Tiger Mountain Vineyards & Wedding Venue — Attraction in Clayton

LAST UPDATE: Talked to the actual owner and he was amazing. Emailed back and forth and we spoke about the situation. He is not the one who wrote the answer to the review below and also stated that i was a great employee and was welcome there anytime. Also in the works of giving me a refund for the dinner me and my husband had. Truly a great owner and handled in the best way! Thank you so much Lenny for all you did. NEVER GOT REFUND THOUGH. Updated: I quit this place i was NEVER terminated. That is a lie... also lets add they slandered me on facebook saying i stole a case of wine when i quickly sent them reciept of my purchase and they deleted their facebook comments before posts were able to be made. The fact the have to lie on this review is ridiculous and why they do not keep employees. I was loyal and worked for you. I have no reason to steal a case of wone from this establishment much less ever be on the property again. Thw property maybe pretty, but thw behind the scenes of how they treat their employees is sp diffrent then what you see. I am a us veteran and this is my hometown... i dont stand behind people who choose to lie for business in this town. To be honest, I worked here and wanted my husband to experience the food and the place because he is in the military and I just wanted to treat him to something nice... so we went. Our waitress was rude and didn't come to our table unless we tracked her down. The manager ended up bring us our food an hour later and we only ordered crab cakes and a chicken Alfredo. We were seated and not helped until a larger party that sat after us and was helped. I was an honest employee and spoke highly of the vineyards. Until this experience... fast forward a month and our miltary life is leading us to another state again and so I put in my notice, and everything was clean and over with. UNTIL... I was accused of stealing a case of their most expensive wine on facebook...That mind you (I bought myself and spent almost my whole check that week on because I loved the wine.) PURCHASED THE NIGHT THE OWNER WAS THERE. (Great guy... the people that run the shoe when he is gone... completly diffrent story.) So I posted my receipt to show I was not a thief. I hope they don't make these false accusations against someone that actually wants to enjoy their time there. Telling me I can't raise my kids from jail. Top notch unprofessional. While the food maybe great , and the wine is fantastic. I will no longer recommend to anyone because when you have a place like this it is all about Customer service and word of mouth. Especially in our small town. Sad this is how I had to leave this place. The chef Shawn is very knowledgeable and has amazing ideas. The Wine maker is amazing and very talented! JOHN AND KELLY were truly amazing and are very proficient in all they do for that place. But when my husband an active duty service member and me a veteran go in and his words were "I felt like a second class citizen there" yeah no I do not recommend. I had to edit this review to show that this establishment lies to cover up their wrongs. I have no reason to lie or steal in...

Tiger Mountain Vineyards' Potential Lost Amidst Disappointing Service

While Tiger Mountain Vineyards initially held promise with its surprising wine quality and delectable food, the overall experience was marred by an array of disappointments. Despite the favorable wine and food, the subpar service overshadowed any potential for enjoyment.

The wine selection at Tiger Mountain Vineyards managed to impress, offering an unexpected level of quality that hinted at a memorable experience. The food offerings further added to the anticipation, potentially creating an excellent combination that elevated the tasting session.

However, these hopeful elements were quickly dashed by the disheartening service. Those visiting with a canine companion were met with an uncomfortable situation – a designated area at the rear of the building, exposed to direct sunlight. Curiously, the adjacent covered dining area, open on three sides, could easily have accommodated both guests and their furry friends comfortably.

The service's inadequacies were highlighted by the overwhelmed tasting manager, whose struggles with serving just a single couple caused substantial delays between tastings. In some instances, the wait time between samplings stretched to nearly half an hour. The ultimate frustration came with our departure, having paid for a flight of tastings but leaving without the final one due to the inefficiencies of the experience. Our requests for an umbrella to shield us and our dog from the sun's rays were met with indifference, leaving us feeling disregarded and undervalued.

As if these grievances weren't enough, the scorching heat made the experience all the more unbearable, creating a hot and sweaty atmosphere. Astonishingly, the staff failed to offer even a simple glass of water during our stay, leading us to take matters into our own hands by retrieving water ourselves following a restroom visit.

It's unfortunate that what could have been an exceptional experience was overshadowed by the lackluster service we encountered. The desire to purchase cases of wine was quickly extinguished by the dismissive treatment we received while relegated to a less-than-ideal location behind the barn. The vineyard's service standards desperately need to align with the experience they aim to deliver.

Despite the potentially captivating view and appealing culinary offerings, Tiger Mountain Vineyards falls far short due to its inconsistent and disappointing service. Any potential for a memorable experience is obscured by frustrating interactions with the staff. We strongly advise against investing your time in this establishment until significant improvements are made. Your enjoyment and satisfaction would be better...

We traveled to Tiger Mountain Vineyards (TMV) over Labor Day weekend. To start with, TMV is beautiful. They have a very nice tasting room, directly to the right as you enter the drive-way, and also a barn area. The barn area is where their café is and they also have some nice outdoor seating that is shaded with umbrellas. TMV has a lot going for it, but I was pretty disappointed with the first impressions. At new wineries/vineyards, we like to do a tasting first, figure out what we like, and enjoy a bottle (maybe 2 :) at the winery. Upon entering the tasting room, we were informed that it is $25 to taste four 1oz pours of wine. (btw...a typical class of wine is 5oz) So, it would be $25 to taste less than one glass of wine. Having been on numerous wine tastings throughout the US and Europe, this was very shocking. We decided against doing this as it would have been $75 for the 3 of us. After looking over the menu, we asked about one or two of the white wines and they gave us a brief description of them. After thinking we had decided on one, I asked if there was anyway to get a tiny sip before buying the bottle, since it was offered by the glass. They were not too friendly when I asked this, but they finally gave us the sample. I'm glad we were able to try it because we were not a fan of this wine. We decided to get a different bottle and we enjoyed it at their barn area seating. We also wanted to eat here, but that became a whole other issue. We really liked where we were sitting, the view, it was comfortable, and there was a nice shade. We did not need any table service as we just wanted a flatbread and their brie puff pastry. Unfortunately, they would not let us order anything unless we were sitting at a table with full service. Since were hungry, we gave up our nice seats and went to a table for the full service. The service was incredibly slow as there were not enough servers for the amount of people wanting to eat. Our server was super nice, but just couldn't keep up. The food was good and we enjoyed a second bottle of wine. With all of this happening, I would not go back here or recommend it.

**Update: In response to the owner's comments, I would like to verify a few things. We were told directly by the tasting room staff that the tasting consists of four 1oz pours, we didn't just make this up. Also, I never expected the tasting to be free, although there are a lot of vineyards/wineries that do offer complimentary tastings. My point that I was trying to make was, $25 for less than 1 glass of wine...