Vino Volo — Restaurant in West Sacramento

Vino Volo is a wine bar that’s located next to gate A1 in Terminal A.

The main reason for me to go to Vino Volo is to try their flights of wine - the list is usually divided between those picked by the corporate office and those picked by the store manager. The ones chosen by the manager are usually more interesting as they tend to highlight local wines. They serve some broadly distributed wines (e.g. Laurent-Perrier champagne, Markham merlot, etc), but they usually have some small production gems on the list as well - right now, they are offering a riesling from Brooks Winery from Oregon that is pretty hard to find (1000 cases produced).

What I like about Vino Volo is that if you want to chat with people, you can do so at the bar. If not, there are plenty of tables and also a sofa where you can sit quietly and drink a glass of wine. Overall, it’s pretty laid back, so it’s a fun place to try different wines while you are waiting for your flight.

As for the food, I’ve found that it’s better to keep to the simpler dishes. I usually get the Butcher’s Board (charcuterie plate) which always goes well with wine, but is way too much for one person. Somehow, I always seem to manage to finish it though… Salads aren’t bad either.

They sell wines by the bottle as well. If you are with a group and trying to save some money, you can buy a bottle and drink it in the terminal - this apparently started during Covid and is still ok to do. It’s a lot more cost-effective but you will all be drinking the same wine and out of plastic cups though…

Lastly, I would recommend that you download their app and become a “member” - you get some perks including the option to get a taste of special wine (McCrostie Sonoma Coast Chard this time) for $2. As you accrue points, you get more benefits that you can use at any Vino Volo around the country. Just don’t forget to scan the barcode on the receipt to register your points.

The only downside to Vino Volo is that it is sometimes understaffed. I’ve been there when there is only one employee…which means, they have to pour the wine, wait/bus tables, make the food in the back, etc. As you can imagine, service can be a bit slow during those times - take that into account if you don’t have much time before your flight (e.g. cash out right away, order simple...

I stopped at Vino Volo in the Sacramento airport to pass some time before a cross-country flight. Things started out great: a friendly server brought me a wine flight and food, and I was happily sipping and eating away.

Enter the fun police. A grumpy server showed up, looked at my half-full glass, and asked if I wanted another drink or the bill. I said I was in no rush and would probably have another glass later. Apparently, that was the wrong answer, because a few minutes later he slapped my bill down anyway, despite the place being emptier than a bottle of rosé at a bachelorette party.

When he came back and asked again if I wanted to close out, I asked if they were closing or if it was a shift change. Nope. So why the rush? He just yanked the bill off my table and stomped away like a toddler who’d been told “no.”

At that point, I half-expected my next glass of wine to come garnished with resentment… or worse. The original (actually pleasant) server came back to check on me, and I told her it seemed like my cue to leave. I tipped her in cash and made my exit.

Sad part is, I actually liked Vino Volo, and my wife and I used to stop here often. But thanks to this grumpy gatekeeper of grapes, I won’t be back. Life’s too short, and so is airport layover time, to deal with a sommelier...

They lost my debit card. And then they laughed about it.

I don’t know that I need to get into the terrible service- if you’re not right in front of the bar, you won’t get served unless you stand up at your table and wave for 10 minutes.

But they lost my bank card. They used an old ratty check book with the card holder mostly ripped out, and dropped my bank card, when she got to my table she giggled and said “oh let me see if your card is still there, it felt like it fell out.” She then asked every patron across the entire restaurant if they had seen it. Oh and they still charged me, with the bank card they swiped...