Wade’s ‘Best of Brown County’ Experience

The Brown County Chamber of Commerce announced the winners of the 2022 “Best of Brown County” awards earlier this year. The “Best of Brown County” was created to celebrate all that Brown County has to offer, including food and drink destinations, live entertainment, and local historic sites. Wade Linville (editor of The News Democrat, The Ripley Bee, and The Brown County Press) will be writing about his experience at all of the 13 locations that earned a “Best of Brown County” award. This is part 11 of Wade’s “Best of Brown County” Experience featuring Brown County’s 2022 Best Photographic Spot, Meranda-Nixon Winery.

There is a place in Brown County where you can go to and relax in peace and tranquility, enjoying a delicious glass of wine while overlooking the vineyards where the grapes used to make the wine are grown. That place is Meranda-Nixon Winery located at 6517 Laycock Road outside of Ripley. In fact, there are people who have made Meranda-Nixon Winery their home away from home to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery, and that is why Meranda-Nixon Winery is the winner of the Brown County Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 “Best of Brown County” Best Photographic Spot Award.

Joe and Yevona Troxell have been traveling from their home in Amelia to visit Meranda-Nixon Winery on a regular basis for the past five years, and are among those who consider the winery their second home.

In less than a couple of weeks, the Troxells will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary at Meranda-Nixon Winery.

“It’s beautiful, and they are always so welcoming,” Yevona Troxell said of Meranda-Nixon Winery, its owners, and its staff. “If you feel like you want to go somewhere and hang with a friend, you come here because they treat you like a friend.”

“And they have the best wine ever,” she continued.

Meranda-Nixon Winery opened in 2007 and is owned and operated by Seth Meranda and his wife Maura.

Upon graduation from The Ohio State University’s College of Agriculture, Seth Meranda returned to his great grandfather’s family farm and grew tobacco and grain crops prior to planting Meranda Vineyards in 2003. Seth Meranda’s late wife, Tina Nixon-Meranda, grew up on the Nixon family farm in Warren County, graduated from Cincinnati State, and became active in the Brown County farm in 1998. Tina Nixon-Meranda was a former Brown County Clerk of Courts and lost her battle with lung cancer on October 1 of 2012, around five years after the winery opened for business.

Tobacco farming was big business in Brown County until the federal “tobacco buyout” that led to thousands of farmers across the U.S. looking for other profitable crops to grow. The Merandas saw a future in the wine industry, and Seth Meranda used his education and farming knowledge to produce high quality grapes for making delicious wines which include their popular whites and reds.

“I go to a lot of wineries and they have the best reds I’ve ever tasted,” said Joe Troxell.

According to the Troxells, there is nothing more relaxing than enjoying a glass of Meranda-Nixon wine while watching the sunset over the Meranda-Nixon vineyards.

With a rolling landscape that stretches for miles and distant trees that meet the sky, Meranda-Nixon Winery has a view like no other in Brown County.

The view makes it the perfect place for weddings, anniversaries, or other special occasions.

Seth and Maura Meranda’s four children – Preston, Austin, Lizzie, and Ben – help with work at the winery when not in school, as well as other family members.

The family-run business has been a great success over the years, as the popularity of their wines now spans well beyond Brown and its surrounding counties.

“It’s an honor that we are able to share what we have with others through pictures,” said Maura Meranda when asked how it felt to be voted as Brown County’s Best Photographic Spot. “People love coming here and relaxing, and they love the view.”

“When they come here and start taking pictures, it makes me smile,” she added.

The next time you plan for a night out on the weekend at a beautiful location, visit Meranda-Nixon for dinner and a glass of wine.

“We have our steak and salmon dinners, and a lot of people will sit out here and have dinner, and they can stay and enjoy the view as long as they like,” said Maura Meranda.

Meranda-Nixon Winery is open Fridays from 1-7:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Mondays through Thursdays are by appointment only.

You can contact Meranda-Nixon Winery by phone at (248) 891-0935 or visit its website at http://www.meranda-nixonwinery.com.