Unsworth Vineyards — Attraction in Area A (Mill Bay / Malahat)

Had a wonderful lunch today in the restaurant. Excellent service, food and the views over the vineyard were lovely. We enjoyed trying a couple of different wines with our lunch, and one of the servers kindly brought a taste of a particular white wine I was interested in trying which was much appreciated. The three of us in our party decided we all wanted to purchase a few bottle of wine each and as it was a Sunday, with the Cowichan Valley Wine tasting festival going on, we asked our servers if we would have to wait in the line as when we came in for our lunch in the building across from the tasting room and wine store there were alot of people waiting for the tasting. We were told we could simply go into the wine store to purchase our wine and not be in the wine tasting line, there were a few there who we made sure to ask if they were there for the tasting, and they were so we stood away from them on the other side.. There was a sign saying to wait for the host. As there was only 3 people in the wine shop (the sign said max 4) one of our group went in and asked the person behind the counter if she could simply purchase wine, not the wine tasting. My friend was rudely told to wait outside there's a wine list on the door. We then observed a couple walking past us where we were standing and without hesitation went in and purchased a couple of bottles of wine. I then thought, hmmm, as they had passed us and no one was in the line for purchases now other than them - since they had already walked past us, I went inside to ask if we could purchase wine. I was told rudely to wait outside, then the couple who had breezed by us to purchase their wine walked out. We waited a little while then decided we would not purchase the wine with such an angry, dismissive attitude of the server/host. As we were walking to our car, he called out to us and said we could come in now, we said no thank you and he sarcastically said, well thank you for your patience to which we muttered to ourselves, well thank you for your rudeness. We all know there is strict protocol with regards to covid, but perhaps there should be better signage at the door of the wine store or better communication to your staff with regards to policies for wine purchase when guests have come in for lunch, and in our case, had a lovely dining experience. We were certainly put off by that dismissive attitude when everyone else we had come across in the restaurant had been so welcoming and helpful with guiding us with wines and subsequent purchases in the wine store. The three of us have had many years in the hospitality industry in our flying careers and were enjoying a nice reunion together. We certainly can appreciate the difficulties staff are put in with the strict regulations these days they/we all must adhere to, but perhaps a different approach might have been better all round. Disappointing end to a lovely dining experience and surroundings and for the three of us, our...

I am not one to complain via Google reviews or in general. I have the utmost respect for those in the hospitality industry, especially through the last 16 months and certainly now as we break through into what is potentially our new normal.

That said, my friend and I who represented a group of people on a wine tour through the Cowichan Valley last weekend were shocked at the complete disrespect we were shown by a woman who confirmed she was the manager of the Tasting Room. Shocked to the point that my friend was visibly shaken. She tried her best to reason with the manager in a very calm way, but to no avail.

To clarify, we arrived early in the day as we were told by email in advance that this would be best for them to accommodate our larger group. It was apparent immediately that we were not welcome, although only my friend and I connected directly with the staff.

We were made to feel we were getting in the way of their prep for the day's opening. We were told our numbers were too high and that they couldn't accommodate us. We recognized this as a group of 13 (1 over their full group tasting limit) so suggested that of course we respected all COVID protocols and would split into groups at convenient times. We would do whatever worked for them!

The manager put her hand in the air ... as to say ... talk to my hand ... and walked away after telling us to come back at noon and maybe they could help then. My point here is we came early at their request so we wouldn't inconvenience their flow of the busier time of day. To suggest we come back made no sense and was honestly humiliating.

Further to that when we asked about speaking to ownership after 10 minutes of jaw dropping treatment, the reply was 'we could get that info on the website, but clearly we didn't know how to read it'.

My direct experience this weekend has sadly lead me to a place that I will spend my wine time and money elsewhere.

Unsworth is a beautiful spot. I have been before and loved it. I truly enjoy the Rose and Charme de l'île Rose. But their customer service in the Tasting Room was horrible.

I go out of my way to support local. I always have. But I cannot endorse Unsworth today as a result of this customer...

I attended the winery over the weekend and the experience was not what I expecting. Before arriving to the winery for scheduled time we were receiving numerous messages ensuring we would be on time. When we arrived we ended up having a few extra than our reso was made for. The staff was very frustrated at this, and stated several times that we could have call and given a heads up. Mind you the winery was not even busy…there was plenty of empty tables. Space was not the issue. Even at the very end of our tasting made a point of mentioning it again. Our waitress was extremely rude. Our water was empty and when she had finished pour the first round of wines I politely said excuse me to ask for more water. She completely ignored me and walked away. When she came by around I asked again. She said well there’s still water at the other end of the table.. mind you this was a table of 14.. it was a very other end. She huffed and puffed under her breathe and completely ruined the experience. She made glares at some of people in our party. I stepped away for a moment to ask if she was the manager, and the other staff who were much younger were clearly affected by this women’s energy. When I asked about the wine and the grapes she made some cheeky comments like I should have known this about wine. I can’t speak for the food as there I was not interest in engaging with the waiter nor was there even an opportunity to order anything. She was more interested in rushing up through the testing and...