Bottle 12 Wine Bar

This place is sweet. Great wine list of rotating wines by the glass. The 12th spot is for a harder to find wine you does always get to try by the glass. If you drink the last glass out of the 12th spot you get to pick the next bottle that goes in there. The small plates are really tasty. The owner Brian is almost always there drinking some really good wines and he has no problem sharing.

I'm close to giving this three stars, but they mean well, and everyone working was super nice. So, four stars.

A friend took five ladies out for a wine-tasting evening last week. For the option she purchased, we got three bottles of wine from a menu of twelve options. Additional drinks can be purchased by the bottle or glass, and of course you can order off their appetizer menu.

The wines we got were very nice, but two of the wines we asked for (a Malbec and a Pinot Noir) weren't in stock. Our server, while friendly and apologetic, couldn't tell us anything about the replacement-option wines other than "a lot of people like this one." I would have thought that someone working at a wine bar, and serving a group of people who were there for a wine tasting, should be a little more educated about what was being served. When I know more about the wines we're ordering than the person serving us, it's not a good comment on the staff's liquor education.

It was a little weird that they squeezed in another group of three women into our space, which my friend thought was our "private tasting room" as advertised on the website. They didn't stay long, though. Perhaps our group was a little too rowdy.

Although I didn't try any of the food, the other people in our group seemed to enjoy the small plates. They ordered the bacon-wrapped scallops, beef skewers, and raspberry-brie thing. To my eye, the brie seemed an especially skimpy serving for $6. Three little (and I mean *little*) balls of what looked like brie baked in a light crust, topped with a raspberry sauce, and accompanied by three dollops of whipped cream that were larger than the cheese balls.

The place does have nice ambiance. No loud music, so it was easy to converse. The lighting was low, but not dim, and although the night was rainy and a bit chilly, we felt warm and cozy, despite being seated by a very large window. Be warned, there is only one bathroom, so it's good that this is a small bar.

I'd be interested in their Classes with Glasses, but for $30, I'd like to know what I'm getting, and the website is skimpy with information--which always makes me leery. I know I could call, but why not put more details on the website?

This place has been around for two years, and I recently discovered this "diamond in the rough" this past week. You wouldn't think of finding such a place in Bonner Springs, but don't be fooled by its location--this isn't your grandmother's typical bar.

Bottle 12 has twelve bottles on tap, with the twelfth bottle being a rare wine you can actually try out without having to buy the entire bottle at a liquor store. The average price of a glass ranges from $7-$9.

Aside from serving bottles by the glass, the bar also sells specialty beers by the can or bottle like Guinness and Woodchuck. If you develop an appetite, the bar serves gourmet appetizers to complement your wine, such as baked empanadas in a chimichurri sauce, rum cake, and my personal favorite--mushroom with garlic baked in filo dough.

The place opens at 5pm from Wednesday through Saturday. And every Thursday night, the bar hosts a "Classes with Glasses" wine course where you can taste a few different types of wine based on a certain grape variety, region, or fun theme. Every month, they also host a specialty liquor tasting--scotch, whiskey, rum, for example.

The bar has its regulars and every night, even a Wednesday night, can feel like a weekend. It's easy to make friends at the bar, forget your stressful day at work, and relax with a glass or two of wine. Not a big wine-o-know-it-all, and not sure what to drink? The owner, Bryan and Andy, the manager, will give you a small pour of a particular wine to taste before getting an entire glass. Both guys are humble wine gurus and are extremely passionate about sharing their wine knowledge and wisdom with any who ask.

Bottle 12 is rather spacious with plenty of places to sit and lounge. The crowd ranges from young to old. You can meet up with friends, go for drinks after dinner, or even go solo.  Bottom line: Botlte 12 is a guaranteed good time.