As many times has I've been to Charles B Mitchell winery, I cannot believe I have not done a review as of yet. I learned about this winery about 4 years ago. I very particular about my wines so when one I my friends mentioned this spot and it was new to me hey! Why not? Everytime I come here the staff is always amazing and extremely friendly and helpful. I love the events they have here as well especially when they do the Patriotic events. The grounds are beautiful and you can definitely do a picnic here as my friends and I have done a few times. The wines are delicious. There isn't a bad wine I tried yet. They actually have some of the best wines in my opinion in the area. The tasting room is cute and cozy with plenty of seating and popcorn to much on as well. I I truly enjoy coming here and is one of my favorite wineries hands down. read more

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As always 5 stars! Beautiful drive to El Dorado county in California. First stop every year on Nevada day and we are treated as members as well as friends! I met a couple of gals to taste with as my usual friends were unable to come. Something about wine tasting, you always meet friendly people! Generous tasting fee waived for Nevadans and extra % off special off wine. As usual I bought a case to share with my friends! Wonderful chili and wines, what more could you ask for!! Thank you Kayla and Russell for the best Nevada day today! read more

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Beware of change at the tasting room January 2026. History of our bond with your winery: We worked in the Napa Valley wine industry for 30 years and loved being club members at Charles Mitchell. We brought many of our friends over the years. We initially joined over all the other wineries, because we loved Cayla and could bring our lab, Josie. We rarely brought her, but appreciated the option. We also purchased many additional cases in addition to our wine club pick up - because they would let us taste several other wines. Most often (every time almost) our $53 wine club pick up would result in a $300 to $650 sale, due to the generous other tastes. As of January 2025 Cayla is no longer at Charles Mitchell because the owner's daughter has assumed the responsibilities of the tasting room. I have been told by other members, they are not doing generous tastes anymore and not allowing dogs either. The new policies along with the loss of well loved staff have eliminated the wineries uniqueness in my opinion and Charles Mitchell would now be like any other winery - We have been there / done that in Napa. Mainly....Please be aware......if you have been used to a wonderfully different down home winery experience, the tasting room might be dramatically different than what you are used to with Charles Mitchell. I heard they are going more high end. I wish them luck. read more

Sadly, Charles passed away after a unique and interesting run at plying his hand at winemaking and operating a winery. And not just one winery, but several! He operated J Foster Mitchell winery in Amador, Winery by the creek and Charles Mitchell in Fair Play. His wine was great and extremely affordable for a boutique winery in these regions. I consider myself lucky to be have been a part of all 3 of his wineries over the years. Yes, it's weird how it ended, but we don't know the specifics of winding down a business like a winery and what sort of condition it was in, so I'd be hesitant to judge the last few months based on the transition and just accept that Charles died and the end has come for the winery. It was a fantastic place and great wine!! read more

I was a wine member for a few years. Russ and Kayla always remembered us and treated us so well. Now that Charles passed away, his daughter has taken the reins and she is selling all of her father's collections and winery paraphernalia, selling off cases of white wines for super cheap prices, increased shipping prices, has stopped allowing children or dogs into the tasting room. Her emails promise glowing events that turn out to be tiny thimble size tastes along with dry crackers with weird schmeers of cheese. I quit my membership and had to dispute the charge for the next shipment with my cc company. Let's hope the don't try to charge me again. Jills emails are cringe-worthy. I hope she sells the winery soon so we don't have to be subjected to her sales and promotions and creepy emails any more. read more

Charles died in June 2025. His daughter has taken over and relationship is not the same. I miss Kayla. She was so professional. I paid for a case of future wine and as of today November 15, 2025 I have yet to receive it. read more

Russ and Kayla are amazing. The July 4th pizza and wine event was so tremendously fun. Felt more like a family reunion. read more

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First time visit, Charles himself hosted our Salon tasting for our party of 10 people with 6 wines with appropriate accompanied snacks. Very entertaining, we enjoyed the stories and being able to banter a bit with him. This was a 1 hour session. All the wines were tasty and we had a great time, afterwards we enjoyed our own picnic at one of their outdoor tables. Will definitely return for another wine tasting visit. They do have complementary popcorn which was very tasty. read more

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Great winery and wonderful people! They have an extensive selection of tasty wines at a great price. Kayla and Russell are so warm and friendly! Every time we visit, it's feels like we are getting together with old friends - with delicious wine! We love coming to Charles B Mitchell! read more

