Alcantara Vineyards and Winery — Attraction in Arizona

Depending on your expectations, this could be ok experience or it could be a disaster. My friend and I went to Alcantara in the beginning of February 2023; we both wanted to experience a "traditional" winery and this one came up as the closest one in Sedona area. As all you know, there isn't a way to leave a review without any stars, so I gave one for the location of the place itself. When we arrived in the middle of a week, we were the only visitors, yet the individuals working there (woman & a man) didn’t bother to make us feel welcomed. They just chat for a few minutes about where we were from and where they were from, and that’s about it. We both had the “vip tasting” and a specialty cheese plate (btw, I was charged for the antipasto plate – will explain later) for snacking. Just as previous reviewers stated, you DO NOT get an actual tasting of wine – 1 ounce of liquid is not a tasting, more like teasing. So practically we paid $20 each for 4 ounces of wine, that NO ONE took a time to tell us about. Mind you, if you look at all negative reviews, there is absolutely zero response from the winery, that tells you a lot… As previously mentioned, we asked for the antipasto sampler, but the woman behind the bar told us that they are out of prosciutto and she had offered a ham instead. I mean, seriously? I have been to many wineries around the US as well as Tuscany, but I have never had anyone offer me a ham with wine. It’s like I offered you a salmon on thanksgiving (instead of turkey). Since they didn’t have the right meat, we ordered the "speciality cheese platter", which was yet another horrible experience. We watched the woman pulling the platter from the refrigerator, taking off the plastic foil and giving it to us. I understand, that when you have a business you are setting up many things in advance, but our “sampling platter” was just gross. The content latterly looked like a 5 year old grabbed some cheap pieces of cheese and dumped on the plastic plate (picture attached). The bread and almonds were stale and cold. We received only one plastic knife to share and 2 small plates, and that's only after I asked for them. Bottom line, we didn’t think we were coming for tasting at Costco, but a winery! Seriously, you can buy cheap ceramic or glass plates in a dollar store! A winery should have a presentation from the beginning to the end, and if you cannot provide that, you shouldn't be in this business. Btw, when I used the bathroom, I noticed that it was dirty and not dusted in some months… Just gross!

We will never go back...

No girl power here VERY RUDE EMPLOYEES Perfect day for a wine tour in the Verde valley with the girls. We are a group of 10 professional women who took a Saturday to relax and enjoy We went to javalina winery and Page Springs winery and had an amazing time Then we went to Alcantara we walked in and immediately the 2 women behind the bar were incredibly RUDE and told us WE COULD NOT BE INSIDE. We all went outside where a table was set up for our party but it was incredibly hot and humid so two of us went inside to get a glass of wine Again the women pouring the wine we so rude . They told us there was a person outside that will serve us and that we had to go outside. I asked for a glass of wine and the women rolled her eyes and walked away..... at this point I made a comment that i was going to write a negative review. For the record I am a Buisness owner and have never written a negative review... positive reviews are all I have ever written but this experience was so appalling I am compelled to share it. Next thing I know 2 police officers walk in the winery Apparently one of the employees called 911 to report us... the employee proceeds to tell the police that we are a group of privileged Scottsdale women who were causing a scene... the police were very professional and saw that we were nothing but respectful and just wanting to escape the heat in the air conditioner..... at this point the owner came to talk to us she was very nice but the damage was done You are only as good as your worst employee...

THERE ARE SEVERAL WINERIES IN THIS AREA WHERE THE WINES ARE LOVELY AND YOU WILL BE TREATED WITH RESPECT AND WELCOMED.... ALCANTARA IS...

It's hard to decide how to rate because of the situation but because of the two awesome employees that fixed the almost disastrous visit, I'll do 5 star because it's not fair that one person (manager) ruins a place. We had friends from Canada come in and of course, we wanted to take them to a local winery. One couple had already been here and liked it, not my first place to go but close to our campground. We went on Valentine's Day, we got there before the two tour groups but decided to wait to order after them. One couple, not familiar with wine asked my opinion, they didn't like dry, I said I thought most AZ red was dry but I'm sure the people who work here would guide them in the right direction. Wow, was I wrong. We were all in line (waited until tour group was done), our guests said we would like a flight but don't want dry-the MANAGER said I can't choose your wines-our guests say we don't know anything about wines, we just don't want dry, the MANAGER says just read the menu. Wow. Myself and the other couple ordered sangria but I knew we were about to guzzle and go. We went back to the table and were about to leave but two amazing employees came over and honestly I don't know how but fixed the situation, not by throwing money or comps at us but by their genuine customer service. In my opinion, I understand there are good managers, but maybe if they are not customer service oriented keep them away from the public because this review, would be a very negative one if not for the two lovely ladies who rectified...