Heidrun Meadery — Attraction in Novato

Way to ruin a visit. My husband and I decided to take my parents for a tasting last weekend during their first to the Bay, and we will NEVER go back.

When we arrived there was only one person pouring which meant we had to wait longer than expected to be served. We weren’t in a rush so no big deal. Once we did get started we enjoyed the experience and so we decided to sit down to finish our glasses.

As we were getting ready to leave, we noticed a small area where you could purchase gifts and other things. My parents and I decided to browse while my husband stayed with our dog at the table.

We got into line to pay and my dog started to whine with separation anxiety. By then a second person had finally come in to help manage the growing line of people. While we were waiting to pay my dog barked twice for my attention. I get that it can affect the ambiance to have loud noises, but this place is outside and not 5 minutes earlier there were children running around screaming so we didn’t think anything of a bark.

Regardless, what happened next was so entirely rude that it was completely unacceptable. After the second bark the woman behind the counter looks at my husband and says “excuse me, can you remove your dog. We only allow well behaved dogs here and on our property.” The judgement was so over the top that we put everything we had planned to purchase back and just closed our original tab so we could get out of there.

It completely impacted that experience my parents had during their visit, and it was just unnecessary. We’ve taken our dog to both Napa and Sonoma with no issues. If you are going to allow animals on property at all, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to accept some level of noise might come with it. I would have understood this so much more if the dog had been aggressive toward another dog or person, but that wasn’t...

If I was rating Heidrun solely on its products, I would likely be reviewing as 4 stars, maybe even 5 stars, as the quality is very high, and the concept and uniqueness of product set them apart. However, the customer service and tasting experience we encountered puts it down to 2 stars for me.

First of all, $25 for a flight of four products (looked to be roughly 1oz pours each is far too high.

Secondly, and most importantly, I informed the woman hosting us that I was a designated driver, and for that reason, would require a spittoon, as I wished to taste but not ingest the products. This employee was accommodating, and provided me with a spittoon. However, upon using the spittoon (on my second of four products tasted), another employee said that "we don't usually let people spit inside," as if I was causing a disturbance or disruption by doing so. I was shocked. I work in the beverage alcohol industry, and would never suggest someone couldn't use a spittoon for a tasting, regardless of them being a designated driver or not. Especially after the other employee had provided me with said spittoon. We continued the tasting outside… alone, and without guidance nor information regarding products three and four.

A little common sense with social responsibility would have been welcomed.

We were in the market for a sparkling wine for tonight, and planned to purchase the second product tasted, until this incident occurred. At that point, we no longer wished to support a company who operates in this manner.

Will not be back, and will...

DO NOT RECOMMEND! Beautiful place with interesting products, but shockingly rude and unwelcoming customer service.

My friends and I were on a birthday day trip and were excited to visit this place for the mead. The shop itself is charming, and we were all planning to buy something and try the mead tasting. Unfortunately, the visit was ruined by the dismissive and condescending attitude of the older blonde-ish brunette woman at the counter.

When checking our IDs - something we fully understand is necessary - she rejected my friend's CA ID because it had a punched hole. Fair enough. My friend then provided a valid CO ID, but instead of simply checking the DOB, the woman began quizzing her on the zip code. My friend (28yo) explained that she's born and raised in California, had only lived in Colorado for 1.5 years, moved frequently while there, and had recently moved back to CA. Despite this reasonable explanation, the woman continued to interrogate her and quiz her on the address, making the interaction unnecessarily uncomfortable.

Checking IDs is about verifying legal drinking age, not interrogating customers. The least she could have done was be nice and polite when turning us away, but instead, her demeanor was needlessly rude and dismissive.

It’s disappointing when an otherwise great place is overshadowed by someone who clearly doesn’t value customers. We took our business elsewhere and had a fantastic experience at another establishment that actually...