California-influenced wine room arrives in the Heights

Mutiny Wine Room, a wine tasting room and retail space, will open in the Heights on Jan. 18. 

The tasting room is the creation of husband and wife team Mark Ellenberger and Emily Trout. The Houston-based winemakers drew inspiration for the concept from Napa, California, where they have a winery, Kagan Cellars. Mutiny, at 1124 Usener St., was first announced in mid-2019. 

Mutiny’s wine list will consist of 40 to 45 bottles, typically from boutique or otherwise small wineries that aren’t often seen in Texas.

“We are thrilled to be able to bring this new type of wine tasting experience to Houston,” Trout said. “Mutiny Wine Room has been a labor of love for Mark and me, and we know that the journey is only just beginning. Wine is our collective passion, and we could not be more excited to share our passion for wine, food and socializing with future guests in a setting that will be the first-of-its-kind for Houston and even Texas.”

The 4,579-square-foot space holds parties between 10 and 150 people for events and holds 48 on the two patios. Trout and Ellenberger’s broker was Donna Winfrey with Coldwell Banker Commercial. Mark Atkins from Masa Studio Architects is the architect and designer of the space, while Remington Services is the general contractor.

California-based chef Ari Weiswasser created the food menu, which has expanded since Mutiny’s initial announcement. The menu now includes items like cream of sunchoke soup with vanilla bean and black truffle; Vietnamese-brushed Gulf prawns on sugar cane skewers with pineapple-charred shishito vinaigrette; and rigatoni pasta with black trompette mushrooms, pumpkin butter and honey-poached cranberries with parmesan. Houston-based chef Eduardo Alcayaga will oversee the kitchen day to day. “Bringing Ari in to collaborate in our kitchen really speaks to our goal of recreating that authentic wine-country experience,” Trout said. “Ari’s attention to detail and passion for creating approachable-yet-elegant cuisine is exactly what we are looking to bring to Mutiny. The collaboration between Chef Ari and Chef Eduardo really helps translate the purity of wine country menus to Houston’s diverse palate.”

Mutiny Wine Room will be open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m., Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. It will be closed on Mondays.