This winery is the place to go to! . The wine club member is very affordable and was talking to some members who been there forever. . The crowd is nice. The crowd is fun as well. . The wines are very good. They are know for the reds. We love to try the reds whenever we come here and take home our shipment. . So mitch is the person who we always go to when we have questions, or cant make up our minds. He will describe it to the t when he knows what you like. Just you ask and just see how he respond to how the wine suppose to taste or will taste and all the info with his best used words. Hes just ridiculous and funny which I love. . The winery has tons of fun things to do, as well great patio with tons of picnic tables to throw a picnic. The scenery isn't that nice but hey its quiet and the tables are always open. Come check it out because we did our first picnic here and it was a blast. . Overall if your wondering about this spot. Come give it a try as my wifey is red wine snob and she approves. Thanks for reading and have a yelptastic day! read more

Charles B Mitchell Vineyards - All the awards - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Fair Play, California

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Their wines are excellent. I highly recommend visiting them. Service is always excellent and they do offer winetasting. They offer bridals in white wines and reds. They also offer barrel tasting of their upcoming ones. read more

One really cannot argue the notoriety, quality, selection, nor the devotion to wine making found at the Charles B Mitchell Vineyards. My favorite time spent here was on a rainy Sunday when my family was the only party in the barrel tasting room. We sampled futures amid Christmas lights and breathed in the smells of oak and pine. Warm, cozy, and private. A perfect day! There are all kinds of unique offerings here, including a Bottle Your Own option, surplus sales, barrel tasting, wood-fired pizza nights, and even passport worldwide wine vacations are offered here along with an extensive variety of their famous and not so famous labels. My favorite varietals include the 2014 Amador Barbera, and the iconic Bella Rosa (one of my favorite all time wines) "Super Tuscan." This does not even scratch the surface of what you can taste, however. They have Mourvedre, Grenache, Zinfandel, Zinfandel Port, Cabarnet, and whites as well, if you're into that. Sauv and Chard, respectively. I recommend giving Madam Omo a try when you taste whites, and Monsieur Omo when you taste reds. They are delicious table wines. Tasting Tidbits: -Parking will fill up here quickly. It's best to hit it on a bad weather day, or a lazy non holiday Sunday afternoon. -Closed Monday and Tuesday -Tasting fee for non-members -Membership is pricey but offers many benefits including ability to stay in Charles's private cabin. My parents have one. I definitely do not, haha. -Logos! Are you shopping for someone who collects fancy labels? Charles B. Mitchell pulls out all the stops in label design. Madam and Monsieur Omo and Bella Rosa are iconic. read more

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Now the manager, Kala, is trolling me on social media. How unprofessional does it have to get! We received terrible service by not even getting greeted or recognized by anyone that worked there and for some reason the manager must think that is ok. They were busy, no doubt, but just a "we'll be with you as soon as we can " would have been monumental! We were there to pick up a case of wine we ordered and haven't been back since. But the trolling incident really is uncalled for in any business! I was going to let it go but she called me out and that is totally ridiculous! So sad, since we really enjoy their wine. read more

Great service from Kayla, Wendy and Russell. Love the wines and the ambiance, and barrel tasting is a treat. We'll be back for the zin festival. read more

If you want to go to an actual wine tasting, taste wine you enjoy and learn about everything wine related, come enjoy the company of the employees here. Mitch, you are an AWESOME wine sommelier. Come for the company, stay for the wine. Delicious wine with so many flavors, SO much better than wasting your time in Napa. Extensive wine varietals. Definitely recommend spending an afternoon here read more

Charles B Mitchell Vineyards - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Fair Play, California

My hubby and I have belonged to this winery for over 6 years. We've enjoyed the wonderful wines and events; bottle your own, grape crushing, barrel tasting, pizza days/evenings, etc. It's definitely a family feel with beautiful views. But never has the winery been so well ran since Ray became the manager! Her along with Kayla have made the winery so enjoyable to visit, they both make us feel like coming home for a visit! ...and again, the wines are good with many choices. And if you're a club member you can book a house over looking the vineyard for only $60 per room, per night. There are two rooms in case you want friends to join you but they never book both at the same time if you want privacy. Nothing fancy but clean with a microwave, small frig, and coffee maker included. We would totally suggest you pay a visit to this friendly, homey winery with tasty wines. Bev & John Olesen/Howell read more

