Simon Creek Vineyard & Winery — Attraction in Town of Jacksonport

Ugh! This winery is so not Door County representative. It seemed so promising with its hidden location on a winding country road. Do not bother. Just stop in your tracks when you come to Door Peninsula Winery. It doesn’t get any better than that!

I walked in and was greeted by a sign reading, “5 tastings for $5.” The small tasting area was filled with a trolley load from the winery tour company and I didn’t feel like waiting for a paid tasting so I decided to just grab a couple bottles. I was surprised by the limited selection, just two reds at the time I was there. Each bottle was $16. I asked the lady who was wandering around near the cash register if I could just get a free tasting of the two bottles I was about to purchase to make sure I liked them. She said I could for $1 each. Wow. I’ve never been to a winery that didn’t allow at least 1 free tasting for someone about to make a purchase. Especially at a higher price point than most of the other wines in Door County.

I decided to take the high road and just spend $32 to try the wines since they weren’t going to offer the sort of customer service I have become accustomed to and pick up the $2 charge. I haven’t tried them yet so I cannot comment on the value. I will never go back and I would not recommend this winery with so many other options in the area that provide better customer service. I have to assume they are trying to keep demand lower by having such a stringent policy. That makes sense if you want to stay small, but charging a $1 fee for a single tasting just comes across as tacky and cheap. Maybe find a better way of...

We stopped at every winery in DC and this is one to skip for sure! The wine was just ok and their prices are high for what you get. If you want California wine, stop at your local liquor store and buy much cheaper, better tasting California wine. Additionally, the Door County wine trail that is provided at just about any hotel or info spot says a tasting is $5 and includes souvenir wine glass to take. They even have this very booklet in their winery. The gentleman who was doing our tasting said they recently stopped giving the glasses, but because it’s in the booklet, he would ask the own to allow us to take our glasses. Mind you we also bought a bottle of wine. The owner said no and didn’t bother to discuss this with us, but had her employee relay the message. The owner is the one who rang me out for our 3 tastings and our bottle and she had the nerve to point to some glasses they had displayed and said, “you can buy a wine glass for $6.” Are you kidding me!? Had she had personal come over and talked to us and explained that they weren’t giving the glasses away anymore, but since it was printed gave us 1, I think that would have been a very fair compromise. Personally, I think it is dumb not to give these glasses away with a paid tasting because it’s free advertising for your winery and they are obviously being printed with your name in bulk for a cheap per piece price. Regardless of the whole glass debacle, don’t waste your time stopping here, way better...

I came here on the Door County wine trolley tour this past weekend. I was celebrating my bachelorette party with a group of girls (8 of us). We were not an obnoxious group. We were excited to try the wines - each of us taking a turn at the bar to get our samples, since it was already very busy there on a Saturday afternoon. A couple of girls in my group asked to combine or 3 samples at a time to get a decent sized pour (so that they wouldn't have to wait in line). The bartender happily did that for them. I got up to the bar (clearly dressed in white with a hat that said "bride" on it). I asked if he would do the same for me - he gave me one sample pour. I said to him "Could I get the rest of my samples in my glass?" He shook his head and walked away. I drank my wine, and then asked for my next sample and he ignored me. I was angry. I paid decent money for the entire trolley package AND I was the bachelorette. I'm not sure if he has something against marriage or what - but he treated everyone in my group very kind EXCEPT FOR ME. I expected much more from a winery like Simon Creek. While the place was beautiful, with the vineyards and live music, I don't think I would return or recommend to my friends or family due to how rude I was treated - especially on a day where we were...