To understand my 5 star rating for Valencia Wine Company, you have to understand a little bit about what they are and what they are not.
We are kind of wine starved up here in the SCV and there is a reason that VWC has been here for 10 years. Â I am in here at least once a month for an evening with wine and friends.
First, let's clear something up. Â The intent of this business is to provide people a place to purchase wine and sit and enjoy that wine. Â That is, the price on the bottles includes table service, glassware and all that would go with it in any restaurant. Â As such, you will pay more for wine here than if you went to a big wine dealer in Los Angeles. Â However, the prices are less than what you would pay at a restaurant. Â
This doesn't mean that you shouldn't buy a bottle to take home. Â VWC has a great selection. Â Their best selling point is that all of the wines are chosen by Guy, the owner. Â We have never had a bad bottle from VWC. Â All the wines have been great. Â If you are buying a bottle to take home, ask because they have at times had specials on bottles not consumed on their premises.
Staff here is top notch too. Â They are knowledgeable about the wine and always attentive. Â We have eaten food here as well. Â They make great cheese and meat plates and also some new items including sliders. Â There is a lot of care put into the food. Â They have been able to do special requests.
Topping this all off, they have live music and other special events here. Â Really, it's a great place to hang out with friends and enjoy a bottle of wine.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere, they had a great band playing on Sunday afternoon. The only detail that turned me off, was that our waitress (really nice and helpfull), was dressed in pajamas and I'm not overeacting! She wore sweatpants, flip flops and a cut up shirt. I understand comfort, but if you're representing an establishment, have a little self pride in your appearance.
Review Source:I did a review, check it out!
I enjoy going here, no question.
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If I could give a zero star rating, that's what this place deserves.
I came in looking for a bottle of Opus One wine to give a relative who is a wine connoisseur. They didn't have any more Opus but the owner recommended a bottle of 2009 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon and assured me if someone liked the Opus they'd love this wine. Fine, I'll take it.
There aren't any prices listed on many of their wines but since he said it's comparable to Opus I wasn't all that shocked when he said it would be $196 for the bottle. They were as nice as could be, especially since I now I totally got RIPPED OFF.
I've now found that I could buy this wine at several stores in Los Angeles for $90-$99 and can get it online for $78.
This place is a TOTAL RIP OFF. Go anywhere but here if you want wine at a reasonable price. Judging from other reviews, apparently this isn't unusual.
This place should be run out of town.
I love this place !!!!! This is the best place in the Santa Clarita valley to relax and enjoy yourself with having the expertise of wine experts with knowledge of both foreign and domestic wines. Mike and Guy are the go-to people to get a great recommendation for either a casual dinner or a formal extravaganza. Â Beautiful, relaxing atmosphere located on Valencia Town Center Drive.
Review Source:Came here to meet some friends and listen to some live music. Â I wasn't here for long, but long enough to see their wine list. Â It seems like they didn't have much of a selection. Â The girl who was working was really nice, and the wine I ordered was nice as well, it just didn't seem like they had much to offer.
The place itself has a great vibe, but it's kind of small. Â It does have an intimate appeal though. Â I don't think I would go back , but I did have a decent time there.
Stopped by last night and won't be going back. We ordered a glass of wine at the bar and preceded to get a glass that was a water goblet, warm and dripping with water! I mentioned it to the server and he just commented that the glass was just washed....so what! Dry it off and don't use a warm glass! I saw them cleaning wine glasses and hanging them up and wondered why we were't good enough to get a dry, cool wine glass? We should've just walked out and said, " no thanks!".
Review Source:May be a great place to chill but do NOT buy bottles from these people unless you know exactly what you're looking for.
Went in looking for a particular blend.  Got the whole "This is my favorite, blah blah blah from the sales lady." Long story short bought a 33$ bottle based on her recommendatiion  - found out later it retailed everywhere else for under $10.  Tasted like crap too.
