Swallow Wines — Attraction in Round Rock

If you want to feel like you walked into a private party that you weren't invited to this is the place.

Our daughter and son-in-law had taken us here before and introduced us to the owner Matt. We liked the place so when we were in Round Rock, we thought we’d stop in for a glass of wine. We walked in through the back door, and Matt and another gentleman behind the bar didn't even acknowledge us—no hello, nothing. OK, not a great start, but he was socializing with the five people at the bar, so we found a couple of seats next to the bar and settled in. My wife got up and wandered around and found a wine menu and returned to our seats. Thought that might have prompted a "we'll be with you in a minute".....nope. Matt kept laughing and chatting with the folks at the bar while polishing wine glasses. Neither he nor the man next to him even looked our way. Five to ten minutes passed, and the little house party at the bar continued without any acknowledgments. It became clear by then that Matt and the other man were too caught up with the "in-crowd" at the bar, and nothing was going to change.

We walked out the way we came in, hoping to catch Matt's eye, but he could have cared less. Maybe we should have flashed our American Express black card at him when...

Not the best time to go, I suppose. Cute little personal place with a nice outdoor seating area, but I'd say about 60% of the menu options were not available because they did not have a specific wine in stock. We had specifically gone to try one of the flights but due to not having some of the wines that go with the flight, we couldn't order it nor were we allowed to sub a different wine that they did have in stock, despite the same pricing. Unfortunately the service wasn't much better.. not personable in any sense of the word & hard to chat with. I was also served rancid rose wine.. I was just testing it out to see if I'd like to order it, and after taking a tiny sip as well as a very noticeable pungent smell, I immediately handing it back to him saying it's no longer good anymore. He responded with disbelief, trying to reassure me that the (already opened bottle) top wouldn't have fizzled if it were bad. I told him to just simply smell it and that was all. He did, gave a tiny sip and immediately proceeded to take it to the sink area for disposing.

Needless to say, I will not be...

I had to wait a few days because I really wanted to like this place. We are not usually in downtown RR so we were excited to try a wine spot. Especially an inclusive place. The decor was welcoming. Wine glasses crystal clear. Prices exactly as expected. I like that they work with LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈 wine makers, as an interracial couple, it’s something my wife and I can get behind. Unfortunately we will not be returning. Gabe behind the bar was not friendly at all. the focus was on what seemed like regulars at the bar. I even tried to make some small talk and Gabe didn’t seem interested at all. I asked about their event listing hoping to get a little detail but nothing. He did mention it was open to their wine club first then the general public, but didn’t even say one word about how to join their wine club. The other person behind the bar didn’t acknowledge us and that’s ok. I still bought a t shirt because I wanted to support their business. Hope yall have a better experience than we did. it would have been 5 stars ⭐️ but I took 2 off for the 2 people...