Small Memories Winery and Meadery celebrates opening in Ottawa

Small Memories Meadery and Winery officially joined the local business community Friday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce.

Located at 1409 E. Route 6, the new business is the creation of the Small family, who turned a farm shed in their backyard into a quaint space for tasting and producing both traditional wines and meads.

Uniquely, Small Memories uses honey as the base ingredient in its mead, creating an alternative to traditional grape wines.

Rick and Stephanie Small shared that their family has been making wine for many years and saw an opportunity to repurpose the unused shed into something more meaningful.

“We’ve been making wine in our basement for nearly two decades,” Stephanie Small said. “Turning that passion into something we can share with the public is a dream come true.”

Rick and Stephanie Small credit their family’s help as key to getting the business off the ground.

“We really couldn’t do it without our family,” Stephanie Small said.

Although they’ve already been quietly open for soft tastings, the official grand opening is set for Saturday, May 4, coinciding with the Kentucky Derby.

The celebration will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., featuring a food truck from Dig Doug’s BBQ, live music from 5 to 7 p.m. and a live broadcast of the derby.

Small Memories will operate with weekend-focused hours.

The business will be open from 5 to 8 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays, and is closed Monday through Thursday.

For more information on events or products, visit Small Memories’ website or Facebook page.