“Wine is bottled poetry.” This is a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson, and it is certainly apropos for gatherings at the Wine Bunker!
Travis Wallace and his wife, Kathy Richman Wallace, opened this locale in 2020, following a lifelong love of wine. The two began their journey together when they married in 2014 in Napa Valley, California. Following their wedding, they took their guests wine tasting, then on Sunday, watched the KC Royals and Giants in game five of the World Series.
When Travis made the leap from the corporate world, he dove headfirst into his passion.
“We have done private tastings for the past few years out of our house and the original ‘Bunker’ in our basement,” he notes. “We discussed with our guests about possibly opening a wine place later in life, and like with many people, later in life came quicker with COVID.”
He expresses that their kids are in college and high school, and he leads by example for them by following his dreams. He is a Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 3, which means he spent many hours in the original Bunker studying and tasting wine. There are four levels to WSET, the final being the Diploma level with six stages. Having this under his belt gives him a common vocabulary and structured approach to evaluate wine, understand the influence of the vineyard, winemaking techniques, regional regulations, storage, aging styles and the ability to communicate well.
“Doug Frost is a Master Sommelier and Master of Wine, one of only three or four people with this designation, and now has a vineyard in Washington State, but splits time with Kansas City. I had a 10-minute conversation with him that led me to pursue the WSET, without becoming pretentious!” he smiles.
Travis believes the most important thing about a wine bar is the atmosphere. He strives to provide a relaxed vibe, much like a coffee shop. They offer wines not found other places, exposing guests to new regions, styles, countries and varieties. They rotate flights, and have fun names such as for all light skin contact wines, Who’s Your Daddy, all Cabernet Franc wines, the parent grape of both Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, and more. They offer wines from South Africa, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Japan, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, US, Slovenia, Argentina, Chili and Israel.
Guests can have their own wine lockers when they join The Club at Wine Bunker. The locker is a place they can store the wines Travis chooses for each member’s personal wine journey. They plan to offer education workshops soon.
The Bunker is located within the Prairiefire Entertainment District.
“The fact that the businesses here made it through COVID speaks to the fact that the management put forth special events to help draw people, which is key when you are starting a business,” he shares. “We are all supportive of each other. At the Bunker, we have the unique opportunity to get people who want a drink before dinner and again after they have had dinner at one of the Prairiefire restaurants.”
After all, as Ernest Hemingway once stated, “Wine and friends are a great blend.”
Visit winebunkerbar.com for more information.