Wine. It completes me. It fills my body and soul with wonderous feelings. It cures my ailments whether it be headache, stress and even boredom. You see, wine reigns superior in the land of alcoholic beverages and so does this winery. It was a lazy, summer day in Amador County. It was my first wine tasting adventure and I was totally stoked! My friends and I decided to stop at Charles B. Mitchell after being recommended by several other wineries. So off we went! Over the hill and through the woods to Charles B. Mitchell we drove! On a side note, the roads to this winery are such a beautiful drive. I highly recommend being a passenger. We had a wonderful time tasting at this winery, all of their wines are incredible. I love the Sanfrancisco Cup Chardonnay, the Petite Syrah and several others. Their signature champagne is also incredible. We also ended up joining the wine club and it has some awesome perks! The staff is so friendly, they really make you feel welcome and at home. Charles B Mitchell also has Friday night pizza and lobster dinner, bottle your own wine weekends and many other fun events! Charles B. Mitchell has definitely captured my heart so go ahead and treat yourself, give them a try! read more

We taste in this area quite a bit. Many of the wineries have a few varietals that I like. I like mostly red wines and lately have appreciated the Barbera and Malbec. We stayed at the bed n breakfast across the property so we saved Charles Mitchell for last. The tasting room closed at 5:00 and we arrived at 4:30! It was crowded but we were able to squeeze in at the counter. Jack was taking care of several club members picking up shipments but he still poured for us and made us feel welcome. Rayanne was also at the counter and chatted with us after her customers left. Everything we tasted was good. Very few wineries offer good wine in every variety. We went through a bunch before we got to our two favorites, the Malbec and Barbera. As expected, those were amazing. The tasting room was closed at 5:00, but we hung out like were close friends. We talked with the staff about everything from wines to photography. We left at 6:30! This is one of our favorite wineries now. We'll be back. read more

Charles B Mitchell Vineyards - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Fair Play, California

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This is one of my favorite wineries to visit in the foothills. I have yet to taste a wine of theirs I don't like. Also, the place is just lovely. It's up on a little hill amongst oak trees. On Friday nights they have all you can eat wood fired pizza nights. It's also a nice place to have a picnic. Plus they have a bocce ball court. They also have some bottle your own specials on various holiday weekends. You can get some of their great wines for a pretty decent discount during the bottle your own events. Again, don't go here. I want it all to myself! read more

Charles B Mitchell Vineyards - All you can eat pizza night - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Fair Play, California

Excellent service. Yummy wine! We will definitely make our way back soon. The ladies were fantastic. I'm not a red wine person but they somehow got me to try a few and I was surprised with how delicious it was. read more

What a wonderful experience. Got a private sitting with Charles and his daughter Jo. Charles is very entertaining and passionate about winemaking, wine culture and history, and was gracious enough to share some of his delicious wine with us during our visit. The pairing with food was absolutely fantastic! The tasting room is very unique and themed as a cave as it is literally carved into the hillside. The tasting room staff where awesome! Informative, honest, and possessed lots of wine knowledge. The front offers a warm and inviting tasting bar, while the back has private servings, and barrel tasting. I was very impressed with how much attention to detail Charles and Jo took to make sure we had a memorable experience. We enjoyed all the wine but I have to tell you the grand reserve was more tasteful than my favorite bottle of silver oak. Just goes to show that Charles makes better wine than what it have been buying in Napa for half the price. His futures prices are soooo cheap, I'm blown away. They offer guided tours to France. Would love to party with this guy, he's a good man. :-) Thanks Charles and Jo for making my day. Dion read more

Charles B Mitchell Vineyards - Two pics with Charles B Mitchell himself, and a couple of us clowning around. You'll love this place - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Fair Play, California

Went up to Charles Mitchell today for their Halloween/Nevada Day wine tasting and pizza event. Wines are great and the staff is really friendly and knowledgeable. Tasting was relaxed and we didn't feel at all rushed. As an added bonus, I left with some persimmons and pomegranates off their trees, just really nice people at this winery! I really enjoyed a number of their wines including the cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, barbara, petite syrah, tempranillo. Couldn't resist taking home the petite syrah and the tempranillo :) They also have "bottle your own" events that are alot of fun. Charles Mitchell is a hidden gem to check out! read more

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Good wines, and attentive service. The tasting room has some of the owner's antique motorcycles around it, and is a good size. The tasting menu is very extensive so you are fairly guaranteed to find wines to your liking. read more

We happened into this winery on the same day they were doing a "bottle your own" event. Our pourer was new, but when we had a question she couldn't answer, she pulled in the winemaker who provided us with lots of background information. The personal touch is why we love visiting wineries in the foothill area! After the tastings, we stepped outside the tasting room, sampled three wines, and then decided to bottle some. We went for their Zin and had a blast filling, corking, wrapping, and labeling our bottles. They do this three times a year and I heartily recommend it. read more

Holy Sheet Batman! These guys honored a 2005 futures purchase in 2018. We moved from California in 2005 and did not find the certificate until this year (was in our tax file) The Malbac Reserve they sent me from 2013 was the Best I've ever had - I could not be more pleased! I highly recommend this winery to all. You won't be disappointed. I especially liked the fill your own bottles event - I usually got 3 cases. read more

