Experience was a letdown. We went midweek and the outdoor area wasn't open, had to stand inside to do tasting. The wine was fine, but the service wasn't even close to what we experienced elsewhere. Servers seemed stressed, trying to fit more people on bar and didn't have a lot of time to chat
Rushell Sabo
Always a great time and experience. Chloe, our server was warm and bright like California sunshine. The kids are kept entertained with the chickens and the playground and walking around.
Stephanie O'Connell
Delightful table service by the children's park. Fun foe adults and kids!
Cecil Watson
Good wines, great staff and beautiful grounds.
Bill H
I've been a wine club member at Michael David Winery for about three years now, and it has always been my favorite and most frequently recommended winery. I regularly bring family and friends and typically purchase 4–5 cases a year. What kept us coming back was the welcoming atmosphere and the friendly, knowledgeable staff which are essential to a great wine tasting experience.
Unfortunately, my most recent visit was disappointing and is probably the worst I’ve had at any winery. It seems there has been a recent change in management, along with new policies that, in my opinion, have negatively impacted the overall experience.
My friend and I are both wine club members, and each of us is allowed to bring up to four guests. In the past, this was never an issue, we could sit together and enjoy the tasting as a group. However, under the new policy, groups larger than four are now required to split up. Alternatively, if we choose to sit together, only one membership’s free tastings are honored, and the rest of the guests are charged. On a recent visit with three couples (husbands and wives), we weren’t allowed to sit together without additional charges, even though both my friend and I are members. This made for an awkward and much less enjoyable experience.
Another disappointing change is the restriction on wine sampling. As members, we used to be able to request tastings of wines not on the standard tasting menu even if the bottle hadn’t yet been opened. The staff was always generous about letting us try something we were considering purchasing. Now, if a bottle isn't already open, we're told we can’t taste it. It’s especially frustrating when the wine host recommends bottles but doesn’t allow us to sample them first. This change feels counterintuitive and detracts from the experience we’ve always valued.
I'm sharing this feedback in the hope that management reconsiders these new policies. Michael David has always been a special place, and I’d love to see it return to the warm, flexible, and customer-focused experience it once offered.
JT
I’ve been a member for almost a year now and I have always spoken highly about MDW to my social circle. We love their wine but this review is more about our recent experience and how new management policies in effect are seriously having us reconsider our membership.
We came with 4 other friends (a total of 3 married couples). 1 of our friends is also an MDW member. In the past, each member is allowed free tastings for up to 4 people which is still the case. However, apparently there is a new policy now where the tasting room hosts would not let us accommodate our party of 6 people together. Instead, they made us split our party into 2 separate groups of 3 and wouldn’t let us stand next to each other (even if there was space available). So our experience resulted in having 3 husbands stand together on one side of the tasting room while our 3 wives stood together on a different side. How stupid is that?
The worst for the tasting experience was that we were no longer allowed to try just about anything on the menu. In the past, as a member, the servers would let us try any wine on the list and not limit us to just the tasting flight menu. If a bottle wasn’t open, they’d open a new one for us to try. This would allow us to sample wines that we may potentially be interested in buying. The new policy now is that if there isn’t a bottle “already open”, we just have to take the wine servers word for it that “it’s good” because they’ve been wasting wine with too many open bottles.
As members, we value the tastings to experience new wines to potentially buy more. We also often bought cases from you every quarter when we come in to pick up our shipments. We bring friends who aren’t members who also end up buying wine in decent quantities from you.
I was told by the staff, that a beloved manager recently passed away and that the new manager / management team is now implementing all these new policies. I’m sure they have numbers & profit margins to meet or trying to come into the role with guns slingin’, but there are just some things (great customer experiences) that you have to absorb as the cost of doing business. After this most recent tasting experience, my wife and I along with our other couple friends who also MDW members plan to cancel our membership and explore other options.
Soila Lechuga
This winery is located on a beautiful property with amazing wine. Very family, friendly, with a kids play area. The staff is always very kind and welcoming. Shout out to Vincent for being a great server who is very knowledgeable and kind.
Whes B
The bbq tri tip sandwich is a must avoid.. overpriced, dry, and waaaayy too much bbq sauce (does tri tip even need sauce?). The potato salad looked good, but was too dill heavy for me personally.. The 1 star is because of the sparkling Rosé. It was good, but very expensive..
Susan Sheffield
Tri Tip Sandwich with asparagus is great. Salads are good, too
Amy Alvarez (Truly Real Estate)
We are at the restaurant beforehand, food was good and service was great, the wines were yummy and overall had a great experience
My favorite Lodi winery Just relaxing and such friendly people..
Deidre Washington-Marin
Wine selection mediocre
Ken C
We came to taste some of their numerous zinfandels. They have drastically reduced the tasting options so that only one was available for tasting. If we had known this, we would have chosen a different vineyard. The server prattled off a few uninformative facts about each wine and had no interest in a dialog. We will never return to this wine maker.
Carol Anderson
We've been many times to Michael David for tasting, bottles and bistro, and club pick up. This was the first time we've ever experienced poor customer service during our tasting. Britt was rude and unfriendly. Fortunately Ashley took over, as Britt disappeared. Ashley took great care of us, as she has done on many occasions before. Thank you Ashley, YOU ROCK!
