Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria

  4.0 – 875 reviews   • Restaurant

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Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria is located at 770 N. Verde Heights Drive, overlooking Old Town Cottonwood, Arizona. At the base of the hill, you’ll find Merkin Gelateria and Pocket Park, where we serve all-natural gelato and sorbetti. Guests can either ride the tram (costs $2 or free with the purchase of a gelato) or park for free in our lot at the Hilltop. The restaurant is surrounded by a beautiful 4.5-acre working vineyard. Our dog-friendly patio offers a stunning, 270-degree view of the Verde Valley. Our farm-to-table menu includes fresh salads, handmade pasta, wood-oven pizzas, and a large central wine and artisan cocktail bar. Guests can tour our vineyard, greenhouse, and barrel room Thursday-Monday, 12-5 pm.

✔️Brunch ✔️Lunch ✔️Dinner ✔️Dine in Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria 86326

Hours

Friday11 AM–10 PM
Saturday11 AM–10 PM
Sunday11 AM–8 PM
Monday11 AM–9 PM
Tuesday11 AM–9 PM
Wednesday11 AM–9 PM
Thursday11 AM–9 PM

Address and Contact Information

Address: 770 N Verde Heights Dr, Cottonwood, AZ 86326

Phone: (928) 639-1001

Website: https://merkintrattoria.com/

Menu Photos

merkintrattoria.com

Photo Gallery

Related Web Results

Merkin Vineyards Trattoria

… Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria is our latest restaurant in Cottonwood, Arizona. While here, take in the sites of our winery and barrel room, on …

Merkin Vineyards

Our wines are produced by MJ & Jen Keenan and Tim White from our 110 acres of Estate Vineyards in both the Verde Valley and Willcox, AZ.

Merkin Vineyards (@merkinvineyards) • Instagram photos and videos

54K followers · 220 following · 495 posts · @merkinvineyards: “Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria, 770 Verde Heights Drive, Cottonwood. #azwine”

Reviews

Mark Robichaud
FANTASTIC experience at Merkin last night.. service was exceptional, food was ‘different’ in the very best way possible from ‘traditional’ in a couple ways:

– everything is completely scratch, from the pasta to corn – so it doesnt taste the same as every other joint

– service is a slower pace – as it SHOULD BE in a wine bar. This place is not looking to slam out every table rather let folks enjoy the experience, sit back, relax, live in the moment. For some, speedy service is necessary. Not always the case for us – thankfully not the case this evening. The table bext to us were celebrating a 30yo’s bday and complaining to the manager about slow service until they got comped… then we heard the guy complaining that his cc was maxed out…

– food is locally sourced, much of it owned by the owner so the prices are VERY unexpectedly reasonable. We expected to pay more but entrees were around $25/average +/-… all in with an app we shared and 2-3 glasses of wine our Saturday dinner total was $100
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Jenn G
We had a great experience at Merkin Trattoria! The Herb Roasted Italian Beef Sandwich was delicious — it reminded me of a French dip, with tender, flavorful beef. The Chicken Caesar Wrap had good, tender chicken, though it was a little on the dry side and could use a bit more flavor.

Service was wonderful — the staff kept checking in to make sure we had everything we needed. The patio seating was definitely the highlight, with beautiful views of the mountains. We finished with the Tiramisu, which was creamy and full of great flavor.

A lovely spot for good food, excellent service, and a great atmosphere!
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Mountain Spirit



Hands-down some of the best wine we’ve ever had. (and we have been to France! Hahaha)

The food was fantastic- we had bread, gnocchi, lasagna and pesto.

The service was amazing, the restaurant location was impressive, the music was great.

We ended up taking home six bottles of wine along with other merch. We will be back!
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Paul LoMonaco
This is one of my most difficult reviews.

We went on Monday at 4:30pm. We were seated promptly and our drink orders were taken quickly by Patricia.
From start to finish the experience was outstanding. The pictures are Monday’s pictures. My wife had the pasta stuffed with ricotta, we shared the Arugula salad (OUTSTANDING) and I had the Calabrian pizza. Everything was perfect.

We returned on Tuesday 11/11/25 Veterans Day and it’s as tho we were in a completely different restaurant. Nothing was memorable. The waitress was distant and our drinks were not served until after the food arrived. The food was not memorable.

VERY INCONSISTENT. That is a deal breaker for me. Consistency is of the utmost importance to me and my wife.

Therefore, I can only say go at your own risk. You may get a superb meal, and maybe not.
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Dawn W
The best part about this restaurant is definitely the view. It is a beautiful setting. Our server, Patricia, was also very kind and efficient once she arrived at our table, and she did her best to make the experience enjoyable.

