cactus, Franc!!] Well, during covid, when everything was shut down and you couldn’t go out for wine or wine tastings, Wrigley Mansion decided to offer picnic baskets to go!! Build your own basket for curbside pickup or delivery complete with charcuterie and/or sandwiches, a bottle of wine. It was amazing and tada... novinophobia [fear of having no wine.. LOL] averted!!

Next week Wine with Wixy will be heading out with a friend for another paint and wine!! You aren't going to want to miss out on this masterpiece at The Brush Bar!!

Cheers to you my wine loving friends, and TTFN!!