Napkin Pie
Pretty good. Simple menu and great atmosphere. All condiments were on the tables. 5/5
Experience was a letdown. We went midweek and the outdoor area wasn't open, had to stand inside to do tasting. The wine was fine, but the service wasn't even close to what we experienced elsewhere. Servers seemed stressed, trying to fit more people on bar and didn't have a lot of time to chat
Always a great time and experience. Chloe, our server was warm and bright like California sunshine. The kids are kept entertained with the chickens and the playground and walking around.
Delightful table service by the children's park. Fun foe adults and kids!
Good wines, great staff and beautiful grounds.
I've been a wine club member at Michael David Winery for about three years now, and it has always been my favorite and most frequently recommended winery. I regularly bring family and friends and typically purchase 4–5 cases a year. What kept us coming back was the welcoming atmosphere and the friendly, knowledgeable staff which are essential to a great wine tasting experience.
Unfortunately, my most recent visit was disappointing and is probably the worst I’ve had at any winery. It seems there has been a recent change in management, along with new policies that, in my opinion, have negatively impacted the overall experience.
My friend and I are both wine club members, and each of us is allowed to bring up to four guests. In the past, this was never an issue, we could sit together and enjoy the tasting as a group. However, under the new policy, groups larger than four are now required to split up. Alternatively, if we choose to sit together, only one membership’s free tastings are honored, and the rest of the guests are charged. On a recent visit with three couples (husbands and wives), we weren’t allowed to sit together without additional charges, even though both my friend and I are members. This made for an awkward and much less enjoyable experience.
Another disappointing change is the restriction on wine sampling. As members, we used to be able to request tastings of wines not on the standard tasting menu even if the bottle hadn’t yet been opened. The staff was always generous about letting us try something we were considering purchasing. Now, if a bottle isn't already open, we're told we can’t taste it. It’s especially frustrating when the wine host recommends bottles but doesn’t allow us to sample them first. This change feels counterintuitive and detracts from the experience we’ve always valued.
I'm sharing this feedback in the hope that management reconsiders these new policies. Michael David has always been a special place, and I’d love to see it return to the warm, flexible, and customer-focused experience it once offered.
I’ve been a member for almost a year now and I have always spoken highly about MDW to my social circle. We love their wine but this review is more about our recent experience and how new management policies in effect are seriously having us reconsider our membership.
We came with 4 other friends (a total of 3 married couples). 1 of our friends is also an MDW member. In the past, each member is allowed free tastings for up to 4 people which is still the case. However, apparently there is a new policy now where the tasting room hosts would not let us accommodate our party of 6 people together. Instead, they made us split our party into 2 separate groups of 3 and wouldn’t let us stand next to each other (even if there was space available). So our experience resulted in having 3 husbands stand together on one side of the tasting room while our 3 wives stood together on a different side. How stupid is that?
The worst for the tasting experience was that we were no longer allowed to try just about anything on the menu. In the past, as a member, the servers would let us try any wine on the list and not limit us to just the tasting flight menu. If a bottle wasn’t open, they’d open a new one for us to try. This would allow us to sample wines that we may potentially be interested in buying. The new policy now is that if there isn’t a bottle “already open”, we just have to take the wine servers word for it that “it’s good” because they’ve been wasting wine with too many open bottles.
As members, we value the tastings to experience new wines to potentially buy more. We also often bought cases from you every quarter when we come in to pick up our shipments. We bring friends who aren’t members who also end up buying wine in decent quantities from you.
I was told by the staff, that a beloved manager recently passed away and that the new manager / management team is now implementing all these new policies. I’m sure they have numbers & profit margins to meet or trying to come into the role with guns slingin’, but there are just some things (great customer experiences) that you have to absorb as the cost of doing business. After this most recent tasting experience, my wife and I along with our other couple friends who also MDW members plan to cancel our membership and explore other options.
This winery is located on a beautiful property with amazing wine. Very family, friendly, with a kids play area. The staff is always very kind and welcoming. Shout out to Vincent for being a great server who is very knowledgeable and kind.
The bbq tri tip sandwich is a must avoid.. overpriced, dry, and waaaayy too much bbq sauce (does tri tip even need sauce?). The potato salad looked good, but was too dill heavy for me personally.. The 1 star is because of the sparkling Rosé. It was good, but very expensive..
Tri Tip Sandwich with asparagus is great. Salads are good, too
We are at the restaurant beforehand, food was good and service was great, the wines were yummy and overall had a great experience
Restaurantji Recommends
My favorite Lodi winery
Just relaxing and such friendly people..
Wine selection mediocre
We came to taste some of their numerous zinfandels. They have drastically reduced the tasting options so that only one was available for tasting. If we had known this, we would have chosen a different vineyard. The server prattled off a few uninformative facts about each wine and had no interest in a dialog. We will never return to this wine maker.
We've been many times to Michael David for tasting, bottles and bistro, and club pick up. This was the first time we've ever experienced poor customer service during our tasting. Britt was rude and unfriendly. Fortunately Ashley took over, as Britt disappeared. Ashley took great care of us, as she has done on many occasions before. Thank you Ashley, YOU ROCK!
Pretty good. Simple menu and great atmosphere. All condiments were on the tables. 5/5
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