Cheers to History: Uncork Mansfield’s Regional Wine & Ale Trail

In Mansfield, history isn’t just preserved. It’s poured. Along the Wine and Ale Trail, you’ll find breweries, wineries and wine bars inside buildings and spaces that have lived many lives. A former mortuary, a historic bank, a 1920s automobile showroom, a farmhouse. These are not just places to grab a drink. They are places where the past has been preserved and given new purpose.

Where History Comes to Life (Downtown Mansfield)

At The Phoenix Brewing Company, history is impossible to miss. Look for the brick building with the fiery orange image of a phoenix framed in a gothic window. Originally constructed in 1914 as a mortuary, it still carries details from its earlier days. Coffin-shaped tasting trays and original features give a subtle nod to its past, while the brewery itself is full of energy and community.

Beer names bring another layer of local culture into the mix. Inspired by The Shawshank Redemption, which was filmed in Mansfield, you might find yourself ordering a Rooftop Lager or a Rockhammer IPA, both tied to iconic moments from the film.

Just upstairs, The Spirit Room changes the pace. With dark wood, leather seating and a curated selection of bourbon, whiskey and Scotch, it feels like a completely different space tucked above the brewery.

Step outside and the experience continues. Two patios offer space to gather, and just steps away, The Brickyard fills with live music and food trucks in warmer months, turning the area into one of downtown’s most active social spots.

Just down the street, Hudson and Essex blends upscale dining with history inside a former 1920s Hudson and Essex automobile showroom. Silver accents and vintage photographs offer subtle nods to the building’s past.

Downstairs, Cypress Cellars Winery offers an elegant, cozy tasting room tucked beneath Hudson and Essex in Mansfield’s Carrousel District. This boutique winery is dedicated to carefully selected California wines. A glass of their crisp, fruity Grenache Leggero is a great place to start.

The history in this area runs deeper than what you see at street level. Nearby, Prohibition at the Caverns invites you underground into a network of stone tunnels built between 1840 and 1860, where German brewers once fermented lager at a steady 50 degrees long before refrigeration existed. Today, the restored caverns offer an elevated dining experience surrounded by natural stone walls and a subtle, speakeasy-like atmosphere that reflects an era of elegance and mystery. Chefs thoughtfully prepare each course with carefully selected ingredients, creating a multi-course meal that feels as memorable as the setting itself, with four-course dinners on Fridays and extended eight-course experiences on Saturdays.

A few blocks away, The Ohio Shine Company brings a different kind of experience to the trail. As Richland County’s first distillery, it offers a full lineup of spirits including traditional and flavored moonshine, Cold Spring vodka and plans for bourbon. They craft and bottle everything right here in Mansfield, making it a true hometown pour. Their Butterscotch premium moonshine is a standout favorite. The space is designed for tastings and bottle purchases, making it an easy place to try something new, whether that means sipping it straight, mixing up a cocktail or leaving with a bottle for the weekend.

 

Where the Land Shapes the Flavor

At 1285 Winery at The Blueberry Patch, the setting speaks for itself. Located on one of Ohio’s largest blueberry farms, the winery features a wide patio with views across the blueberry fields. Guests can sip a dry or sweet blueberry wine they make on-site, enjoy it alongside wood-fired pizza and pick up homemade blueberry donuts and a bottle to take home.

From June through August, the experience extends into the fields with blueberry picking, while the gift shop offers a way to enjoy the harvest year-round, with blueberry jams, syrups, salsas, seasonal décor and thoughtfully chosen gifts. In the fall, the landscape shifts again with a sunflower patch that draws visitors back for a completely different view of the property.

It is one of the few places where the ingredients are quite literally grown all around you.

In Lexington, Michael Lynn Winery and Brewing Company offers a countryside setting that feels a world away from downtown. This charming farmhouse winery and brewery, housed in a converted 1901 home and surrounded by rolling hills and vineyards, brings together handcrafted wines and small-batch beers in one place.

Wines made from estate-grown grapes share the menu with house-brewed beers, from crisp whites to hoppy ales and rich stouts. A refreshing pint of Jesse James IPA is a popular choice, especially when enjoyed out on the scenic patio overlooking the property. You can take a tour, enjoy a tasting flight or simply settle in and take it all in. With live music and seasonal events, a quick stop here can easily turn into an evening on the patio.

