Merkin Osteria

Merkin Vineyards Tasting Room and Osteria features wines produced By MJ & Jennifer Keenan, Tim White and team using fruit from 110 Acres of Estate Vineyards in both the Verde Valley and Willcox, AZ.  We stopped here for lunch after visiting their other wine store in Jerome, AZ called Caduceus Cellars.

We started with tasting flights: TARZAN & JANE featuring Four Eight White / Jane Pink / Tarzan Red and SHINOLA featuring Shinola Orancia / Shinola Rosado / Shinola.  We paired this with the daily bruschetta which had fresh bread topped with pesto'd white beans, feta cheese, and micro greens.

All of the pastas and breads are made fresh from scratch using Arizona heirloom and Italian milled wheat flour.  I ordered the Gnocchi for my main dish.  These traditionally prepared potato dumplings were served with a sage and prosciutto di parma cream sauce that was ♥to.die.for♥!   The gnocchi were so soft and pillowy, and really helped soak up the wine in my belly.

Keith ordered the Italian Beef Sandwich - slow roasted beef and giardiniera on their house made foccacia with au jus on the side. served with tomato soup. While the meat had good flavor, it was overpowered by the bread.

There were so many other options on the menu, and the interior was large and spacious with plenty of seating outside on the patio as well.  We really enjoyed lunch here during our day of wine tastings, in this old mining town area of Arizona.

Total Rating: 4.1

Food: 4, Price: 4, Service: 5, Ambience: 4, Accessibility: 4