A cute little winery set up on the hill off of 46, out of sight. I stumbled across Mitchella while doing a search on Yelp, and am quite pleased I chose this to be my one stop before moving on to the next city.
The tasting at Mitchella Vineyard and Winery is $20 for 6 wines, with mindfully curated cheese pairings. (A fantastic deal considering the seemingly skyrocketing cost of everything.) The tasting fee is also waived with the purchase of 2 bottles, which is the route I opted for after completing my experience.
Upon arrival I was instantly greeted by Lizzie, as she patiently and quietly waited for me to exit my car. She wiggled her butt toward the entrance, encouraging me to follow. Sweet little start to the day, I'd say! (The winery pup in case you haven't figured that out.) ;-)
Rachel quickly greeted me and got me seated next to a heater in their enclosed patio, and the paired adventure began.
The Viognier was paired with Kokos, a coconut Gouda cheese. Very surprising on the palate, and the wine definitely emphasized the coconut, while the cheese brought out the pineapple of the wine.
The Chardonnay had a crisp mouth feel but still just the slightest hint of that butteriness I tend to love in my chardonnays. The subtle saltiness of the benning goat Gouda smoothed out the crispness of the wine.
The Cheap B*st*rd (since I'm not sure what Yelp decides doesn't work for them), was quite enjoyable as a stand alone. For me it had the nose of what I would consider to be darker fruits and a generally more jammy wine, but it was smooth on the palate. The white Stilton with cranberry that it was paired out helped bring forward some of the fruit flavor, but the cheese itself wasn't my favorite (hence the stand alone aspect).
The Tempranillo would be my grab a glass and a book and plop down by the fireplace (or on my balcony wrapped in blankets) type of wine. It didn't feel heavy and was just a nice sippable red.
On the nose, for me, was a very dark red kookaburra licorice. It had a smooth, light finish and paired quite well with the mimolette (which I will forever know as the cannonball cheese thanks to Rachel!)
Presumptuous, a zin, had what I consider to be a jammy mouthfeel (as I still can't figure out how exactly wine connoisseurs identify that!) It was paired with a Boschetto truffle cheese and I feel it brought out a very mushroom forward (favorable) taste when put together. For me, it isn't always about what can the food do for the wine... I love to experience what the find can do for the food! Give me a nice side dish of garlic sautéed mushrooms with a glass of this zin, and pretty sure I'm one happy girl.
The only potential downside to me for this winery is that their restroom is a portable. While considerably clean, it's definitely a tight squeeze if you're a bigger girl like myself. Deal breaker? Not a chance.
I look forward to a future stop when the vines are green and views expansive! read more