We had the good fortune of connecting with Mackenzie Cecchi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mackenzie, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I grew up in a beautiful, old neighborhood called Fair Oaks with my younger brother and parents. I received my BA in Recreation & Leisure Studies with an emphasis on Hotel and Hospitality from Cal State Long Beach. I was a transfer student after two years at Sierra College in Rocklin, CA. I participated in sports at both colleges which shaped who I am today on top of what I learned in school. I am a first born so I love rules and structure and school and sports kept me going and I still maintain a physical activity alongside work because it gives me space to think outside the box.

I’m also a recovering people pleaser which is why I think I went into hospitality early in my career, I have always liked making people feel good and giving them experiences to enjoy. I fell in love with food and wine along the way. Every single job I have had in the last 18 years has lead me to the business I’m in now, which is acting as the GM and partner of Casino Mine Ranch in the Sierra Foothills of northern California.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Casino Mine Ranch was started by two brothers whose great-aunt Simone bought the property in Plymouth, CA in 1936 to mine for gold. She called it Casino Mine Ranch because it was a gamble they were going to get any gold. Simone fled Belgium with her father during WWI. She was about 8 years old and they started traveling by ship to Alaska during the summers where her father worked at the Jualin Gold Mine. Eventually, Simone moved to NYC and met and married Sam Shaw. His family were the largest American art collectors before the Gettys. So now she’s a socialite with this “Annie Oakley” style background. Sim and Sam (as they dubbed themselves) didn’t love high society so they moved to Hollywood then San Francisco and eventually bought the property now known as Casino Mine Ranch in Plymouth. They didn’t get any gold and eventually farmed sheep and walnuts.

When the brothers took over the property after their Aunt passed, they slowly began the process of planting vineyards starting a winery. They kept the name Casino Mie Ranch because the wine business is an equal gamble! I came on board five and a half years ago during our first release. I started our tasting program out of the estate and have built our club membership up and I became a partner. Over the last two years, we have been building a tasting room that is like nothing else in our area. It is truly stunning. We thought through every single detail from design to finishes and it shows.

Our grapes are all organically farmed and we’re planting 10 acres of vineyard that we plan to dry-farm which will be online in a few years.

Our goal is to showcase the unique and exotic region of the Sierra Foothills AVA and emphasize the bright, fresh, high-quality wines. The Sierra Foothills AVA is the highest in California, with vines planted up to 3500′ feet. It has a predominantly Mediterranean climate, with hot days and cool nights (diurnal shift) creating temperature fluctuations up to 30 degrees and the soil types range from decomposed granite to volcanic and sandy loams. These elements create one of the most diverse grape-growing regions in the world, with over 150 varieties planted.

We’re offering a high-quality product and experience and not everyone is used to that in our area. We’re really proud of our wines and our tasting room and we want people to come here and feel really special. The thing that is a challenge in the area is also my favorite part, we stand out because we’re doing things a little bit differently. We’re not pretentious by any means, all are welcome and we want to enjoy fantastic wines in a beautiful setting. I’m really looking forward to programming all of the special places we have at the tasting room. We’re going to have a wine truck in our garden for people to picnic and enjoy wines by the bottle, this will be open for families as well. Our tasting room will be for adults and will have a more structured tasting experience. We’ll get our pizza oven up and running with guest chefs coming in from Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles and we’ll have wild club parties for our members throughout the year.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Our area is so wonderful! I’d suggest breaking it down into sections:

Jackson, Sutter Creek & Amador City: Start at Green Door Bakery, the tastiest pastries and bread you’ll have. Visit Yorba wines, Waterstreet antiques, and Hotel Sutter for a cocktail and lunch. Kennedy Gold Mine is great to get the feel for the mining in the area. Dinner at Break Even Beers, the beer, food, and atmosphere is a 10.

Plymouth: For a day or wine tasting, definitely visit Casino Mine Ranch, Turley, Andis, Cooper, Paul J. Finish your day at Taste in downtown Plymouth. The food is fantastic. You can also visit the flower farm in Plymouth, which is especially fun in the fall.

El Dorado County: Finish your Sierra Foothill visit at Skinner winery, Edio Vineyards which is at Delfino farms and is fantastic! Bumgarner has great ciders. End it downtown Placerville for some coffee at Pachamama and cheese from Dedrick’s Cheese. yum!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m a very fortunate person to have two incredibly supportive parents. I’ve also been very lucky to have had coaches and bosses along the way that have given me guidance. A huge shoutout to my college swim coach Christ Breitbart. He had a pivotal role in shaping futures as he was coaching the swim team (he is still coaching!) and he knew how to relate, guide and inspire us to keep going. And a shoutout to my time in New York City. I was there for three years, worked for Mario Batali and while he’s recently been canceled, I learned and grew so much from him and all the people I worked with during that time.

Website: casinomineranch.com

Instagram: casinomineranch.com

Image Credits
Melissa Gayle

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