21 Brix Winery — Attraction in Town of Portland

Review

My mom planned my bridal shower at the new event/banquet hall at 21 Brix. I’m giving a two star rating because of the lack of communication and rude staff. When picking a location for the bridal shower my mom and I were dead set on 21 Brix. My mom called 21 Brix multiple times and the event coordinator was never available. Countless messages were left with no return call back. It took a total of 3 weeks to get the event coordinator to answer the phone to book a date for my bridal shower. Communication was also very poor throughout the planning process. I would like to note that this was not a cheap event. The total bill was over $3,000 dollars. When we would call to check in with the event coordinator, staff would answer the phone (very rudely) and state “the event coordinator is not available and will not be available the rest of the day”. This specific situation/ phone call happened when my mom called to make a $2,000.00 dollar payment towards the event. I hate to say this but NOBODY should have to beg a business to take their money!! Maybe they don’t need the business nor the money? This also happened when trying to reach the event coordinator via email. We seemed like a bother when the event coordinator stated that she “doesn’t check her email on the weekends” even though most emails were send during the work week and not even on the weekend. The bartenders at the event were also rude to not only my guests, but to me (the bride) as well. Two of my guests informed me that the one bartender wouldn’t even acknowledge their presence when they were asking for a drink! When the event started to wind down, I was able to get food for myself. I also wanted to get a glass of wine. I got myself a drink and when I wanted another the (rude) bartender stated “It’s almost 4:00pm and we will not be staying past 4:00”. At that point in time it was 3:55pm and shortly after I got my glass she called the last call for drinks. The event went over pretty well besides the staff being absolutely terrible and miserable to deal with. We are getting married in Las Vegas but if you want to plan any type of event or wedding in this new event/banquet hall- save yourself the stress and go...

Quality & Taste: 5/5 I came to 21 Brix as part of a Lake Erie Wine Trail adventure with some friends. We went to several wineries throughout the weekend and 21 Brix was our first stop. I would say the wine itself is very high quality, has top notch flavor, and feels much more expensive than it actually is.

Service & Staff: 4/5 It's a stand-and-order type place, so the service is OK I guess, I would prefer if they had a few more folks working so the wait times weren't as long (or possibly have a second cashier line?), but it's not a dealbreaker.

Ambience & Atmosphere: 5/5 The building itself is beautiful, and the outside seating area faces the vineyard with many comfortable places to sit. Dare I say, on a warm summer day the ambiance will invite you to stay and feel at home while enjoying possibly one too many glasses of wine.

Menu Variety & Options: 5/5 Huge variety of reds, whites, roses, even port and dessert wines. There is something for everyone here.

Value for Money: 5/5 My group tried multiple samplers, which were $14 each and came with 4 3oz samples, which honestly felt like a pretty good deal. We went through 4 of them during our time there and felt that we received...

Absolutely outstanding both in ambiance and in winemaking. I have seldom been so impressed with the full selection of wines on offer at a winery as I was with that at 21 Brix. Their winemaker and I must share the same palate.

Before you enter the winery, you are surrounded with both the sight and the smell of grapes. You enter to an elegant and open building featuring wood and brick interiors, plush leather lounge furniture, wooden chairs and tables, a generous wrap-around counter area, and wine-related gifts. And even for all that, the wines will steal the show the moment you taste them. I highly recommend a sampling session or two to work through their offerings. When we visited, there was a very welcoming and knowledgeable man working the counter; his knowledge of the wines and conversation were the perfect compliment to the wine itself. I ended up purchasing a bottle of their Ellatawba wine (and I can't strongly recommend that wine enough, should you have the chance to purchase or sample it).

All in all - this winery is not to be missed. The wine-lover in you or your family will thank you...