The Wrigley Mansion has arguably the most extensive and impressive wine cellar in the Valley. Now, the mansion’s owner, Jamie Hormel, is curating a new hotspot for wine lovers at Jamie’s Bottle Shop in Old Town Scottsdale.
While the Wrigley Mansion is like a first-growth Bordeaux wine, Jamie’s Bottle Shop exudes the atmosphere of your daily drinking rosé. “With the bottle shop, I want people to feel comfortable whether they know a lot or a little about wine, and whether they have a lot or a little to spend on a bottle,” Hormel said.
To that end, Jamie’s Bottle Shop stocks wine from a dizzying array of 700 producers, with prices ranging from $15 to $15,000. It also offers a rotating selection of around 40 by-the-glass selections so you can try before you buy.
With two fine-dining restaurants at Wrigley Mansion, Geordie’s and Christopher’s, Hormel was constantly exposed to a wide variety of wine. Still, it was during the pandemic when she really started studying vino. “I was interested in wine, but always struggled to understand things about it, and had many questions,” said Hormel, who earned her WSET 2 certification during the COVID lockdowns.
Travel also drove Hormel’s love of wine and expanded her palate. “Between visiting different wine regions and enjoying some amazing dinners, I’ve gotten to experience different wines that piqued my interest,” she said. “You try one type of wine and it leads you down a path to discover new wines. It’s very fun.”
When curating the bottle shop, Hormel began with what she enjoys most. “I like Champagne, Italian wines, the Northern Rhone, and the Aligoté region of France, so I started there,” she said. “But I also wanted to be well-rounded, so we have everything from California to Chile. I worked with several local somms to get their insights into top producers and ‘nerdy’ wines.”
The elegant yet comfortable shop is decorated in gold and green tones, with natural wood inspired by Hormel’s love of Wally’s Wine in Los Angeles. It features a temperature-controlled Reserve Room for rare and vintage wines, as well as a Champagne Room for tastings and classes. A peek inside the Reserve Room yields a treasure trove for wine lovers, including Screaming Eagle, Château Marguax 2005, Château Lafite Rothschild 1983 and 1984, and a 2000 Dom Pérignon P2, to name just a few.
The bottle shop also doubles as an inviting wine bar, with a menu of European bistro bites, including charcuterie, sandwiches, salads, and sweets. Hormel hinted that Chef Christopher Gross may soon supply his famous foie gras mousse. To enhance the casual nature, playful placemats and crayons sit on each table coaxing guests to color in a map of various wine regions. Unlike many Valley restaurants, the wine by the glass menu features lesser-known wine varietals and regions. With no two wines on the list coming from the same origin, it encourages guests to explore the world of wine.
According to Hormel, what sets Jamie’s Bottle Shop apart from other wine stores and wine bars in the Valley is its commitment to unpretentious wine education. The store offers a mix of tastings and wine classes, focusing on fun, engaging, and educational experiences for novices and oenophiles alike.
If the shop sparks your desire to learn more about wine, the wine club will be a great resource. The program will have three tiers. The Discovery and Jamie’s Wine Club levels provide two or three bottles per month, store discounts, waived corkage fees, and early access to wine and private member events. For serious oenophiles, the Collector’s Club provides quarterly access to 12 rare and vintage bottles, personal wine concierge services, access to cellar management, and special pricing for prearrival wines, plus all the perks of the other two clubs. “I like to teach people about wine. When you make it approachable, everyone’s a winner,” said Hormel.
written by: dena rochè | photographed by: luke irvin