Stone House Vineyard — Attraction in Lakeway

Brought my daughter and her boyfriend here last weekend on Easter weekend as my husband and I had visited before and remembered it being nice. Either my recollection of our prior visit was extremely skewed with the overall enjoyment we have in visiting the area, or the staff/service has really went downhill in the last 2 years. It was pretty busy, and we were informed immediately upon entering that we were NOT to take a seat in the lower part of the grounds under the shade trees etc. because that area was for "members only". Upon entering the tasting room, we were the only people in there, we stood in front of the counter for a good 10 minutes just watching the lady inside (Peggy) pushing buttons on her ipad and very frantically speaking out her though process as she did so. I finally politely interrupted by asking if we should just sit anywhere outside we could find a spot. She immediately proceeded to explain that they had very important "reservation" guests and that we could sit at an empty table, but must come inside to get anything that we purchase because they just did not have the staff to accomodate us. We found a small table outside, put our things down and went back inside to see about a wine tasting. Again, Peggy seemed to be very disorganized and/or confused about what she was doing. The guys told her that they would like to do a Bordeaux tasting ($40 each!). Peggy immediatlely shot that down and said that "it is a more in depth tasting that requires more staff - and that all the staff was busy accomodating the "reservations"". Reservation or not, why would they not want to make $80 on a wine tasting?? She told us that really with the amount of staff they had on duty today that the only thing they could do to accomdate us was a simple $25 tasting. We said we would have that and a cheese board. Cheese board?? Oh no... that was also too labor intensive, they had only a special menu today from the grill which was "exclusive". Pretty highly annoyed at this point we took our wine tasting (glass one) to the table. We essentially sat there being ignored by all members of staff, had to go inside to get the next glass. Peggy provided no tasting notes on any of the glasses but one, just poured and made more "excuse me I have to get back out for these other guests" comments. Needless to say, after 2 glasses of red wine that tasted like it came out of a box, we decided to just pay our bill and leave. That part seemed to be the MOST difficult part so far. Peggy could not figure out the payment system. I stood there a good 15-20 minutes while she pushed buttons, talked to herself etc... she then asked me to scan my card, which I did twice.. she did not tell me what I was being charged for or how much I was being charged for. Then, to my utter astonishment, in the middle of this very difficult task, she simply stated "okay I am pretty sure it went through, I really need to get to these other guests" and started to walk away. "Hold on, did I pay?" "Yes I believed it worked", "how much was it?" - "It will send you an email receipt"... I never gave Peggy my email... " Okay well we are trying to leave so I want to make sure that I paid". Peggy: "Like I said, I really need to get to these other guests, you know they are reservations, very important" as she walked away in the middle of helping me?? This was the most bizarre experience I have had anywhere... From the moment we walked in the door it was very obvious that they had more "important" guests than anyone in our party. That was the theme throughout the visit. When I arrived home, I discovered, of course, that my card was charged twice that day once for $54 and once for $85.... waiting on a response from ANYONE there that knows how to reverse a charge... not keeping my hopes up. Also, the wine was HORRIBLE. Will not visit here again - - when visiting the Texas Hill Country just save your money and time and go to Spicewood Vineyards where the staff is not pretentious, the wine is excellent, and everyone that comes in is just as important as the...

My husband and I have been to Stone House Vineyard twice. The first visit was fantastic, but unfortunately the second visit; not so much. The difference in experience depends on who is helping you in the wine tasting cause the wine selections are the same and the wine is good. We would rate the first visit a 5 and the most recent visit a 2 or less, so the inconsistent level of service lowers the overall impression. However, I will say the wine selection at Stone House Vineyard is certainly quality; I am especially impressed with their Port, which is rich, dense and lingers with complexity. Definitely one of the top wine tasting places in the Austin/Hill country area!

Our first visit was really enjoyable! Our couple friends who live close by the area invited us and their Parents/relatives are also members of the Vineyard. It was a short blonde hair lady with glasses that helped us in the wine tasting and she is welcoming, kind, knowledgeable and professional. She knew the background of the Vineyard and all the wines well, so she was able to present and explain everything clearly. She was also generous in serving, which was a really nice touch since we drove one hour to the Vineyard and she was passionate in wine and what the Vineyard does, so all in all, with the existing great wine and beautiful surroundings of the Vineyard, she was able to elevate the experience furthermore, which is impressive and one of the driving reasons why we would want to go back...

The second and most recent visit was lackluster and a let down. We actually invited 4 of our friends to join us and felt a little embarrassed in doing so. It was a younger gentleman who helped us in the wine tasting and we were all unsure why he was chosen to do that job...he appeared passive, disinterested and bored. The whole tasting, he didn't speak clearly (he was mumbling), he was inconsistent and stingy on the pours and he doesn't know the background of the Vineyard nor any of the wines well, so he was unable to answer questions...most of the time, he responded, "I am not sure..." with his mumbling, lower voice. It was quite an unfortunate experience and our friends may be wondering why they were invited to drive so far there. The only things that made up for that poor service were the quality wine and beautiful scenery of the venue but still not enough.

All in all, Stone House Vineyard is still recommended and definitely worth the visit, but a hopefully helpful suggestion is they need to select/train all of their Staff well and make sure the customer experience is pleasant...

I never post bad reviews. Don't join the wine club. I made a reservation here in May and brought my terminally ill cousin so he could enjoy the good weather. We wanted to sit by the lake but we're told you must be a member to sit in that area. Great! Sign us up! I purchased $200 wine that day and even inquired about renting the space to celebrate my cousin's remission. He's since passes away, but I hoped to revisit this place and have fond memories. It's not going to happen because of the wine club manager. I requested my first order in September, but never went back to pick up. So, in December I emailed the manager to skip a month until I could visit. He said I hadn't been a member long enough, so my response was, "Ok, I'll take four bottles instead of three, but ship them to me." I also asked that my previous order be shipped because I was having a party and needed to stock up. Instead, they charged me for two shipments that month! I emailed to make them aware, and he said it was my fault because I didn't let him know that my order was for my membership order that month. Untrue, but also just take responsibility! Again, I'm very pleasant because everyone makes mistakes. More mistakes! When I receive my shipment, it's short three bottles! I emailed the manager Bo Sutherland and the person who sent the confirmation to make them aware of the mistake. Bo Sutherland emailed me back to state he'd ship the order that was missing free (it's not free because I already paid for the wine and a shipment) and to inform me "THAT PERSON YOU EMAILED FORWARDED IT TO ME but THEY AREN'T OVER ME." Then he canceled my membership and said he would no longer communicate with me. What a diva! It's really unfortunate the wine manager was so temperamental and unwilling to own up to TWO mistakes. My card still hasn't been credited the extra purchase. I wonder why he didn't feel the need to offer me quality customer service. Hmmm. I kept all the emails, including the very rude final email and considered sending it to the owner, but they will see over time that you just don't treat paying customers that way. Anyway, it's a lovely place and I'm sad I can't have the party I was planning there to celebrate my cousin's life. It would have...