Hickory Vines Winery makes an impression before you even step inside. As you drive in, the road winds past rows of vines and a quiet pond, setting the tone for what’s ahead. By evening, the vineyard takes on a completely different feel, with lights that stretch across the property that bring the space to life after dark.

It is the kind of place where you can wander a bit before your first sip, then settle in with a glass and take in the view. For something more personal, Hickory Vines offers private tastings and guided experiences with the owners, giving you a chance to hear the story behind the vineyard while you sip. And when it comes to what’s in your glass, there is a little personality here too. Wines like the Mango Meow Scato add a playful touch, and if you look closely, you might even spot the winery cat that inspired the name.

 

A Stop Steeped in History (Ashland)

Uniontown Brewing Company brings history forward in a building that dates back to before the Civil War. Once home to the Gilbert Furniture Store, the space still carries that legacy with exposed brick and repurposed materials that give the brewpub its character. Today, it operates as a family-owned and operated spot in downtown Ashland, where that sense of history feels personal.

The story continues in the glass, with beers brewed in-house that often reflect the building’s past, including the Old Man Gilbert Vanilla Porter named for one of its original owners. Pair a pint with something from the kitchen, like their pub cheese twist, a large German-style pretzel filled with local 1386 Amber Ale pub cheese and served with sweet and spicy pickles and house-made creole mustard. It is the kind of combination you won’t find just anywhere, and one that is worth the stop all on its own.

 

Sip Inside Shelby’s Past

At The Vault Wine Bar, you are not just ordering a glass of wine, you are stepping inside a piece of history. Housed in a former 1911 bank in downtown Shelby, the space still features marble walls, 30-foot ceilings and the original vault, where bottles of wine now sit where money once did. The bank’s grand architecture is just as impressive today as it was then.

You can actually walk into the vault to choose your wine, then head out to the seasonal patio, where live music keeps the space lively. The menu is just as thoughtfully done, with dishes the kitchen makes from scratch using local ingredients whenever possible, alongside a few unexpected favorites like the pulled pork sundae.

It is a place you remember for the details, the echo of the vault, the scale of the room and the feeling of sitting somewhere that was never meant to hold wine at all.

Just nearby, Black Fork Brewing offers a different kind of stop, one that feels equal parts laid-back and full of character. The modern, barn-style space opens out to a patio where you can sit with a pint while looking out toward the Black Fork River, with the backdrop of Shelby’s old industrial buildings adding to the setting.

The beer lineup leans creative, with options like a rich, chocolatey porter, and the connected pizza kitchen makes it easy to settle in. Add in live music and a patio full of people gathered around picnic tables, and it quickly turns into the kind of place where pizzas are shared, conversations stretch a little longer and no one is in a hurry to leave.

One Last Pour in Bellville

The trail wraps up at Wishmaker House Winery and Wine Bar, set inside a historic Queen Anne-style home in a quiet residential neighborhood. Over the years, the building has served as a doctor’s office and a furniture store before becoming the winery, restaurant, and bed and breakfast it is today.

Step outside and the setting shifts to something even more unexpected. The patio feels like an English garden, with shaded tables, greenery and a relaxed atmosphere that feels tucked away from everything else. It is also just a few blocks from the B&O Bike Trail, making it an easy place to stop in or linger after a ride. In the winter months, heated igloos dot the patio, creating a cozy, tucked-away experience that feels completely different from the warmer seasons.

Inside, wines are produced and paired with a full menu, but there is one thing regulars will always point you toward. The colossal house-made cheesecake, layered with flavors and finished with rich toppings, has built a reputation of its own and is well worth saving room for. Ask for the Bourbon Carmel Pecan!

Upstairs, the experience continues as a bed and breakfast, with each room designed with its own personality. Set in Bellville, a town that feels straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting, it is a fitting place to end the trail.

 

Raise a Glass to History

Some stops along the Wine and Ale Trail focus on showcasing local flavors. Others highlight architecture, craftsmanship or unexpected pieces of Mansfield and the region’s past. Yet one thing connects them all, a shared commitment to preserving the spaces and stories that came before.

So raise a glass to the buildings, the traditions and the history that continue to shape this trail.

Cheers to history.