Do NOT join their wine club! these people refuse to cancel my wine club. they have not taken action on my multiple emails to discontinue and to remove me from their email list. i called twice to cancel as well. they had the audacity to tell me I was taking advantage of them for the better price. i purchased over a case and a half of wine which was not very good. They were high pressure sales. The owner lead their semiprivate tasting. We had 2 fewer people than we expected in our group. we were strongly rebuked and told to tell the owner a medical emergency occurred which is why our group was smaller. he proceeded to tell horrible stories about the mexicans working on his property and how much they were paid. completely racist and offensive! read more

OMGosh - Lexi is awesome!!! I didn't intend to buy anything, just pick up my quarterly shipment, but she informed me that Charles now sells cheese. Score!!! Got some fantastic cheese AND wine. Awesome wine, awesome cheese.!!! The only suggestion I have is to have an art show or something so we have something cool to look at and talk about. read more

Charles B Mitchell Vineyards - Yummy!!! - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Fair Play, California

We came to this winery on the evening before my 30th birthday and had the most incredible time. If you want personalized attentive staff who treat you like family and clearly love what they do - this is the place for you. Mitch took the time to really understand what wines I liked and didn't like, and then made sure to explain what I want to look for in future wines and the terminology behind it. We had such a great time we ended up taking all of our friends there the next day for my actual birthday. Everyone remembered us, made sure to wish me a happy birthday and gave us such great individual attention. They stayed past closing on both days to make sure we had the best time. We've been to so many wineries in California and in other states - but this was truly the best experience we've ever had! read more

As one of our planned stops for my birthday wine tasting extravaganza, I was really happy to visit CBM! I'll echo another Yelper in saying that this place is memorable due to amazing wines, friendly staff, and a great atmosphere. I really appreciated the fantastic barrel tasting we were treated to, and I wish I could remember the name of the lady who helped us, because she was great! (If you read my other winery reviews, you'll notice this name forgetting is a recurring theme, hmmm... blame it on the wine!) My faves: the Viognier, Red Sunshine, Zin, Petite Syrah and last but not least- the bold Primitivo... mmmm come to mama. Delicious!! read more

Michelle was the nicest Wine Hostess on the planet! What makes this place memorable: Wines were amazing. POPCORN! Friendliest staff. Cool Atmosphere. Can't wait to meet Charles and get my Friday night pizza! read more

Charles B Mitchell Vineyards Endless Pizza Nights , Most every Friday 5 till 9:pm This "Yelp" is for the Pizza night get togethers. This was my first time, and the price was right @ only $10.00 per person plus wine of coarse because they have NO beer. I mean why would they "it's a Winery" Basically all you can eat gourmet pizza's cooked in a real Oak wood fired oven, that's what the brochure said. Only problem is there is no wood fired oven. None that I could find anyway. So we grabbed a bottle of Bella Rossa ($10.00 on Pizza Night) and found a nice spot to sit, It was a gorgeous and clear star filled evening. The temperature was perfect. The Pizza's however fell a little short. What can I say, not enough stuff, barely any cheese, I think they were saving the cheese for someone else because they didn't put any on the slices I had. It was crowded and shoulder to shoulder we stood waiting for the meat pizza. But pizza after pizza , There was no meat.. No Meat, No Cheese what the heck is going on I asked. Six or seven of us continued to stand and wait for the Meat pizza. It was like who is going to grab it first. Six of us waited as she finally pulled it from the "Electric" oven. She cut it up and slid it out on to the buffet line table and like hungry Piranhas' it was gobbled up in a flash. Needless to say I didn't get any. Out of desperation I helped myself to one of the last remaining slices of a Veggie Pizza, It was sitting there all alone for the entire time the meat Pizza was cooking. We all were promised that another meat was on its way... I didn't wait. I had a small helping of Caesar Salad and returned to my Table. I have to say that you can get better food from the sample table in Costco then you can here. So here is my recommendation. If you want to sit outdoors with your Honey and drink wine you wont find a better place for $10.00, But if you come for the Food or the Pizza and maybe a bottle of Beer stay home... Pizza selection 2 Stars (only because I think I saw the meat pizza for a moment) Pizza Quality 0 Ambiance 3 Stars Prices 3 Stars Service Self Serve read more

Charles B Mitchell Vineyards - Pizza Oven - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Fair Play, California

