On top of Ol' Smokey- Mitas Hill Vineyard

Out on the winding roads of rural Collin County, north of McKinney, is the tiny hamlet of Squeezepenny, Texas. Far from the daily drudgery of Metroplex traffic jams, and glass and steel filled horizons, lies Mitas Hill Vineyard. A tree-lined oasis that even on a 104° day, made for a great experience. The idyllic setting amongst shumard oaks and junipers, the Mitas family have turned their passion towards wine making and subsequently into the business of entertaining folks. As a novice to winery visits, my expectations were fairly low, especially since I had yet to taste their wine. But after the visit, all winery and vineyard visits will be compared to the high bar set by this one.

My winery visit list is very short and only six weeks old: Fredericksburg in mid-July, we visited Becker Vineyards, Pedernales Cellars, and then a short trip down to Sister Creek Vineyards in Sisterdale. At the first two, we did not leave the tasting room. However at Sister Creek, we had a self-guided tour through the cellar that lasted as long as it took to read the page and a half of text on a laminated sheet. So this visit to Mitas Hill visit makes it number four, but none came close to the hospitality displayed to us by the Mitas family.

We were greeted by Michelle, daughter of owners Harold and Susan, with whom I had exchanged emails a few days prior to our visit to talk about a wine tasting and tour. Before we got a chance to taste their wines, we were taken across the way to the winery, where the magic of wine takes place.

Black Spanish getting their squeeze on.

We walked into the winery and were greeted by the truly intoxicating scent of fermenting wine. It was a treat that we arrived in time to see Santiago work on pressing the batch of Black Spanish grapes. If I remember correctly, the Black Spanish are not a stand-alone varietal but used along with their Tempranillo for their tasty Squeezepenny blend. 

Amazing color!

The floor in this room is sticky as a by-product of the wine presser which can spray out wine if not sufficiently covered. Harold mentions that if we stay still for too long that our feet could get stuck to the floor. Yep, feet got stuck for a moment.

While here, I began to think how I came across Mitas Hill. Then I realized that, had I not come across a re-tweet of an article written by Mitas Hill's PR person, Holly Becka, I probably would not have known about this place. Plus their wine can only be purchased on the premises. Hence why I had not come across it in my search for Texas wines. And in an interesting bit of happenstance, Holly was here in the room, taking the tour with us. Small world, indeed. 

Michelle took us back for the wine tasting and what stood out for me was not necessarily the wines, which were very good, but the first set of wines were paired with a small portion of cheese, fruit, or homemade chocolate mini cupcakes to coincide with the wine we were to drink. And they were prepared by Susan Mitas. What a pleasant surprise and talk about hospitality! Below were the wines we tasted with corresponding food pairing:

• Tempranillo with a slice of Manchego cheese. ¡Fantástico!
• Rosé with stuffed mushrooms. Very good.
• Zinfandel...though not paired with anything specific here, Michelle said this wine could be paired with just about everything made at home. Outstanding.
• Black Venus (Black Gypsy) with cantaloupe balls. WOW!
• Squeezepenny with homemade mini cupcakes made by Michelle's sister-in-law, the family sommelier. Batter and frosting were made with the same wine. Super Wow.
• And the last two were the Bojnice and a Tempranillo-Cab (75-25%) blend. Not my faves but good in their own right.
• Oh, by the way...the wine tasting was complimentary. (!!!)

Though our daughter is not of drinking age, she did partake in the tasting pairing, though with an orange soda. Thanks for being so thoughtful. We had the pleasure of Harold regale us with various stories about the property and stories about the Texas wine industry throughout the wine tasting. He spoke lively of Inwood Estates' Dan Gatlin and how he is essentially the father of Tempranillo wines in Texas. Harold said that the Tempranillo here at Mitas Hill will differ from those grown in West Texas on account of the underlying limestone that is found under the parts of the vineyard, which is reminiscent to the conditions found in La Rioja area of Spain, home to the Tempranillo grape.

Come back in two years to pick the grapes off of these guys.

We then hopped onto a tractor-pulled trailer that swung but around various spots of the vineyard. The first stop, Harold gave us a quick lesson that could have earned us a half credit hour towards a Viticulture certificate. He showed us what they have been working on to get new plants started by splicing a piece of vine onto root stock. All of this is right up my alley as I have my own garden. Harold took us into the vineyard and showed us the newest additions to the vineyard.

Further along Harold showed us older vines that, even though they are well-maintained, they still need tender loving care. It is a never-ending process of trimming the vines the right way so that they will grow and produce grapes, uh...productively. And like anything that involves nature, there are things we cannot see that could harm these vines, such as Pierce's disease, so the land is not only aesthetically pleasing on the eye, but also made to keep pests at arm's length. 

Black Venus leaves waved hi as we drove by.

What I found fascinating about this tour, is that Mr. Mitas is such a great storyteller. He says that way before they actually got into the wine business, he and his wife took a vacation up to the Red River valley, near the Texas town of St. Jo, where they met a gentleman who made wine using the Black Venus grape. They made such an impression on this man that they brought home a case of Black Venus wine and 25 Black Venus plants.

Future home of wine barrels. In a limestone cave.

As I alluded to at the outset, the scenery here at Mitas Hill is impeccable. The entire property is surrounded by beautiful trees and aesthetically pleasant on the eye. And aesthetics is what they are going after once the construction of the event center is completed next year. This center will be the focal point of the Mitas Hill complex and will be home to a grand wine tasting room with views of the vineyard, a ballroom, several deck areas, and even a pizza oven that will persuade visitors to stick around and not just pick up a bottle of wine and go back home. 

And that my wine drinking friends is what the Mitas family is after. Not to just sell you wine, but to have you experience what they have to offer. Wine is along for the ride, but is only part of the package. I, like many others, cannot wait for the event center to open next year. 

As I have learned rather quickly, working in the Texas wine industry is not a flash-in-the-pan sort of hobby like many in the past have done and failed when things got tough. Do not forget that all of the wine produced here is also grown and maintained out here in the backyard of the Metroplex where there is a ton of work left to do. And from I saw at Mitas Hill, they are doing it right.

Slow and steady wins the race.