Went there with my date tonight for a pre-dinner glass of wine. Â Bartender didn't greet us, didn't smile and acted like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Â We ordered a flight of 3 wines and he brought us the first one - I guess he thought he was working in a tasting room and was going to pour them sequentially instead of all at the same time. Â Frankly the quality of the wines was not great. Â A few minutes later we observed the bartender polish off a half glass of wine in front of us - nice touch to his hospitality.
The atmosphere here is disconnected. Let's be clear - they advertise as a wine bar - but the setting is sterile and the two big screen TVs playing sports makes me wonder if I came into a sports bar. Â Nothing friendly or welcoming about it.
Won't be returning.
Nice wine bar, cool staff. Â Cheese plate is a little pricey; soda crackers, a few pieces of cheese, salami and some nuts for $12. Â Wine selection was great. Â Be sure to order a bottle as individual glasses are super-pricey. Â
One thing that might create a better atmosphere here..... Â When I'm in most wine bars, the ambiance is generally mellow, a bit of music in the background. Â We had been here for about 5 minutes and the staff cranked some stupid hockey game directly behind our table. Â There were a couple of loud-mouthed hockey fans screaming and yelling every other minute. Â I asked one of these morons to please turn down the volume and was met with a glare. Â Wine bars are generally pretty classy but this just completely detracted from it. Â We moved tables and endured this B.S. for a while....but couldn't take it anymore and left. Â I noticed a few other patrons talking about the volume of the TV etc and they too left early. Â Wine bar or sparts bar....decide.
Ok, so we wanted to stay out a little later in Solvang, but had already tried the brewery and we wanted some wine. It is a very cute place, nice decor and they had music to boot...things started out well, we were greeted right away, and orders taken pretty quickly....I decided to do the red wine flight and instead of getting all at once, I guess they bring out the wine, one by one, ok no big deal. The hubby got their beer flight and he got all of his at once...ok. Well, there weren't that many tables or tons of people this particular night, but when I finished my first wine, I kept waiting and waiting and waiting, finally I had to get up to tell the bartender that I was ready (over it by that point) for my next wine taste....What kind of threw me off was that one table in front of us were ordering wines left and right and the waitress was very attentive to them, but not even asking my hubby and I if we needed anything, if we liked the wine and beer nothing...it was weird. My hubby totally would have ordered one of the beers and I was contemplating buying a bottle of wine from my selection, but the place rubbed us the wrong way. The staff acted like they couldn't be bothered, until we were ready to pay. I liked the Wandering Dog a lot better, if simply because they were very attentive and informed us of the wine.
Review Source:The atmosphere was nice. The staff was pleasant. I went in March during a trip.
The only downside is there was a large party that came in a few minutes after we did, but the tables were not marked for them and we were asked to move. It wasn't that big of a deal because I had been travelling all day and was in a bit of a daze.
The staff would benefit from learning a bit more about the wine for people like me. If I've never heard of the winery, it would help if you could sell me on it.
I only liked one of the 8 wines I tried. There wasn't anything to cleanse my palate in between tastings either, so that was a bit of a downer because I wasn't getting the true flavors.
I tried the less popular wines though and some of the more "interesting" ones because I felt brave. I'm glad I did because it was an experience, just disappointed that I wasn't in love with the wine. And if you are wondering, I am a wine lover, not someone who has never had a good glass of wine.
So why the four stars if I wasn't put into a state of utter bliss by the wine? The ambiance. It was wonderful. Romantic if you want it to be, and casual if you don't. Everyone, literally everyone was so friendly. Staff and the other patrons.
There is a cafe next door that is absolutely divine as well. The wine bar has a little deal with them and you can get food ordered to you in Valley Vino. That was a HUGE plus because wine is always better with food.
Once I did have food, I have to say that is when I really started enjoying my wine.
It was a perfect evening, stress free. It was fun to taste all the wines because truly it did expand my palate in the wine world. It's good to know which ones you don't like just as much as the ones you do enjoy.
I would go here again and again just for the experience.
We got to Solvang around 5pm on Saturday and by the time we got around to it most of the tasting rooms had closed. We knew of a few open ones and decided to hit them up. We were headed towards Solvang brewing company because the boyfriend wanted a beer and randomlybran across this place. Thought we would take a peek in.
The staff was super nice and welcoming. It was probably pretty close to closing time but they urged us to sit down for some wine. The place is large and very tastefully decorated. I had the 3 white wine flight and they were all really good. I ended up buying two of them.
I will definitely be stopping back here on my next trip for yummy wine and great service.
My wife and I had a great time at Valley Vino. Â Solvang is a very pet friendly town and Valley Vino was no different. Â My wife and I had our two large Bull Mastiff puppies and they did not hesitate to open the doors to them as well. Â The owner even served our dogs a drink, a large bowl of water. Â
This wine bar had a great selection to enjoy by the bottle or glass in a warm comfortable environment. Â Additionally, my wife was able to purchase bottles to go of those she had ordered by the glass.
After a long day of wine tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley, I was reluctant to go to a wine bar to wind down the evening. Â My mantra was simply "I want a beer." Â Valley Vino had a good selection of great beers on tap, I was saved.
We will definitely visit Valley Vino every time we are in Solvang.
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