Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery — Attraction in Town of Gardiner

It pains me to write this review as we have been coming to Whitecliff for ages, every summer, and recently, joined the wine club. Before coming to the winery, I have extensively communicated with Tristan, and my understanding was that reservations were only required for the tastings. Our plan was to grab a few bottles and enjoy the day. We still made the reservation, and although, our group was larger than 6 people, we were allowed to have 8 people. It ended up being 9 adults, and we had offered to split into two tables, but we were not allowed to do that. We felt very unwelcomed from the start and were told that we could only have the table for an hour. I don't recall this limit communicated before, and had we known about it, we would have made different plans. We ordered a lot of wine, and planned to enjoy the afternoon, sipping it at the winery, while eating the cheese that we bought from the winery and some of the snacks that we brought from home which were not sold at the winery. As long-time patrons, we expected more courtesy. Instead, we had to give up the table, and relocate to the back of the property using our own blankets, in order to be able to spend the time at the winery. What upsets me the most is that we were told all of these restrictions are supposedly in place due to COVID-19 regulations and here is an interesting part: The premises have 3 portable toilets, and none of the toilets have hand sanitizer in them, or right outside of them. Only one toilet has soap, but no running water. When we told the two ladies working in the tasting room about it, they said they would check on it, but never did. It's not like they ran out of the sanitizer itself in the toilets-there were not even the sanitizer pumps inside or outside. How can you say that you are following COVID procedures when there is a lack of basic sanitary measures? As to the size of the parties, if I remember correctly, outdoor dining during Stage 2 permitted 10 people seated together, and the region is now in Stage 4, so not sure where the rule of 6 people at the table applies anymore. It might have been applicable 3 months ago. Look, I am not one of those people who deny the seriousness of the virus, however, I hate when the rules that are no longer applicable, continue to be used for some other purpose. You can just say that these are your rules, and as a private business owner, you can decide how you want to run your business, but please don't say that these rules exist because of COVID-19. This is just misleading. It's too bad that our experience this time was not stellar because the wine is actually great, and had our experience been better, I am sure all 9 people would have bought at least half a case. Oh, and btw, the tables were half empty, and under the tent, I saw maybe only one party. So did not seem as busy as we were told. Two of the people in our party are club members, and as such, we have the benefit of four free tastings between the two of us (used to be four per member, but they cut it down, also supposedly due to the pandemic). When we wanted to do the tastings, we were simply denied, the reason given was that the winery was already making a concession for us by allowing us to have...

I have been a Whitecliff Vineyard member for about a year, since we stumbled upon it on happenstance one day. We have visited in all seasons since then, enjoying our experience with the staff and the delicious flavors of the wines. We have watched this company grow, and have been thrilled by it. We went today for a wine tasting and to replenish our depleted stock. I was so proud of the staff at Whitecliff. They have had to make all sorts of changes and accommodations since this awful covid-19 appeared (from what we could see all of the Governor's mandates and rules were followed). They have added some outdoor seating and done away with bringing in your own food as they now serve food on premises. The choices are perfect to pair with the delicious wine flavors available. Upon arrival, you await your turn to order your flight for tasting, you order your accompanying food, and can go sit outside. The staff will then bring you what you ordered, complete with a sheet that has all of the information on the wine you are trying. BONUS: the little cups accompanying your flight are completely biodegradable. Kudos Whitecliff on being so environmentally conscious! I watched on this hot Saturday as the staff hustled to keep things clean, and serve the customers as best they could. I qas happy to enjoy the beautiful grounds of Whitecliff under an umbrella while I watched others gather in their small groups, socially distanced, and smile at one another. It was really a lovely day, a beautiful example of how even amidst a pandemic, good companies can come together and offer their best possible service. I am proud to support this...

Unfortunately, my 6 friends and I did not have a positive experience at the vineyard. Upon arrival, the server, Megan, told us it would’ve been “difficult to give us the best service possible” due to having 7 people in our party with no reservation. However, both the website (which we checked before coming) and the door state that reservations are only required for parties of 8 or more. We arrived on a Thursday afternoon with one other person at the vineyard. Megan then proceeded to pour our tastings in tiny amounts and with little consistency. We then tried to explain our confusion about her attitude and outlook on our arrival because we were not 8 people and it wasn’t a weekend. She proceeded to tell us that she wasn’t sure what we were hoping for and our last tasting was barely a sip of wine. We also agreed to all get the same tasting for her convenience as she suggested. We asked for a manager or supervisor and she said they were not on site and did not have a direct number. We told her we were hoping to end the tasting on a positive note but she said that she “had a lot to do today” and was unprepared for our visit and that we should call next time. She also mentioned, at 4:45, that the vineyard closes at 5:30 and that we should begin to find an Uber because it sometimes takes a long time, but we still has two tastings left. It was a disappointing and frustrating visit. Coming from a group of ER nurses, we were confused about her stress level regarding pouring wine for 7 people on a Thursday afternoon. I wish we had a better experience here as the rest of New Paltz has been...