While the selection is okay, the service is terrible. I think I've been there at least half a dozen times and every time I go, I wonder why I came back. The staff is slow and the owner is a snob. I'm all about the vibe and the atmosphere. If I go out with my friends for drinks, I want to feel comfortable where I'm at. Word to the wise, go to wine 661.
Review Source:I stopped in today for a flight and was pleased with the selection and the staff. Alexa helped me select a flight of a few whites and a red or two. She was very gracious and took the time to ask questions about the kinds of wines I preferred. Although she was helping other customers as well, she kept circiling back to me to find a wine(s) that I would really enjoy. She wasn't shy with the samples (I had already decided to pay for a flight - but she poured a few extra to help me find a red that i really liked) and she took the time to explain the origins of the wine and the traits.
I was really pleased with the bottles I purchased and the overall experience was very fun and informative. I'll definitely stop by more often. Many of the wines are under $30. So they are not necissarily cheap, but the quality is good and the prices are middle of the road for good, solid wines.
Easily the best wine bar in Valencia. The selection is outstanding and the staff are extremely knowledgeable. On most Friday and Saturday nights they have live music and often hold wine tastings on Saturday afternoons. The owner, Guy, is great about putting on wine dinners throughout the year as well.
Review Source:The place is bright and ambiance says little more than "this is a place to sit and drink wine." If you want a place to sit and drink wine, served by young people who don't seem passionate or knowledgeable about wine this is a good choice.
If they're at all busy the service is non-existent. After you're greeted and your initial order is taken you'll need to hunt down wait staff if you need anything. We were at a table of 6 and 2 of us asked for water and the guy working that night didn't bother to ask if anyone else wanted water. And this was the kind of special treatment that came with our total tab for the table being $225.
Their saving grace is a few outside tables facing the street along the mall shops where you can sit and people watch and that they have live bands on the weekends. The bands unfortunately are the same 2 or 3 that play everywhere else in the valley so if you go often, plan to hear the same stale songs over and over.
Sadly there's no dance floor although we did manage to move a table out of the way to make enough room for 4 people to dance in front of the band.
I give it 2 stars. The only reason we ever go back is location and convenience if we have dinner at a nearby restaurant.
I went in to buy a special bottle of Bordeaux for a friends birthday. Â I have always been a California Cab and Pinot guy and needed help finding that special gift. Â Guy, the owner, helped me find a 80 dollar bottle which I gave as a gift thinking I had really bought something special. Â I looked it up on the Internet a day or two later and found it everywhere for 19 dollars. Â When I called Guy and asked if I could return the bottle or get a partial credit for another bottle he said absolutely not! Â He was not interested in any kind of customer service. Â I told him I was willing to be very flexible and a life customer- he could careless. Â I will never set foot back in that place and I am now a loyal Lee's customer. Â I am however going to try Roman Holiday tomorrow
Review Source:If I want rude people and over priced bottles I go, well I'd go here. I get that I am younger but don't just assume that I don't know anything about wine. I get that you are in Valencia and have some made up standard you feel you need to achieve but get over it and stop being such pricks. Thanks. I would much rather buy wine online and risk it sitting in the sun and being dropped during delivery than go to Valencia Wine Company.
Review Source:I had heard about Valencia Wine Company word of mouth while dining at The Oaks at TPC, as well as from several other employees at my client's firm.
After a horrible experience at a nearby Valencia restaurant, I stopped into Valencia Wine Company for a small bite to eat.
The build out is very nice. Simple and classy. I sat on a comfy couch that felt more like a living room than a restaurant. Â They have indoor and outdoor seating.
There were about 8 other customers during my stay.
They play great music from Jack Johnson, Coldplay, etc in the background.
I had a delicious Italian Panini for dinner that was $16.46 with tax. It tasted delicious, and was made with the finest ingredients. It hit the spot.
The best part of Valencia Wine Company, however, is a terrific employee by the name of Julie. She was very good at helping me decide which meal to try. She was cordial and polite with all her customers, refilled my drink often, and in my opinion, epitomizes customer service.
