Magnus Ridge Winery — Attraction in Town of Starkey

EDIT: In response to the winery's reply: I specifically said my experience had absolutely nothing to do with the power and arose AFTER the chaos had calmed. Everyone had been checked out and it was down to just two or three groups with tastings. It was 100% the rude bartender. She was entirely disinterested in our single tasting and quite literally disappeared without a word. As stated below, one simple sentence would have made all of the difference. I bartender at a winery. I don't walk away from my customers.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Yikes, the service here leaves much to be desired. I will say, shortly after walking in, the power had gone out and I completely understand that causes hiccups for the employees, however our bartender said she was so use to the outages that after three years there they no longer effected her. The issues I experienced arose after the delay from the outage.

Our bartender seemed to have little interest in a single tasting. She poured our first sample, walked away to help others (again - I can understand this as there were only 2-3 bartenders) and poured five glasses for another order and checked out multiple people before returning to us. It did not take us long to finish the sample and we were left watching her do other things until she returned to us. It was the same between every pour. She seemed far more interested in bigger orders.

After four tastings, our bartender had disappeared and never returned. There was zero communication; a simple "I have to take care of this, I'll be back in a minute" would have gone a long way. No other bartender stepped in to see if we needed help. We left without finishing what we paid for and drove a few minutes up the road to Shtayburne Creamery which more than made up for the terrible experience at Magnus Ridge. I will NOT be returning and will definitely not recommend this winery with so many other options...

We pulled into this impressive-looking winery on Friday 7/29 hoping for a great tasting and were sadly disappointed. Inside, the space has a nice shopping area, with lots of local spices, cheeses, and condiments, gimmicky t-shirts, aprons, coasters and kitchen towels, as well as lots of wine accessories and the like. Great for picking up trinkets and gifts to take home! However, the wine itself was quite disappointing. We're requested a couple of glasses of their dry whites to taste. The young woman serving us, while perfectly pleasant, was not yet 21 and therefore had neither tasted the wines, nor could describe them to us which was surprising (there was an older woman working on restocking the retail area while we were there... it would have made more sense to have her doing the tastings and the younger woman doing the restocking and tidying so that guests could learn about the wines from someone old enough to drink it). It didn't particularly matter as the wines were basically undrinkable (just bland, tasteless, and lacking any character), but it would have helped to at least hear about the wines and how they were made. The winery seems to want to be something for everyone and also has a bar where they do whiskey/bourbon tastings, bloody Mary's, and other mixed drinks. Perhaps the focus has strayed from making wine and into being more of a tourist trap and the wine has suffered as a result. Again, staff were perfectly nice, the space itself is impressive, but the wines were...

We always enjoyed stopping in to shop and enjoy having wine, slushie’s, or any thing they had new to try. The last 3 times we have been the lady at the counter was very rude to us all 3 time's. Not even a friendly smile or any type of direction for others we have taken with us as first timers. My husband was buying something for $4 and some change and she rudely said cash only to him twice because he didn’t understand why she wouldn’t take his card. I figured it was maybe because it was less than $5 but he’s not in retail so she could’ve been nicer about it instead of barking cash only in his face for a second time. It’s a shame because it is a beautiful place on the inside but has not been kept up with in the back for the past two years. It’s all grown in and not well kept like it used to be around the pond. Will not be going back, that’s no way to treat paying customers. If you don’t like people consider working behind the scenes maybe, not the first person you encounter. I don’t like giving bad reviews but after how many times of poor customer service I had to speak up.

I do appreciate natures beauty, I actually live in the woods where the animals come right to us, but we still cut the grass when it gets high. You used to be able to walk up to the arch to take pictures as it is a beautiful background. As far as you speaking to me when I’m there that is untrue. I’m sorry if you are frazzled while working I hope you can find some time to relax. Cheers to...