Starlite Vineyards — Attraction in Healdsburg

We had come here for the Sonoma County Wine trail. We arrived around 11:15 AM and there was no one here. We decided to go to a different winery and called back to check their hours and they confirmed they will be there. We arrived and were told to find any open spot. There were no open spaces in the front and we asked if we can sit in the back, and he said feel free. We sat in the back for 15 minutes with no service. After we noticed a group had left, we moved back to front and the guys said “Oh don’t worry, I didn’t forget about you.” We continued standing at the table by the window as the guy was just kept chatting with the people sitting at the bar. A white couple arrived about 5 mins after we moved the front and found an open space in the corner. They were served promptly with wine. Still no service for the 3 of us who have been there for 20 minutes. We waited another 10 minutes before we left. There was no attempt to serve us, nor any sort of apologies when we walked out. This type of blatant racism is unacceptable.

Update 8/8/2025 - Reply to Business

This honestly just sounds like an excuse. I understand places of business can get busy and that things happen, but looking at older reviews, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Someone else has posted regarding same thing happening to them - and would you look at that, the person who posted was also a person of color. They were also visiting during one of these wine events. Maybe if you can’t handle these types of large events, don’t participate in them. Or better yet, have more than 1 person working during the event instead of just saying there’s nothing you can do.

Also the fact that you’re asking us to let you know on the next visit. We did call before arriving the 2nd time that day and confirmed that we were a group of 3 with our estimated time of arrival and with our name. This was not asked upon...

This winery was on the list of wineries that people could visit during the Wineroad Barrel Tasting Event Weekend 2019. They included themselves on the list that allowed groups. I came with a group of girls (all the way from Atlanta), and after we arrived, we each got a taste of wine and then went into a room where we could stand together (the winery is quite small and there were not many options of where to stand). Shortly after, the owner came out to speak with us. He told us that “what we do here is sell wines,” and made it very clear that he did not want our group standing in the room we were in. He then continued to tell us about his wines and pretended to care why we were there but it was obvious that he did not want us there. He even told us that he asked our bus to wait outside for us so we could leave when we wanted to. Long story short, don’t come here unless you are willing to buy $100 bottle of wine (or risk being...

Starlite's wines are outstanding. They are a regular part of my family's reunions and gatherings. They age well in the cellar and are just the perfect balance between California wine-making traditions and European traditions. Their red zins are very classy and pair well with meat dishes. Their cabs are powerful and complex with long finishes. Their viogniers are very refreshing with floral and apricot bouquets. I have been recommending Starlite to my friends at the Harvard Alumni Association for years and everyone who has tried them loves their wines as much as I do. It's a gem of a winery in...