Fenn Valley - Saugatuck Tasting Room — Attraction in Saugatuck

EDITED THE STAR RATING FROM 2 STARS TO 5 STARS AFTER SEEING THE OWNER'S MUCH-APPREICATED RESPONSE TO MY POST. I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND FOR YOUR EFFORT TO EDUCATE YOUR TEAM.

ORIGINAL POST: Misleading and embarrassing military veterans is the reason for the 2-star review. The venue and host were nice. The wine was good. I bought two bottles.

The 3-star reduction is because the tasting menu states there is a 10% “veteran discount”. When I checked out to purchase my bottles I informed the lady that I am a Marine Corps veteran. I served 8 years total, 5 active and 3 inactive.

The lady asked for my military ID. I told her I do not have a military ID. I was honorably discharged in 1998. It is unlawful to retain military ID after the end of active service unless disabled or retired. All I have is a DD-214 in my home safe.

The lady said they require military ID because lots of people claim to be veterans. LISTEN, a “veteran discount” which is what you advertise, is for people who left active service. Please modify your discount to read, “Active Military Discount” if you wish to exclude veterans. A veteran and active duty military are different status.

You embarrassed the heck out of me when I purchased my bottles because you made me look dishonest at the register. This happened 2 months ago. The reason I am writing this now is because I felt the embarrassment again when opening your wonderful...

A few weeks ago, we went to Saugatuck tasting room on Saturday morning. Not busy yet, lady who poured talked a lot and told us she had a favorite in every catagory. We picked out a couple we liked and decided to get them Sunday on our way out of town. SO glad we waited! We were planning a dinner for family after a wedding and needed some help with wines. We must not have sounded too sure of our choices because the lady there, Carol, started asking us questions. We told her our mission, She said "We have to talk". My wife giggled. We were "forced" to do a tasting and with her guidance we tried several wines we would not even have considered! And we bought most of them. Very intuitive lady! For about 20 minutes we talked food, seasoning, wine and recipes! We don't live locally. Thanks to Carol and Fenn Valley wines we looked like we knew what we were doing and impressed our family!...

The wine is good, and they have a good selection. The sign outside says daily tastings, but when we were debating over which wine to get, I was surprised the shopkeeper didn't more readily suggest trying a sip from the open bottles they have behind a counter in the back until we asked. Once we tasted the difference between a couple, we even decided to buy both, but it was nice to know what we were getting since that's a perk of a shop like this. We might have bought even more had there been a better description of the offerings, I think. But still, the wine itself is superb and the shop is a pleasant respite when walking through town...