Table for Tara: Dutch Creek Winery, an Athens County honey hole

Table for Tara is a column by Tara Gilts, sharing her dining experiences and takeaways from Athens County eateries.

AMESVILLE, Ohio — Tucked off winding, scenic State Route 690 sits Dutch Creek Winery, a welcoming spot focused on artisanal, small-batch meads, ciders and fruit wines, and offers house-made pizzas and Bavarian style soft pretzels. 

Paul and Cynthia Freedman, founders of Dutch Creek Winery, started homesteading in 2007, tending bees by the next year, and experimenting with honey wine not long after. Their passion quickly grew into a full-fledged business, and in 2020 they opened their expanded production facility and tasting room. What began as a few hives and homemade mead blossomed into a thriving operation with 10 hives, an orchard, and some of the most inventive creations in Athens County.

Mead is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages in the world. At its simplest, mead is just honey, water and yeast, but meadmakers, like the Freedmans, experiment with fruits, spices and herbs to create alluring libations, like their Commonwealth’s Revenge, a dry mead with “subtle sweetness and the complexity of honey wine with the taste of a classic bourbon.” 

The lineup at Dutch Creek extends beyond traditional mead. Available in a tasting flight (a flight of four is $6), are fruit wines, ciders and sweet wine slushies. Their unique selection of beverages, including beers from Rice Family Brewing (Albany) and non-alcoholic honey sodas, in flavors like lavender lemonade and mint ginger, provided a drink that suited each person in our group. 

Ever iterating, Dutch Creek recently launched a peach tea honey soda, infused with five milligrams of THC, five milligrams of CBD, and honey from their bees, of course. The first in a planned line of canned cannabis beverages, the expansion is in response to the shifting market, as more patrons are exploring alternatives to alcohol. 

“The landscape has changed,” Paul explained. “We knew we had to branch out.”

The menu at Dutch Creek Winery is simple, yet satisfying: delicious, hearty pizzas ($12–14), Bavarian style soft pretzels ($6.50) and dipping sauces, including house-made beer cheese and honey mustard (also available jarred). 

The Stinger, a pie topped with Italian meats, roasted red peppers and hot honey, is a flavorful customer favorite. I loved the hot honey drizzled on top so much that I asked for it as a dipping side on a return trip to sample two more savory pizzas: spinach artichoke with a white sauce, and sausage. 

The property provides ample room for a large gathering in two covered outdoor seating areas, or an intimate date in the indoor tasting room with bar seating and tables. There is also a large yard with plenty of running and rolling-down-the-hill room for little ones (or, old ones after a few wine slushies). The establishment is also dog friendly. 

As a believer in otherworldly and folklore creatures, I was hopeful that the large cutouts of Mothman and Bigfoot at the edge of the property meant that cryptids had been spotted along Dutch Creek. Paul shared that although no cryptids have been sighted, he and another employee have encountered a ghost, who was a middle-aged woman from the mid-1900s in a yellow dress. 

Whether you’re hunting for a peaceful country escape (or a ghost), a flight of fresh flavors, or pretzels so good your table will order three — but wish you’d ordered four — Dutch Creek is an Athens honey hole.