Bella Grace Vineyards & Wine Cave — Attraction in California

This review is specifically for my experience at Bella Grace Vineyards during The Big Crush Wine Festival this year.

My group and I have been to The Big Crush three times, and Bella Grace has always been a required stop. In the past, it was our first stop, and we've always had a fantastic time. In fact, I insisted we visit this year, even though we were considering other places, because I genuinely love their products—wines, olive oils, vinegars, and salts—and was planning on stocking up. My friends always make purchases as well. I’ve even been to their tasting room in Sutter Creek twice.

Unfortunately, our experience this year was completely different and deeply disappointing.

We arrived as our fifth and final winery stop around 3:45 PM and took a seat at a table. We were certainly feeling the celebratory effects of a full day of wine tasting, and we were in high spirits, laughing and having a great time. Crucially, we had a designated driver.

When we were approached by a gentleman named Charles around 4:15 PM, he asked if we had "enjoyed a lot of wine today," and when we confirmed we had, he implied that we might have had "a bit too much" and refused to serve us our last two tastings.

We were completely taken aback. While we were definitely happy and buzzing from the day, and had been sitting down for about 30 minutes, we were in no way disruptive, loud, or out of control. We were simply a group of friends enjoying the festival. To be singled out and refused service was an embarrassing and unwarranted end to our day.

Because of this experience, we immediately left without purchasing any of the products I had planned to stock up on. Furthermore, no one in our entire group made their planned purchases because of how we were treated. I was a loyal customer who chose your winery specifically for a large purchase, but I will now be taking my business elsewhere. It's a shame that a great tradition and my appreciation for their products has been completely ruined by this one negative interaction. I will not be returning to...

To get to Bella Grace Wine Cave, we drove down Upton Road in Plymouth, which is a long narrow road. There are olive trees and vineyards surrounding the area where their "caves" are located.

After parking our car, the first we noticed was a large tented structure with tables and chairs. I was noting the temperature rising as we walked on the gravel to where the tastings were located. We followed the signs and came to the entrance of the "cave".

The caves are man-made and are tall enough for a forklift to haul in barrels of red wine to age. No need to hunch over when you walk because the height of the rounded walls is high. The caves stay at 57 degrees, and you may want to bring a light weight jacket--if you tend to get chilled easily.

In the caves, there are tables and chairs to sit and taste wines. You'll also see barrels of wine neatly stacked. You get 5 pours for $15 (which is waived if you buy a bottle of wine). It was HOT outside, and very comfortable inside as we tasted their wines. You can also taste their olive oil--which is delicious.

They have 20 acres of grapes that they grow sustainably, and also grow olive trees.

If your group is less than 8 peeps you don't need a reservation. Tastings are Thursday-Monday 11-4.

I recommend going here during the hottest time of the day to experience the contrasting coolness...

Thank you to Steve and our hostess for being so welcoming and kind to us on our first visit as new members to the Bella Grace 2/25th event. The lunch was fantastic and the atmosphere was so relaxing and beautiful. We got to see the wine cave which was very cool visually and the temperature was perfect. All of the staff inside were really helpful and could tell we were looking around in joy and asked us if it was our first time there. They immediately gave us a big welcome, guided us to the tent to check in. We brought our special needs son who is 22 but needs a lot of care and EVERYONE was so kind in making our visit wonderful and relaxing for us. I picked up our wine, bought a little extra and a bottle of the Tuscan oil can’t wait to make some bread for dipping. Thank you again for a really nice first event for us and we look forward to many...