THOMPSON TOWNSHIP – For the past few months, Carissa Shaffer and her husband Michael Shaffer have been operating one of the area’s newest wineries, offering a small number of fine wines in a family room atmosphere that’s proving to be a real hit with customers.
Cellar’s Key Winery opened in mid-October in Thompson Township on South Madison Road. It’s on the smaller side, but the interior offers a wood burning fireplace, a few tables with games, plenty of natural light during the daytime and subdued lighting when the sun goes down.
Behind the counter, Carissa and Michael offer wines they made in house: reds and whites in dry and sweet varieties and a couple of fruit wines for people who want something even sweeter. There are also meat-and-cheese trays from Fig Tree Bulk Foods and White House Chocolates.
“It’s a family room kind of feel,” Carissa said.
Cellar’s Key winery does have an intimate and homey feel – customers can bring their own food and just relax, enjoy one another’s company and sip their favorite wines.
The eponymous key is on the wine labels and a few of them decorate the winery. Michael said the idea for the name came after they set up what became a popular wine cellar at home in their basement.
“We’ve been into wine for almost 20 years,” Carissa said. “We have a wine cellar at home, and it’s been a hobby that’s grown – family and friends liked it. We’ve always considered it and this is our retirement.”
They two settled on the location when they realized people were traveling from Geauga County all the way to Madison or Geneva to visit Grand River Valley wine country. Cellar’s Key sits along the route and offers a place for people to meet up with friends, enjoy the atmosphere and sip some wine.
“We built from the ground up so we could have what we wanted,” Carissa said.
She cited a recent example when three women met up at Cellar’s Key. Each brought their own dish and enjoyed a sort of small potluck as they sampled wines and caught up with one another.
“It’s funny because Montville and Thompson – they’re meeting here now,” Carissa said. “They’re coming together – like they haven’t seen somebody in years and they’re finding them here.”
Cellar’s Key offers reds in malbec, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and zinfandel; whites in sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Moscato; as well as peach and blueberry fruit wines.
One way to sample Cellar’s Key’s vintages is a flight of four 2-ounce pours. Customers check their choices off on a list and the wine glasses come in a spiral holder in the same order as the choices they made.
Cellar’s Key also offers a seasonal sangria pitcher in red or white and a seasonal winter slushie, as well as a wine spritzer and a small selection of soft and nonalcoholic drinks.
The winery is available to be rented for private events and offers a few different events and entertainment, such as live music on Saturdays.
Visit cellarskeywinery.com for more information and an event calendar.
Cellar’s Key Winery is located at 8085 S. Madison Road, Thompson Township. Hours of operation are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 12-9 p.m.
Email cellarskeywinery@outlook.com for more information.
