Croteaux Vineyards — Local services in Town of Southold

Not a joyful experience but great rose!

I am giving this review three stars because although the wine was wonderful, it seemed very clear from the beginning that they wanted us to drink and leave. Wine tasting should be a joyful experience in a beautiful setting, shared with friends. The setting was lovely, and the wine was good, but the experience was less than ideal.

In their defense, it was a very rainy day. On a weekend. And they were full. When we arrived, the host said the only place left to sit was in the main reception barn-like area (this is the area with clothing for sale etc). They had lots of little tables there and it was perfect for us actually, So we said that absolutely we would love to sit there, but the host seemed disappointed that we chose to stay. We ordered our flights and we were enjoying ourselves and it started really pouring down rain. Wrath of God rain. So, as always, when that happens with any venue where folks are sitting outside, they had to relocate outside tables; there was a lot of commotion, a lot of shuffling, and this was to be expected. The person who was serving us came in dripping wet. We were commenting on how nice her jacket was, because it was a perfect rain jacket for the venue. She seemed a bit aggravated, and I’m sure she was a little flustered trying to find seats for everyone who was sitting outside. She asked if we were done, and we told her that we were still sampling our flights and talking. She sighed and left, so we changed our mind and we did not linger. Often we would linger, but we drank fairly quickly because we felt unwelcome and rushed. As we were sitting there, at least four other couples were waiting for our table. They were sort of hovering around, there was nowhere really else to wait, because of the rain. So it was odd. Imagine sitting in a restaurant and somebody standing right behind, with their arms and legs brushing you while you finish up.

We love their wines, and as we were finishing up, we decided to purchase some bottles, and we asked about purchasing them (because sometimes they will bring them to you or you add to your bill at the table) and the same host was pretty dismissive, and said "yes, you just order them someplace else, are you done?" And it became clear that we were really being rushed out. I was also looking to buy a dress that was there and wanted to try it on, but again, it was hard to even turn around at the place, much less try on a dress. It’s a shame, because the vineyard is gorgeous and I know that it’s tricky for them when it rains because they don’t have a lot of space, but they were really quite grumpy.

So the wine is five stars, and the setting and bathroom are 5 stars (hint: one of the stalls has a French video playing). However, the service is only three. I really love the bathroom and the setting, and the wine itself, but we were really made to feel unwelcome. It’s not like we were being loud or picking our noses or anything. We are a respectable group of 50-something-year-olds, and I lived in San Francisco for many years and pretty much spent all of my weekends in the wine country. This is certainly not our first winery experience. We know how to behave ourselves. And we weren’t lingering by any means. The couple next to us was still sitting at their table and they were there when we arrived and there when we left. The server/host did not ask if we had any questions about the wines or which ones we were enjoying. When we ordered, she told us since we had two flights that we needed to move our stuff off of the table to make room. That was it. Then she just dropped everything and ran off. We will give them a second chance when we visit next year as the vineyard is gorgeous and perhaps she was...

There are plenty of 5-star reviews already, so my review is going to be exclusively about the bathroom situation. I rate the bathrooms 10 out of 10 based on the following categories:

Logistics: 10/10 Multiple single-person individual bathrooms, definitely ideal. Toilet has the #1 and #2 flush options which is environmentally friendly. Soap and TP well stocked. I was going to take off some points because there was only a damp overused cloth towel for drying your hands, but I noticed afterwards that there were plenty of paper towels available in the common area outside of the individual bathrooms.

Cleanliness: 10/10 Flawless on the inside, absolutely spotless

Smell: 10/10 This was one of the best smelling rooms I’ve ever been in. Not just bathrooms, I mean just rooms in general. The smell hits you immediately. I’m not sure if there was a candle or if it was just from the eucalyptus but the first thing I noticed when I walked in was the great smell.

Aesthetic: 10/10 Ideal lighting, not too bright not too dark. Projector video playing on the wall is very cool. Modern toilet with a rustic sink. The entire winery is like an instagram influencers paradise, so you can imagine they put some thought into the bathroom design.

X-factor: 10/10 The projector video on the wall is awesome. Definitely not necessary but definitely enhances the bathroom experience. Above all, however, is the fact that it seemed like half of Long Island was visiting Croteaux while I was there. It was absolutely packed. And to think about the sheer volume of people using these bathrooms all day - and the fact that they are able to maintain them so well - is incredibly impressive.

Dare I say best bathrooms at the North Fork? Best in all of Long Island? It’s possible. Come here for the great Rose - stay for...

Absolutely ridiculous business, I might of had a limo van but there were only 6 people who wanted to go inside, they were all military professionals and nurses. How can you just attack a vehicle without knowing the circumstance. Which in this case was trying to make a wounded veteran feel better about his injuries and early dismissal from the marines. If you want the bad word to spread, then this is the way to go. Awful attitude. Will obviously never come here again, even If requested. 11/5/22 I thought maybe they would have calmed down after a while, but no, same nasty people just start off yelling. Why do people go here is beyond me.

So went back a couple of more times by no choice. The first time, 2024, there was this male attendant who actually was nice and had brains and thought for himself, let me park in the back, said enjoy yourself. So I did, enjoyed sitting with my group but had to hunt down service to order something, then wasn't notified when it was ready.

2nd time, today June 7th. The male attendant says, although there is no one here, you're not allowed inside, not even to turn around, you'll have to drop your customers off in the street. Obviously, that created major traffic problems and cars couldn't see around me, so again, another brainless idiot I have to deal with, and then he says, gotta move it, you're creating a traffic hazard. I mean, hello, they are old ladies moron, what part of not moving it do you not get because of their age. Total genius this guy is, then, my passengers are saying, why does he have a stick up his butt. This place and service never ceases to amaze me, I was damn lucky, one time to run into a real nice...