Door 44 Winery — Attraction in Town of Sevastopol

As a former resident of Sturgeon Bay, now De Pere, I'm saddened to see the slow regression of Door 44. Visited on July 4 with my spouse and two boys around 2 PM. There were a handful of cars in the parking lot and b/c of the holiday assumed they were closed...they were not. It was not busy. We ordered 2 flights and got the boys some root beers, pretzels and beer cheese dip. The white wine's were luke warm to include the sparking wine Sparklr. The reds were okay but tasted slightly aged, as if the bottle had been open a while. The outdoor tables were all pretty wobbly and we spilled some of our flight. After picking 3 tables, we settled upon the least wobbly.

Beware! On checkout we were not allowed to use our gift certificates. Through @DestinationDoorCounty, we purchased small business gift certificates to use throughout the peninsula to local small biz. The rules/fine print of the program stated that if your gift certificate exceeded the value of your purchase, you were to receive cash in return. Our total was $28 and we had a $50 gift certificate. They refused to give us cashback and would not allow us to use them. They intentionally breached the contract of their Destination Door County agreement by failing to provide cash change. Since my spouse just lost her job, this was supposed to be a nice treat for us. Unfortunately, it was not and the way the staff handled it left my spouse very distraught and near tears. How disgusting of that individual and organization. Fortunately, I had a credit card with me and we paid out of pocket when the total trip should have been free with $22 in cash. How embarrassing to us, they belittled the situation and my spouse. On a side note, we later visited Stone Harbor and The Salty Seagull and used our certificate and did receive cash back both times.

Door 44, you have an issue and your breach of trust to both customer and Destination Door County has been shared with an acquaintance in DDC. Best of luck on your future endeavors, and they will not include me, my mother, my mother in law, my father in law and my brother who were back at home in Sturgeon Bay to hear this story too and like to stop every now and then.

EDITED: From 2 stars to 1 star due to the false owner response. Sorry. Not sorry. Dishonesty is intolerable.

Our total was $28 and that included the free flight they gave us. Claudia publicly embarrassed my spouse, I left that out yup. Shame on you Door 44. My kids were upset as she left in tears. Good job trying to save face with your less than accurate response. Everything I wrote was factual and happened. Sorry you felt the need to respond here with an exaggerated response. We look forward to exploring other wineries and adventures in DC, they simply will not...

I want to sing the praises of Door 44 Winery and, in particular, Claudia, who works there. We started visiting this winery prior to our move to Door County. During our first visit, we first met Claudia, who did everything to make us feel welcome and comfortable. She was extremely knowledgeable about the wines and provided us with a beautiful tasting experience. We enjoyed the casual vibe and lack of snobbery that one can sometimes find in other wineries (although we have found almost all Wisconsin wineries to be friendly and free of snobbery). We loved this winery so much that we made frequent return trips to enjoy live music, sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine, or have a lovely conversation with Claudia. Claudia has gone out of her way to make us feel welcome to the winery, welcome to the area, and to introduce us to other regulars. She has such a fun, lovely personality and really adds a special warmth to the winery. Claudia is particularly great with children. She loves children and it shows. I have seen her fill little tasting glasses with soda pop to give to the kids to make them feel welcome and included. I have seen her dance with kids to the live music. I have seen her help children collect rocks during less busy times of the day. She and her husband John (who works there one day per week) are truly instrumental in making this place run beautifully. I have to comment that every person I've encountered in Door 44 Winery has been friendly and very kind. However, I want to send some special love to Claudia because she adds that special spark to the winery to make it...

We were the couple behind Nicholas and his family and had a much different view of the situation that unfolded with their gift certificates. Claudia went above and beyond to explain their policy on the matter and even comped them some of their bill. She was courteous and apologized for the situation. She was visibly upset that she couldn’t help them more. I’m sorry this happened to them all. We also enjoyed some wine that afternoon and it was the right temperature and delicious.

We have nothing but glowing reviews for any visit we have made to Door 44 and have been loyal followers since they opened. The place is clean, well staffed and organized. They continue to offer new and enjoyable experiences. We have done GS cookie parings, wine and cheese parings with Maria and listened to countless musical groups all while sipping a glass of their premium selections. As a matter of fact we were just there again this afternoon listening to a fabulous duo and savoring a glass of Le Crescent & F2. The place was PACKED with people doing the same. I heard laughter and saw broad smiles on faces all around me.

We tell all our friends and family to visit the winery when they visit the Door and serve Door 44 wines when entertaining. We wish Steve and Maria continued success with all...