Frank and Kenya Mitchell, husband-and-wife co-owners of Mitchell & Mitchell Wines in Elkins Park, started out with nation-themed dinner parties. As a former restaurant manager and pastry chef, the couple was well equipped: the Mitchells would serve only products of a particular country, including the wine.

It was tricky, Frank told Philadelphia Magazine, to find top-notch international libations, so he and Kenya decided to use their culinary expertise to tweak existing recipes and make their own wine.

That was 10 years ago. Today the Mitchells operate an Elkins Park tasting room at 7909 High School Road, and a production facility in Philly. They import grapes from all over the globe, including the Italian Alps, Tuscany, South Africa, California’s Sonoma Valley, and Chile.

“We’ve been told we’re not local enough,” Frank said. “But we simply want to appeal to people who want good wine.”

The native Philadelphians churn out about 10,000 gallons a year, and are hoping to expand to a larger facility to double or triple production. They offer food recipes to match a given wine’s palette, and they still host events and private wine parties. Business is good.

“We sell Italian wine to the Italians in South Philadelphia. We’re an African American-owned winery, and that should speak volumes to the quality of our wine,” Frank said.

For more on the story, you can visit Philly Magazine’s article here. For more on the Mitchells’ business, you can check out their website here.

Photo courtesy of Michael Persico, Philadelphia Magazine