Tastings "by appointment"

i would call for an appointment up to a month ahead - esp. if it is some place you really want to visit. but there is no reason not to call a day ahead if you don't care very much if the answer is 'sorry'. places that are open by appointment only probably don't have a tasting room anyway, so.... you'll just be somewhere in their home or standing around a barrel in the winery itself. if you are already familiar with their wines, you may need to taste only the new stuff; or, if not, you may want to taste only the things you might actually be interested in. and as far as opening bottles just for you; they will drink them over the next few days or even send one home with you. bottom line: you can ask and they can so no.

In Italy, by appointment is the norm. In some respects it's a way of ensuring they are able to offer proper hospitality, in others they're not geared up for visitors and need to fit it in around other jobs in the winery.

In Australia/NZ the 'by appointment' appears to be a filtering exercise (one step up from the 'no coach tours'). I suspect the same is true in the more popular US regions.

regards

Ian

[Jenise]

Wineries that require appointments are typically small producers where every employee wears a lot of hats and there may not even be a tasting room per se. Visitors are, therefore, intrusions to a daily routine, however welcome, that requires sparing someone from another task. And opening bottles that might not otherwise get opened. That puts a certain responsibility on the wine tourist to differentiate between "going tasting" as a form of entertainment and tasting with producers whose wines you want to sample with the intent of purchasing at least a few bottles of the wines you like best. If you're not in the latter category, it's usually best to stick to the wineries that are set up for visitors, or find tasting rooms in the area that pour their wines along with those of other area wineries.

Where are you going?

California is generally much more accommodating (and better equipped to handle) casual tastings than say many places in France. Of course it is all a matter of who and when you visit. Just call ahead -even if you don't need an appointment. You can ask for a tour when things aren't so busy and will generally receive more attention. Plus, they will appreciate the notice. Have fun!

I'll be heading to Sonoma, and noticed that some interesting wineries like Arista and Pellingrini Family Vineyards are either by appointment only or not open on the days I'll be in the area. Was just curious about the procedure, but realize most wineries in the area appear to be open most days.

Most California wineries do "by appointment" because they're small operations and want to schedule visits for times that don't conflict with other responsibilities. It's also a good way of screening out the out-for-a-cheap-drunk class of wine tourists. I've seen people make "appointments" by calling the winery by cell phone from their parking lot -- not my style, but wineries don't seem to mind. You'll generally get better treatment when you make advance appointments, and I'm the sort that does feel a tad uncomfortable not buying something from a winery that opens their doors to me and doesn't charge anything -- but not so uncomfortable that I'll buy overpriced plonk no matter what (if they're that bad, I'll never return anyway). I can't recall an instance of finding myself in that position in recent memory, though.

Mark Lipton

Even in Sonoma by appointment may only mean no buses. A few years back we were at Iron Horse and they had the by appointment only sign up. We asked if it was ok and they told us that was only there so they could turn away the buses. In the four days that my wife and I spent in Napa and Sonoma the only place that turned us away was Etude and that was because they had a private party coming and even in turning us away Tony Soter posed for some pictures with my wife.

It is still best to call ahead but I have found that most places are more than willing pour for real wine lovers regardless of if you call ahead or just show up. We called the morning that we wanted to visit a number of places with great success.

Even in Sonoma by appointment may only mean no buses. A few years back we were at Iron Horse and they had the by appointment only sign up. We asked if it was ok and they told us that was only there so they could turn away the buses.

Brian, this is exactly what we've found on our travels, and it's certainly not limited to Sonoma. In fact, a few winery owners in such diverse locations such as Michigan, North Carolina, and Rhode Island have told us they use By Appointment to discourage bus drop ins.

My sense is they want to be equipped to deliver a certain standard of hospitality as well as planning their work day. If we're in a certain wine producing area for more than a day, we'll sometimes call to set up an appointment and explain how long we'll be in the area. Every winery owner / staff member has been more than gracious and quite often will ask how close we are and offer to accommodate us right away.

