First up – the folks from Infinity Art Glass in beautiful downtown Benton Kansas. I finally got around to stopping by this attractive little store front and to enjoy some of the work that glass artist Scott Hartley is producing…WOW! My timing was good, this weekend Friday and Saturday is there holiday open house. While not food & wine related, this is truly The Good Life in hand blown glass…the perfect gift idea for family and friends. Click on the Open House invite to enlarge.
Learn more about Infinity Art Glass.
The rest of the show is all about John Brewer and Wyldewood Cellars! Dr. John has been a busy winemaker, not just making wine but working to change Alcohol Beverage Control laws and bring Kansas in to the future with regards to rules and regulations associated with Kansas farm products, including wine.
Wyldewood Cellars began in Dec. 1994, by the brother and sister team of John and Merry Brewer. The original site of the Kansas Elderberry winery was in a turn-of-the-century building in the middle of Mulvane, Kansas. The original Elderberry wine list consisted of four sweetness levels of Elderberry Wine; Sweet, Semi-Sweet, Semi-Dry, and Dry. Over time they added Elderberry Dry Reserve Wine, Spiced Elderberry Wine, Blackberry Wine, Elderberry-Blackberry Wine, Sand Plum Wine, and Apple Wine.
On the night of January 28, 1999, a tragic fire broke out next to the winery that ultimately destroyed the winery and three other businesses. Everything was burned to the ground. Starting all over in November of 1999, Wyldewood Cellars opened their current location near Mulvane, just off the Kansas Turnpike Exit 33. The whole family gathered for Thanksgiving, pitching in to put in the flooring, paint the walls, set up displays, and stock shelves. The new building was finished and ready to open for business the day after.
Wyldewood Cellars now produces over 40 different types of Kansas wine. What began as a small Elderberry winery, has blossomed into an internationally recognized and awarded winery. Since their beginning, they have won over 400 international awards for their Elderberry Wines, Grape Wines, as well as their other Kansas wines. As Wyldewood Cellars climbed the ladder of recognition, John Brewer was asked to become a judge at International Wine Competitions. For many years he was the only international wine judge from the area. Wyldewood Cellar’s Spiced Elderberry Wine was featured and served at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah, and was awarded the Best Non-Grape Wine in North and Latin America, among many other Gold Medals.
John and I will be tasting many of the newer wine and spirits he is producing.
Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
The many products of Wyldewood Cellars
800 711-9748