Bluemont Vineyard — Attraction in Purcellville

I had plenty of wineries to choose from, but I kept coming back to Bluemont. I pick this winery for the experiences they had to offer and the beautiful views. Prior to booking I sent multiple emails to Holly and Chole to understand the options and experiences before booking a reservation. Both were responsive but provided conflict information. I was planning this visit for a milestone birthday with girlfriends. I communicated in multiple emails that I wanted to have light fare, wine flights, and do the Sangria making competition. I was told to pay the $35 per person fee for a large group to take advantage of the abovementioned offerings. In multiple emails I was told all the options were available after paying the per person fee for a large group reservation. Also, I was told I could bring a celebratory dessert, I chose to bring a cake. Finally, I was told the cake could also be refrigerated on the day of.

The day before my reservation I called to make sure everything was in order, and I spoke to Chole. Immediately the excitement for this celebration changed. Chole proceeds to tell me the sangria competition could not happen because this is a pre-ordered experience and I need to provide a weeks’ notice. This was the first time I was hearing this and no instruction was provided in my email exchanges with Chole or Holly explaining this requirement. Additionally, I was told they could not refrigerate my cake after I was told they could. Chole suggested I bring a cooler instead; this suggestion was not acceptable. At this point I had no choice but to proceed with the reservation. When I expressed my dissatisfaction, I was not provided any type of accommodation and Chole did not provide any compassion for my disappointment. On the second call Chole offered a birthday box and said it would be waiting for me when I arrived. I asked to speak to a manager and was not granted that opportunity.

On the day of, my party and I arrived on time, however our table was not clean or set. Plates and silverware were left in the center of the table for use to pass around, but the other tables around us were set. I ordered 3 spinach and 3 buffalo chicken dips along with 3 charcuterie boards. When the server came out with our food it was in takeout containers and the bread was brought out in bags. I was completely shocked when this happened as this was a first. I asked the waitress why we were being served this way and she said, "I just do what my manager says". This set the tone for the rest of our service experience with the staff. It took 45 minutes to get our wine flights, despite only having a 2-hour window for our reservation. We also ordered the popular sangria, but instead of getting apple as requested we got peach. When it was time to cut the cake, I asked for new plates and silverware and I waitress told me they were hard to come by and that people usually eat cake off the same plate from their meal. Overall Whenever I asked for something the response was always met with some type of resistance. Finally, before leaving I inquired about the birthday box that was promised and I was told they had to make one, because no one left a note regarding a birthday box for my reservation. The service and communication could have improved my experience. I would caution any large party to consider...

First time visitor 2 days ago. To get to the winery can be difficult if you're in the wrong vehicle due to the incline. I came with a party of six. It took about 15 minutes for anyone to come attend us. We ordered the winter farmhand flight. They all tasted about the same. Our waitress was stressed and stated they, "had issues all day due to a new POS system and they were short staffed." We placed our orders for starters and sharables. Our food came at different times, the dips came when we were almost done eating and drinking our flights. We ordered a bottle of Autumn Apple Wine. A bottle was delivered to us opened and we poured it in our 6 wine glasses. A couple of sips in, we realized it was not the Autumn Apple Wine, but "The Cow". Nobody came to check on us for about 10 minutes. A young man came to clear the empty table behind us, and we told him we got the wrong bottle. The initial lady came back with the right bottle, but explained since we had drank some of the wine, we had to pay for both bottles. I suggest if you go, don't trust the staff to do their job right, and double check everything or you will literally pay the price.

Once we finished eating, we stepped out on the patio to enjoy the view. The undisputedly best part about this winery. On the way there a couple asked us for a cigarette. One in our party smokes, so we gave the couple a cigarette. My boyfriend lit a cigarette too, and we walked to the overlook. A minute later, Jessica, who was the manager that night, comes to tell him to put it out in the most disrespectful tone! We apologized because we were outdoors, did not see a sign posted, therefore, we thought it was ok. Again, very rudely, she tells us signs are all over (which they are not), and to put it out or leave. At this point, she did not get the best reaction out of him, who took a couple more puffs before putting it out. This situation ruined my night. The customer service and hospitality here are unacceptable.

To the owner, if he reads reviews. I suggest a lot of re-training of the staff, specially Jessica. Managers cast a shadow on their subordinates. If this is her attitude presenting facility policies to customers, I cannot imagine the ambience she sets for her co-workers. We paid over $350 for an evening at this location. The standards have to be set higher on customer service. They lost 6 potential returning customers that night.

Update:

Hailey Zurschmeide:

As a small business owner myself, I understand the pressure of facing the pandemic while maintaining revenue and keeping customers safe. Since this is a family business, I would have accepted a sincere apology, and not a template reply, like you posted on all my group's reviews. We would have swapped the bottle, had someone come to follow up with us after bringing it. As I mentioned, we got attention approx. 10 mins later, by calling over a gentleman that was cleaning the table behind us. We respect the regulations of other facilities, as we would like our facility's policies followed as well. What you missed is the disrespect your manager, Jessica, approached us with. For your staff to be treated with respect, they must approach guest respectfully. It could have gone different if Jessica understood the concept of hospitality and how to approach guests visiting...

UPDATE:

I have been going to Bluemont for years, and have been a Club member for some time now- so to have had the experience that my friends and I had yesterday has left me flabbergasted to the point that I will not return nor will I continue to be a Club member at this vinyard. In short, the new policies, management and staff are largely in part terrible. I made a Club reservation for my friends birthday with a request for patio seating. Upon arrival, we were seated at a table upstairs directly in the sun. It was 12:30pm in August, so that was surely not the most comfortable option. So, I promptly made the request to Jody to move to a shaded area, which she obliged but her choice was to move us to a corner table near the trashcan. Aside from being a Club member with a paid reservation, that is a terrible table for a birthday brunch or for any occasion - so I asked Jody about switching to one of the other tables that was not being occupied and was told "Those are for reservations only" to which I responded, "I also have a reservation." Then was told "Well they specifically asked for those tables." To which I responded "The website does not give those options so how does one resquest a specific table " then to finalize her statement she said "Well they are very expensive." To which I responded "Money is not the deciding factor for us and we would like one." Then she said she was going to speak to a manager. About 10 minutes later as we continued to be by the trashcan a noticeably irritated Jody returns to tell us that we can move and once seated in our new location she tells us that for future reference those tables are Chef's tables and that we only have 1.5 hours remaining in our reservation. She takes our food order and when the food arrives only 2 of the 3 entrées are present so we ask Jody about the 3rd and she says "well I put all 3 orders in" then essentially decides that she is done with us and sends a much nicer and more professional Courtney, who we enjoyed much more, to take care of us. Courtney immediately checked into and retrieved the 3rd entrée, let us know that we could stay there as long as we liked, and brought us each souvenir wine cups for our trouble. And just as we were willing to put the Jody part of our day behind us, Jody reappears to say "I would just like to say that you being aggressive paid off and you got the table that you want. I am typically such a pushover and would have just sat wherever." Out of all of the encounters that she had that day, she decided that the 3 black women who inconvenienced her by asking for a nicer table was a display of "aggressive" behavior. And that narrative is exactly what is wrong with this country and clearly some of the staff at this winery. I was both stunned and offended by her choice of words and coupled by her subpar customer service throughout the day, it is indeed enough to sever any ties I have to this place. When Amanda and Elena were there, we would have never experienced such ridiculousness. And with so many vinyard options in the DC Metro area, this will definitely be the type of business practice that makes people go elsewhere. I most...