"By appointment" most commonly is because the winery is a small operation that can't afford to have a formal tasting room open. If you don't call ahead, chances are they'll be at work in the fields or the cellar and not available to meet the public. Or, as already discussed, they want to discourage the tour buses.

It never hurts to write to or call up the winery to ask if you can arrange a visit/tasting. The worst that can happen is that they say no. In that case, your local wine merchant might be able to arrange a tasting through wholesale distribution channels (that works well for French wine estates).

Or just drive up and knock on the door. But if you do that, of course, be prepared to find nobody there, or to be rebuffed.

-Paul W.

Wineries built here in the valley after a certain date can only have guests for tasting and tour by appointment only. So one has to call the winery.

Hello. My wife and I have done several tastings by appointment at wineries here in California. There seems to be a number of different reasons wineries require appointments. At some places, like Justin in Paso Robles, we needed an appointment because we wanted to add a tour of their facilities to go with the tasting. You don't need an appointment for just tasting their wines, though. At Chateau Montelena in Napa Valley, we needed an appointment to do their library reserve wine tasting (which is done in a back room), but you don't need an appointment just to taste current wines. At Lancaster Estaste in Sonoma County, they combined a wonderful tour of the vineyards (in a Cadillac SUV) with a tasting of both current and library wines. You may need to give them a lot of notice for the appointment, though. Another couple staying at our B&B tried to book an appointment on one days' notice but were turned down. Last week, we took our first wine tasting trip down the road to Temecula. Since it was a weekday, Palumbo Family Vineyards required an appointment, and the owner Nick was our server. Another couple came by without an appointment, but he said he couldn't help them. He said he had too much work to do to see anyone else than us that day. We have found tasting by appointment to often be our most enjoyable wine tasting experiences, and thus try to include one or two in each wine tasting trip.

You are not obligated to buy wine when you make an appointment. If I find a wine I like, I do usually buy at least a bottle. However, if I don't like the wine....I do pass.

If you are going to Sonoma, be sure to make an appointment to visit PAUL HOBBS...great wines!

[Jenise]

Wineries built here in the valley after a certain date can only have guests for tasting and tour by appointment only. So one has to call the winery.

Really? Didn't know that--what's this new regulation in aid of?

(p.s. the only tasting appointment I want to make in Napa Valley is at your house. )

Starting in 1990, public tasting permits were no longer issued to new wineries,thus creating the need to call ahead at the newer wineries. I don't know if this has changed to any great extent. Weddings were not permitted at wineries. All sorts of do's and don't (mainly the latter) were set into place.

Napa County Ordinance #947 was the WDO, Winery Definition Ordinance, which was supposed to be the definitive document to determine "What is a Winery?" It also mentions minimum parcel size upon which a new winery could be erected (10 acres then, may have been increased since then), along with other use permit application requirements that makes the process of opening a new winery a challenge, if not impossible.

A lot of this occurred at the time when my then husband was employed by Napa County and worked with a number of people involved in bringing this ordinance to pass (Jim Hickey of the Planning Department, Bob Westmeyer who is/was County Counsel, etc.).

Don't keep up much with this anymore but that's all I remember.

Napa Valley Vintners guide to wineries - lists of where appointments are and are not required - also home page has a nice link to a guestbook in honor of Mr. Mondavi.

http://www.napavintners.com/wineries/

If you are going wine tasting in Sonoma, be sure to make an appointment to taste wine at Paul Hobbs. He makes a lot of great wines including some reasonably priced imports.

Jenise, i've heard some Sonoma County wineries also say, as Chris relates, that they don't have a permit to have a tasting room and are legally equired to offer tasting only by appointment.

Must be in Anderson Valley too... I remember that everybody sort of knew that even though it said 'Tasting by Appt. only" at Lazy Creek, if the gate was open you just drove in.