The price was a bit steep for a sandwich, so one star off. Otherwise, a terrific dining experience. Â I will probably visit again.
Note to potential patrons: Read these reviews on Yelp carefully. You'll see that several are from people with zero friends, zero pictures, and write only negative reviews. Â Plus, some are from years ago, when this place was under different management and had less experienced staff. Â Cheers!
Double Blind Tasting for Dummies
The handout said, "See if you can tell the difference between a $10 and an $80 bottle. Placed in paper bags, with no information given at the time of tasting them, the wines' identities will be disclosed gradually. For the experienced and novice tasters alike this class is really fun."
The wines chosen were to all be typical (not) and representative (double knot- around my neck!). Â For example a Red would not be mistaken for a White. Â I got it. Â Maybe it wouldn't be so hard.
Starting with a very clear, light gold colored White that had tastes of apple and no oak I was wrong in calling out a Sauvignon Blanc. Â It was a Pinot Grigio. Â The second white, even lighter and more neutral to the nose than the first, with a sweeter, more crisp finish, had to be a Chardonnay as that was a normal follow up. Â Wrong again, it was an inexpensive imported Chablis. Â
You see how this will end don't you?
Moving on to yet another White I had already given up. Â I still made notes on the handy sheet provided, but my pen now wavered a bit. Â This had definite sugar, mango fruit, and fragrance. Â We were told that it was raised in a warmer climate. Â But I had already guessed a German Gewurztraminer or Johannesburg Riesling still thinking there was some order to this calamity! Â It was a Viognier from France! Â That's not a common varietal I screamed. Â
Now came the grapes I thought I knew. Â The Pinot Noir in my mind was a Gamay Beaujolais! Â What I thought was a Syrah was really my favorite French wine, Chateauneuf -du-Pape. Â (Chapoutier La Bernadine 2004 that I later purchased.)
And finally a "Nobel Grape" I thought I could finally guess as a Cabernet was correct! Â Chateau Christina Russell Vineyard Carmel Valley 2003 would join my earlier selections--in a crate now.
And the last, one he said you could "drink alone" which for Wine 101 meant on your front porch with only SCV squirrels for company was a stand up domestic Zinfandel that didn't require FOOD to consume it with. Â In the second crate I now had to have Francis Ford Coppola Director's Cut (Which I had previously refused to taste based on that film-not-wine maker's name on the label.) Dry Creek 2005. Â A good reason to try something blind!
Three hundred dollars later, watching the winner, my freaking husband, walk off with a free bottle of vino: Â Unfair!
I've been to this store many-a-time...and they have a reasonably good selection of wines. They're pricey, often list or more and I can't say as I've ever discovered a well-priced bargain (diamond-in-the-ruff so to speak).
While Lee's is busier for the most part, I'd say on any average day you're more likely to get personal service by Lee and his knowledge of wine (and value) is superb, so once I started going to Lee's I haven't gone back to Valencia Wine Co...nice store, not nice enough (and the paid help isn't always that knowledgable).
I like this place, but even more, I think I like the 'idea' of this place. Â It doesn't feel as 'crammed' in as Lee's Wine Bar, and has a better selection than 661. Â
While their selection isn't impecable, it's better than the local supermarket and anything else close by. Â They offer a pretty good selection by the glass, too, at least compared to the surrounding bars.
And it's nice to get a quality glass of wine before a movie or after a message at Glen Ivy. Â (Yes, I've done both) :-)
In terms of the service, it's been a mixed bag. Â The turnover seems to be pretty high, which would explain why they don't seem very knowledgeable -- and I've had my share of friendly and haughty bartenders.
They have a nice selection of higher priced wines but nothing much in the unique/hard to fine department. Â Wines by the glass were expensive and the person working when I went there didn't give me the 10% discount. Â Also, their selection of wines by the glass isn't impressive at all especially their cab selection. Â I'd head to any other bar before getting a glass there.
Review Source:
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