Youngblood Vineyard — Attraction in Ray Township

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the treatment my family and I received at Youngblood Winery on the fourth of July. We had purchased two parking passes for the event, one for my wife and one for our son's family, with the understanding that the number sold was limited to two hundred. We had been regulars, usually spending over $60 - $70 per visit and were members of their bottle club. The staff was always pleasant and attentive and we enjoyed the ambience. We like the food, although it was over-priced. We arrived at the winery around 7:00 PM, as we did not want to get there too early with two small children and fireworks scheduled for 9:50 PM. My wife is recovering from surgery and requires a walker, and I also have difficulties walking. We have a handicapped placard. Upon entry, I inquired about handicapped parking and was met with irritation from the owner, Jesse. She informed us that they were only required to have two handicapped spaces and they had four, and that the gates opened at four, so we should have arrived earlier. While I understand the regulations, it seemed unreasonable given the event's scale and the number of cars being parked. I dropped my wife and our chairs off and was guided to a spot deep within the vineyard. I later checked on Google Maps and found that I had to walk over 800 feet on unpaved, uneven grass and gravel to meet up with my wife. It would have been considerate to reserve some spaces in the main lot or run a shuttle for those of us with handicaps. After the fireworks, I walked back to the car by myself in the dark. When I pulled up to meet my wife, I was told to move up even though there was no one behind me. Jesse came over and knocked on the passenger side window, repeating that they were only required to have two handicapped spaces, and told us not to come back if we didn't like it. Further, at the gate, the guy directing traffic tried to force us to make a right turn. I told him that I have no idea how to get home from that direction! He finally relented and let us make a left warning to not run anyone over! This rude and ignorant behavior is unacceptable. As a result, I have canceled our bottle club membership and will not be returning to Youngblood Winery. We will miss Timber. I hope you take this feedback seriously and make necessary improvements to accommodate all...

I recently attended a wedding here and although the grounds were beautiful the venue needs some improvements. The ceremony took place in the back of the property surrounded by the vineyard. No complaints here as it was a beautiful fall day and the set up was nice.

The "barn" venue is where I noticed some missing details. When we got to the cocktail hour the bar staff was wonderful and pouring out drinks. I didn't love the wine but I'm no sommelier so make your own judgement on that. The mixed drinks were delicious and prepared in advance which made for quick service.

Then it came time to sit down. There was definitely a fruit fly problem. I ended up tossing several drinks and covering my cup with one of the table decorations to keep them out of my drink, this was a common complaint amongst the guests but as the night cooled down the flies dissipated. I think a couple fruit fly traps couldn't hurt and I am sure the owners could easily remedy this issue.

The bathrooms were difficult t access once everyone was sitting down at tables. I think if you have a smaller wedding this wouldn't be a problem but the path could have been more clear.

My real gripe was with the young staff of men they had running cups to and from the bar, carrying things for set up, and doing general labor. They lacked common sense and manners. During the cocktail hour one spit on the ground in full view of guests in an area people were walking. Both young men cut off multiple guests walking in and out of the venue with no excuse me's. And finally they ended up taking home plates of leftovers, which I have no issue with I think all working staff deserve to be fed. However piling food onto multiple plates in the middle of the reception was odd, it should have been taken back to the kitchen for staff to divide amongst themselves. I definitely think some training could be done to make the young men aware that their behavior is appropriate for day to day work but not for a wedding.

With a couple tweaks and some training I think this venue has a lot of potential. I hope the owners can take this feedback as constructive criticism and make these changes for the future. They have a beautiful property and deserve lot of credit for what...

This was my second visit to this vineyard. As someone that not only worked at a vineyard in Maryland, and was a cellar club member of several wineries in Northern Virginia, I appreciate supporting local agriculture and local businesses. The second visit, I invited my elderly parents who drove over an hour to meet my significant other and I to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday. I decided to become a wine club member this day and we ordered a pizza (that was under cooked and watery), a charcuterie board and chips and salsa, as well as wine for the table and wine to take home. I purchased a custom cake from a local bakery for my mom (and brought a few small plates and utensils as to not have to ask for such items). We were told by the server that outside food was not allowed but she’d ask the owner. The owner’s son then came out while we were eating the food we ordered (from the venue) to tell us we could not have the cake. We were polite and said ‘okay’. Then about 15 minutes later, the owner, Jesse, came to our table to repeat the same sentiment again! Not only did we feel ostracized and humiliated, we never once made a rebuttable to this rule. My mom’s 70th birthday will be remembered this way. My parents took the cake home to eat it by themselves. Most wineries in NoVa allow you to bring food but cannot be eaten/served in the tasting room. At a minimum, we would have gladly moved outside. This establishment doesn’t offer custom cakes and offers two desserts that are as noted on the menu, “When available.” Don’t go to this place if you are going to celebrate anything where a cake or cupcakes might be served and if you want a pizza that’s not done. I would encourage the owner to rethink this policy and how you treat customers that support your business and are respectful even when ostracized in such a way.

Note: this is how a veteran owned establishment treats other vets. My dad is a 100% disabled...