Beaulieu Vineyard — Restaurant in Napa Valley AVA

We went to BV as the last tasting of a 4 day trip to Napa and the last of the 12 wineries we visited. Unfortunately it ended up being the least inspired of our experiences. We had requested the patio outside tasting, not realizing it just was small and mostly a parking lot view. But when we got there we were summarily told we were moved inside “in case it rained”. It didn’t rain the whole time we were there. However, our tasting took place at the bar with another group of people across the bar as part of their own tasting. We found that we had to compete for attention and felt we were only moved inside so that they could do both tastings at the same time without having to go outside for us. And the area is basically in the gift shop so feels very commercial. We asked at the end of the tasting when we had 15 minutes left (and wanted to sit and savor a good wine)about purchasing a glass of wine and were told it was not allowed, which would not have bothered me except the other group asked about additional wines and were brought additional samples. Why not offer us another sample of something if we couldn’t have a full glass? And when my daughter was given one wine because she preferred a certain flavor profile, my other daughter asked to try it too and was told “take a sip of your sister’s” which was rather rude considering we were paying $55 a tasting and ended up with barely a full total glass of wine with the 4 wines. And when my daughter said she preferred whites, she was told “well you sure chugged the red down” which made her feel very judged. It was just uncomfortable and felt more like a money grab to get us to be members than a relaxed tasting to enjoy some delicious wines. We had so many other wonderful, warm tastings during our visit to Napa that this was a disappointment as a ...

I feel compelled to rate it because of a bad experience. The wine is fine. The experience is not. We showed up with five people and were ushered into a side room where we were left with no attention for a solid 10 minutes. Fine. A guy came in and poured the first wine, which was okay, but not great. He gave no description of the wine, no back story, and no history. We were left for another 10 minutes with nothing. He came back and poured the second wine. The second wine (St. Helena cab) was delicious. And then disappeared for another 10-15 minutes. No contact whatsoever. After being there for 30+ minutes and two wines, the host came in and called me over to explain that they felt “uncomfortable” continuing to serve two of the five people in our group and said we needed to either leave or accept the refund. I have no issue with their subjective decision. It was dumb, in my opinion, but it’s their choice. My review is based on the first 30+ minutes where we sat without any attention. No discussion of the wine. No interaction. If it was based on two people (one of whom was a 62-year-old mom), fine. But they were unorganized, unfriendly, and ultimately superior. I wouldn’t go back. They can say two of our people were drunk, and that’s fine. I disagree, but that’s their choice. The bigger issue is their lack of hospitality. So if you’re looking for a place to hang out and taste wine, I’d go...

I chose to book this vineyard because I had tried a decent bottle from them before, so I made an advanced (prepaid) tasting reservation. They were the last vineyard I scheduled on a day trip to Napa, and when I called them to say I was running late, they said “oh, sorry but we can’t accommodate you” (this was approximately 10 minutes after the scheduled time). I called back later to see if they could perhaps reschedule pr offer (30-40 mins later from the original call) a bottle or something instead of the tasting. I was completely dismissed, and there was no offer for any sort of accommodation.

Additionally, they claimed that I cost them for not releasing a spot from their waiting list. If the first person I spoke to had properly update their reservation system, another parties could have been allowed to visit. I cannot believe that they did not manage their waiting list effectively.

Update: Within 24 hours of my negative review, management reached out and offered a full refund stating that it would post to my account in a few days. A month later, I have still not received the refund that they promised, and I now have to chase them further. I find it incredibly telling that the vineyard would do nothing when speaking to me on the phone, yet offers a full refund if I post a negative review publicly. It shouldn't take a public shaming for them to treat...