Brignole Vineyards — Local services in East Granby

If I could give this place 2.5 stars, I would. Please let me explain: PROS The outside is just plain gorgeous. They obviously put a lot of thought into the building, and its grand staircase leading you inside. At night, the lighting is plentiful and attractive in its own right. The parking lot is large. The main area of the building at the vineyard is an unbelievably beautiful open plan space, with stunning granite bar/countertops, hardwood floors, and a huge entrance to an outdoor balcony/patio. This place would make an awesome venue for any event. The staff/service is acceptable, hospitable, and try to keep up the pace even during busy times. There are both inside and outside areas where you can sit and eat food that you bring. There are several different wines to try and a couple of different tasting options that you can purchase. CONS The wine is unforgivably bad. I'm not sure how much thought went into the whole point of this business. I did not like a single one of any of their offerings. Even for Connecticut wine, lackluster would be an understatement. I believe that they know its bad, because they constantly advertise different forms of "sangria." Sangria is NOT what you taste a wine for (or why you'd go to such great lengths to grow grapes or create your own wine business). And while you might be thinking that in defense of this idea, sangria is an awesome fortified Spanish punch that is great for turning crappy wine into something yummy, the problem is that this place can't even concoct that correctly. Complete disappointment here. The secret ingredient is SUGAR. Because they do not have a liquor license and can't balance the cocktail with brandy or some such thing, their "sangria" is a diabetic-inducing swill of sweet juice, fruit, and bad wine. So I guess it's a wine spritzer at best. The staff is also young, inexperienced, and ignorant of the wine-making process at best, which is frustrating if you're trying to get information about the...

🍇🤍🛋Staff was amazing. Kind and very patient. Atmosphere was spot on. Interior and exterior design was gorgeous. Plenty of indoor/outdoor seating. Fireplace with nice leather furniture. Prices were very reasonable. Extremely laid back and I felt comfortable. Casual dress is good. Nothing too fancy (unless you would want to).

🥳🎉Down on the lawn there was a small graduation party/gathering. They had their own food and music playing in the background. So any occasion that would suit the need for wine and laid back vibe is perfect. Bachelor/Bachelorette parties, Birthdays, 21st, engagements, proposals, dates, etc.🫂💍🎊🥂

🧀🥝🍓🥑🫓Wish I would of known ahead of time that we could bring our own food. Cheese, crackers, spreads, any type of platters, etc. There is a grocery store near by (Geisler's). Some restaurants also deliver there as well.

🍾✈I would suggest to start with a "flight" (a quad sampler of wines to try that's placed in tiny crafts and served on a narrow board, hence the name...flight). If you're with more ppl try not to duplicate the wines, then you can expand your sampling. Take your time in reading over the menu together to insure that you all are getting what you want. Also if you like cold wine ask for ice. The wines that were served cold wear barely chilled. To each their own. But I enjoy my whites/blushes COLD!!🧊 *also you may KEEP the glass you choose that comes with your flight🍷

👅I would suggest to bring a water bottle to rinse your glass in-between. As well as something to clean your palette. As I mentioned above. They do have some options they sell there.

🐕Oh they are also PET FRIENDLY!!!🐾 Just make sure they're on a leash or bag. And somewhat behaved. Tag a picture of your dog for a chance to win a bottle of wine using their hashtag 📸+🐶+#️⃣=🏆🍷

🚬for the smokers, yuppers they actually do allow smoking...

I had a fabulous time here on my birthday! We arrived at around 1pm Sunday afternoon and where were still plenty of tables available on the outdoor terrace. Important note if you choose to sit on the terrace: the afternoon sun will begin to creep into the terrace, making the edges very sunny and warm. Some people changed tables and seats when the sun became too much. Thankfully, we were at a table more in the middle of the terrace, so we were fine.

I love the system they have for their wine flights. You take a paper menu which has two sides, and you choose the wines you want in your flight based on which side you choose (each side has a different price for the flight). Each flight includes 4 wines. I also did a cocktail flight and that was great also! When you arrive, there is a fridge where you can get some crackers, cheese, and fruit for purchase, and they also had a food truck. We took advantage of both, and the fruit and cheese tray was very ample for the 4 of us to share between us.

Service was fantastic, and they were very patient with me while I translated the wines into Spanish for my partner. The place was clean, well-organized and efficient. Bathrooms were very clean. We never had to wait for anything, and the terrace makes for some great photo opportunities.

Overall, I was thrilled with my time there, and am so happy I decided to visit for my birthday. We all talked about how we are going to return soon, and I would very highly recommend this vineyard for anyone who enjoys wine in a...