One of the superior wineries to visit in the El Dorado County area. There is a large list of white, red, and reserve wines to try. The wine maker was actually on the premises when we came in today. He not only poured numerous wines but also brought us in the back for the reserve futures barrel tastings. Very helpful and extremely knowledgeable. I'd highly recommend their Reserve Grenache, Reserve Zinfandel, and their Grand Reserve which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cab Franc, a very nice Bordeaux style wine which will age nicely for years down the road! A note to anyone reading the 2 star reviews below...note that these people are rating the winery solely on their pizza and lobster they offer on Friday nights...no comments whatsoever on how their wine is! Can a moderator please remove these? You want some quality wine when you're in the Sacramento Foothills? Head over to Charles B. Mitchell! read more

Well, Rae, the wine, the popcorn/cheese and crackers, the conversation, the warm fire, it was lovely. Ya'll they did a candle light tasting yesterday! They are being featured in Magazines and winning some great accolades. You have to visit or...become a member! read more

Was here for the 2011 Barrel Tasting and I loved the food as much as I loved the wine!! Fantastic pairings - they gave us suggestions on what to put on your wood-fired pizza to fit your favorite wine. The scenery was gorgeous, typical for the area, rolling hills and gorgeous vineyards. Their cab franc was perfect for my tastes. Awesome experience here! Thank you Charles Mitchell Vineyards!! read more

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Beautiful tasting room and outstanding customer service. We were with a small group and Kayla and Russell were helpful with tasting and helping each of us identify which wines we would like. They are both very good at their jobs. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience. read more

Excellent wine and very nice tasting room. You'll also be doing some barrel tasting as well in which they have some awesome 100% zin and petit sirah at the moment. The sparkling wine was also good as well as the viogner! read more

There were six of us wine-tasting in the area and it was suggested that we go to Charles B. Mitchell Vineyards. That was a great tip! We tried their various wines, but it was actually the champagne that intrigued us more. They did not offer any champagne tasting, so we were only going to purchase one bottle. Then, they treated us to a visit from Charles B. Mitchell and the fun began! He is indeed a colorful character and full of wonderful information. He told us the story behind his champagne and instantly 2 more bottles were purchased from our group. Their champagne was wonderful and we will be back to purchase more. We didn't get a chance to try the barrel tastings since we were there just before closing. But I did get to sample a tray or two or OK,..three of their popcorn!!! What a wonderful treat since we had been wine tasting all day and I love popcorn. Cheers! read more

Popped in their on Saturday as we were on a mission to find a new place (we are members at several places in the area) to fall in love with! The popcorn was a cute touch and something different, the tastings were amazing. I had never done a barrel tasting before and I was in heaven! I end up leaving a member, with several bottles purchased and even 2 cases purchased of futures (barbera reserve) plus a party invite :) That is what I call a good day! I can't wait for that wine to be ready, it was a partay in my mouth! So glad we found this little place. Hoping we can head there on a Friday night so we can try their pizza (or lobster) night soon!! *they could have worked harder to get us to taste their reserves or to tell us about their membership but I generally LOVE these little places that don't push you! I think I was just in the mood to spend a little and I wanted someone to sell me something ;) read more

I love this place! We go often! The people, the atmosphere, the food, and naturally the wine make this winery one of the friendliest and most relaxed places out there. El Dorado County (Placerville/Fair Play/Somerset) is my favorite wine region and this is one of the best wineries there. It is easy-going and laid back with awesome Club deals. "Grandma Betty" (aka Elizabeth Mitchell) wine and all their reserve wines (their Petite Syrah is my personal favorite) are top-notch! We are always going back for more. Do yourself a favor! Go! It's worth the drive! Their Cinco de Mayo party today with special wine margaritas was terrific! I give an extra shoutout to Jack, Rayanne, Patty, Taira, and the rest of the group out on the wood-fired pizza patio! Spectacular job handling the big crowd! Two thumbs up (or is two bottles up)!?!?!?! read more

CBM is back!! I first found this winery when I spent the summer working in the area, back in 2000. Back then, Charles B. Mitchell was unknown, but was producing exquisite reds and the best domestic port I have ever found...and that still holds true a decade later. I have bought more wine here than from anywhere else, and I LOVE it. Nice buttery chardonnays, sweet, light rieslings, complex zins....oh my. In 2007, CBM sold the winery to the Conti's ...a couple that had no idea what they were doing. The wine quickly went to hell. Gone were the fun little tasting room, the unique blends, the amazing brownies that used to accompany the Port. I just found out CBM re-bought his own winery when the Contis filed for bankruptcy last fall. I can't wait to get back to CBM next year and see what he's got up his sleeve...the man is brilliant. If you went in the last few years and weren't impressed, give CBM another try. The Master is back in charge. read more