Wente Family Vineyards Tasting Lounge — Attraction in Livermore

I went here for Father's Day to sate my curiosity over Livermore wine country. After my family and I moved to the Contra Costa valley region a few months ago, I read about this historic region and wanted to discover its bounty.

Since the website said families with kids were welcome, and online reviews corroborated this, I thought it would be a good place to taste wines while the family hung out on the patio with me and get a feel for its historical place in California wine.

Wine: It was fine. I tried the Nth degree tasting and ordered the cheese and charcuterie plate. The flight left me satisfied but uninspired. I have had better, and I've had worse. I've been to quite a few tastings in Napa/Sonoma, Paso Robles, Santa Ynez, and Temecula regions in CA to get a sense of what vineyards provide to entice purchase of their prize output. This would have netted a 3-4 star review.

Service: Atrocious. Condescending, self-serving, awkward, and extremely unfriendly. The hostess seated us at a table with half the table in direct sun, so we rearranged the chairs to the shaded half. Nice words were said to us at the start as a formality, but once I notified that I was the only one tasting since my wife was designated driver, our server Nancy (?) balked at this apparent breach of protocol and icily stated that she would have to charge $5 for my wife not to also drink.

The website does not mention this policy at all, but I had no problem with this charge. House rules are house rules. But, the cold and baffled tone completely soured the mood for the entire tasting.

As our server followed every business requirement listed in her training (upsell non alcoholic drinks for the kids, offer the Father's Day special on the Syrah, awkwardly rattle off each wine's stats while avoiding eye contact with my wife, etc), I felt we were there to serve the wait staff that tended to us, apparently, not the other way around. I just wanted to finish as soon as possible and go. I had hoped to walk around the grounds a little to show the kids the origin of CA Cabernet, but no.

The kicker? The server also charged $5 / per child. She didn't mention this, and when the website says, "Wente Vineyards welcomes families to our Cabernet Lawn and select outdoor patio areas. Indoor tastings are 21 years and older. Children must be supervised by their parent at all times", why in the world would they charge for kids that wouldn't be able to drink anyhow? How is, a) charging for children a welcoming gesture, and b) why was this not clearly communicated to me from the start?

It's the details, and the overall attitude that puts this place easily as the worst service I've experienced at any winery.

I'm not the type of person to poorly tip or blanket 1 star reviews at perceived slights. I paid with no complaints and gave standard 18%, even if not deserved.

Is this place worth checking out? Maybe. The other servers didn't seem to provide as rude service to their parties. But I don't know. The...

Never again. It seems that you are welcome as long as you are not black.

My friend and I decided to have a wine tasting at Wente today and were reasonably excited, considering their longevity. We aimed to celebrate Veterans Day (since I am an OEF veteran) and enjoy the day. Upon arrival, the host greeted the two parties ahead of us nicely. But when he welcomed us, we were asked, "What brought you to us today?"

(I ignored the question because people are people in California, and by that, I mean covertly racist and rude.)

We requested to sit in the sun, and there was a table that would sit six open, but the host stated since we were only two, that table could be helpful for a large party, so instead, we sat in the shade. (Remember this.)

When it was time to select a flight, the waitress gave us a sample of wine and left. She did not explain the selection or give us notes; she just placed the order and left. I will admit one nice thing: The waitress did change our order at the last moment.

Once we started the tasting, another couple arrived (an interracial couple- a white male and an African female). Guess where they sat? At the table, "saved" for a larger party. So, back to the tasting.

The tasting began. There was minimal explanation of the selections from one sample to the next. I even explicitly asked about notes and pairings. The waitress gave a generic response that offered zero explanation and said, "Enjoy."

After the tasting, we both were pleased to enjoy our time together, but the overall experience was terrible. Upon leaving, two couples went ahead of us and received gratitude. When we walked to the door, the person standing there looked at us and away. However, when the next couple walked past, he also offered thanks to them.

In agreeance, we stated that we would never revisit Wente.

(I'll also mention this: Thursday, we had a wine tasting at Garré, which was a GREAT...

I had a friend visiting from Utah who loves wine and wanted to go wine tasting. I didn't dare to attempt to take her to Napa on a Saturday without reservations, but remembered what a pleasant experience I had the last time I went to Wente. As our server Carina put it "Wente is the Napa of Livermore" ❤️. When we walked in we saw how very busy they were but the young girls who were the hostess were so accommodating and couldn't have sat us at a better table. Carina was friendly, kind and so very knowledgeable. She apologized about the noise level considering it was completely packed in there and several times squatted down so we could hear her better as she kindly took the time to educate us on the rich history of the winery & how Wente has really influenced wine in California. She explained every wine and the process, the aging and answered all my friend's questions. She offered us a delicious charcuterie board and even though she was very busy with other tables, she would swoop in quickly and refill our water glasses like we were at a fine dining restaurant.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Besides the noise level, we had an exceptional experience. Everyone looked like they were working very hard, even while we were leaving they were rearranging tables to accommodate everyone. My friend visiting left with three beautiful bottles that they were running a special with beautiful artwork that was suggested by our server as the perfect gift to take home. My friend said it was one of the best educating wine tasting experiences she had and she's so happy we didn't go to Napa. So five stars across the board. Thank you Wente for saving the day and for providing such a wonderful atmosphere with happy, friendly, and knowledgeable employees that make a big...