Unfortunately, the overall visit had several downsides. When we arrived, the hosts barely acknowledged us. Once seated, it took quite a while before anyone came over to take our order. The food itself was hit-or-miss: the steak was cooked properly but served cold, and the sides were both cold and stale. The pizza (ordered without cheese, as vegan options were extremely limited) was surprisingly good, though. Dessert was mixed, the tiramisu had nice flavor, but the texture was off and too watery at the bottom.

Overall, the view and service from Patricia were the highlights, but the lack of hospitality at the start and the underwhelming food make it hard to recommend.
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M D
Cute little vineyard on the way to Sedona, AZ. They offer tours but you have to set an appointment because it is only on certain days. We went on a Sunday so they were a little busy outside but we got lucky to be able to book for a party of 7. They were very accommodating. Weather was perfect to sit outside in the patio. You can see where they grow the grapes and the overview of the city and the Sedona rocks in the background. There is also a lift that you can take down the hill to see. Our waitress was very nice but she just seemed overwhelmed with the crowd. So service too a little longer. She was very thorough in explaining the different wine flights they have and recommendations on the food. We were still full from a large breakfast so we decided to share a few items to drink with our wine flights. We ordered Charcuterie board, fried calamari, arancini, Caesar salad, Salsiccia pizza. The cheeses on the charcuterie board were delicious! I usually don’t eat goat cheese but I really liked it. Calamari was good but it would be better if it was crispier. Arancini was their popular dish but I felt it was a little bland. I like the Salsiccia pizza, thin crust, flat bread pizza. I tried their bunker mint chip was disappointed because it tasted grainy as if it’s been sitting there for too long. Wanted more mint chocolate flavor. The wines were more rose types but overall not bad.
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Jaelyn Rockman
Stopped in for some wine tasting on Thursday evening. And enjoyed the experience. The views are incredible, the grounds lovely, and the restaurant design and feel really nice! You can tell that a lot of thought and $$ has gone into putting this business together.

At the time We weren’t hungry but admittedly we were excited about the hand made pasta. So we stopped in for lunch yesterday. Sadly, the food and drink were not impressive. I ordered the MacNcheese (see pic). Looked nothing like Mac cheese and was super blan other than the sparse bites of prosciutto and the salt that I added to it. And no- I wasn’t looking for the Kraft Mac cheese experience but was hoping for more of a former variety. With flavorful Cheeses, sprinkled with some parm and garnished with some of their locally sourced greens..
My mother ordered the chicken Parmigiana which was served on a bed of pasta with red sauce. The pasta was chilled as if it was leftovers pulled out of the fridge and the chicken was over cooked, with soggy breading.
My sister had ordered the Bolognese. The meat sauce had a really nice flavor but the pasta was definitely a bit tooo al dente.
My cocktail, a Paloma, was served in a pint glass and garnished with a small grapefruit slice. Honestly, I under stand their motto of “keep it simple stupid” when it comes to cocktail concoctions but for an establishment trying to exude a sense of modern, chic class a more dazzling garnish with a sprig of green would have enhanced the drinks appearance when served. The focaccia bread and butter was a win!
In fairness- the pics I have included were taken after we had already bitten into the meals and felt that subtle sense of disappointment.
Maybe it was an off day for the kitchen. Would I go back, yes, but I would be more inclined to order with caution.
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Otto H
I recently visited Merkin Vineyards in Cottonwood and had a mixed experience. The food quality itself was quite good – I ordered the chicken cantalone for my main course and burrata as an appetizer, and both dishes were well-prepared and flavorful.

However, there were several issues that detracted from the overall experience. First, the portions are on the small side, especially considering the prices. While the food tasted great, I left feeling like I didn’t get quite enough value for what I paid.

The service was also problematic. Things moved slowly throughout the meal, but the bigger issue was that our server forgot to put in our burrata appetizer order. It ended up arriving after my main course had already been served, which completely defeated the purpose of ordering an appetizer. This kind of mix-up shouldn’t happen, and it made the pacing of the meal feel disjointed.

Merkin Vineyards has potential with their food quality, but they need to work on their service consistency and perhaps reconsider their portion sizes relative to pricing. I might give them another chance, but the experience left me disappointed given the expectations for a vineyard restaurant.
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Valerie Otero
This winery was recommended by our hosts for our 10 yr anniversary. Wanted to try the wines and a light snack before our anniversary dinner. It has spectacular views. The decor is tasteful. Apart from the hostess who sat us, the rest of the servers and employees were very short and not friendly or suggestive. The wines, although not my preferred palate of selections was actually really smooth. The charcuterie board was a nice presentation. Although it was not accompanied with the traditional cheese cutlery. We managed regardless. Perhaps ensure the servers are friendlier to all the guests as you do not know where they are from.
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Sarah Paseka
Fantastic. Do a private tour with Jamie if you can, he’s super knowledgeable. Joe at the bar is the best bartender in the west, he’s so personable and attentive. Has great recommendations for what goes with each dish. We came here twice on our short weekend trip just to hang out with him and have some tasty libations.
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