Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery — Attraction in Lower Township

Note: I decided to update my review to 5-stars for the prompt and attentive response from the owner.

I was very disappointed by my recent visit to Hawk Haven. I love their wine; it's the best local winery in Cape May County. Unfortunately, I cannot sing the same praise of their staff. In particular, the older lady who was the hostess (this was on Friday, July 17, 2020).

My family and I arrived at 12, right as the winery was opening. We asked to be seated and were told that we needed a reservation. At this time there were two other families/couples seated and no line behind us. We were told if we called they "might be able to accommodate us". So we call and make a reservation and go back to the hostess stand.

By this time, one of the individuals in my party of five had to take a quick work-related call and was standing in the parking lot (within eyesight). The hostess did not want to seat us because our "entire party was not ready". I told the hostess that the fifth person was just taking a quick call and pointed to him in the parking lot. The hostess still did not wish to sit us. It wasn't until I insisted and asked if she would rather him be on his call at the table that she allowed us to sit.

The hostess allowed us to sit in any of the open lunch benches on the grass. It was a particularly hot and sunny day, so I asked if we could sit at one of the longer tables under the canopy. The hostess refused and said that is only for parties of 6+. I understand that some tables may be reserved to ensure max capacity, but again, only two other tables were sat and no other customers were waiting to be seated.

After about 30 minutes, we notice another family came in and sat down. This family was a party of 4, plus an infant. This family was sat at one of the long tables under the canopy which we asked to sit at. I don't understand why this family was allowed to sit at a table "reserved for 6" when they also only had 5 people in their party. Furthermore, Hawk Haven's website clearly states that they will not seat anyone under the age of 21.

When we left, all of the long 6+ tables under the canopy were still vacant (except the table with a party of 4 plus an infant).

I don't understand this double standard. I understand the need to have rules during this time, but if you have rules, either stick to them or don't.

I will say the younger lady who served us our wine was very pleasant and nice. I don't think I will be returning while this hostess is...

There should be an opportunity to select "zero" stars, but alas, I'm allowed but a minimum of one. At least the caption reads "Hated It," which is a fair characterization.

I'm surprised to read such pleasant review on Hawk Haven, particularly those that compliment the service. I have to suspect these were all written by people accustomed to dour, expressionless staff with no enthusiasm for their work and the personalities of a dithering vine after the fall harvest.

From the moment we called to inquire about the Sunset Wine Tour, to the moment we got there, all the way through the tour and tasting we were met with people who had no passion for their work, or for interacting with the public. The "Sunset Wine Tour" turned out to be nothing more than a 50-yard trek to a vine, a few bullet points on grapes, four paltry tastings, and ten minutes of complaints about both the weather and the cost of machinery by the owner/winemaker. Perhaps his business cards should be reprinted as wHinemaker? Just a thought.

The facilities were unimpressive - again, reviewers who commented on their "elegance" have clearly not spent much time at wineries. The "crushpad" was overrun with weeds and grass growing through cracks; the outdoor tent was modest at best, and even the tasting room lacked any semblance of charm.

Skip Hawk Haven. There are plenty of other local options nearby that offer a similar quality wine, but a far more impressive, inviting experience - at a far more...

Even though their wine is good, the staff is very unaccommodating to the point where when you question them, they go back and tell the owner and are not very truthful about what transpired. The table behind us that we asked to sit at instead of the one in front of it in the sun was empty for almost 2 hours before someone else was seated there, but they wouldn’t let us sit there for our two hour reservation. Then, the owner actually came out to our table and started reprimanding us about questioning our table that they chose for us to sit at and defending her staff. I couldn’t believe an owner was so aggressive with a customer. Very unprofessional as well. My husband was gracious enough, not to entertain her with her false accusations. They also do not serve anybody -you have to get your own wine and they have no food service so you have to go to the food trucks to stand in line to get food. We are used to the other local wineries in the state of New Jersey serving us food and wine. We have been there many times over the years, but probably won’t go back unless there are new owners. But I will admit, they have good wine like I said at the beginning of...