Such a delightful experience. Educated on the wine tasting experience. Everything we tasted was so good. A must stop for your wine touring adventure.
Jeffrey Mueller
We have been wine tasting at vineyards for decades, and we were blown away by the things we learned in regards to how to taste red versus white wines at varaison vineyards. All of us enjoyed many of the wines, so much so that we did buy a number of bottles at the end of our tasting. This was in early November of 2024. Fast forward to now later January 2025 and we were excited to open one of our bottles - Bin 405 Merlot 2018. Unfortunately, the bottle was totally rancid. It truly tasted like vinegar. Neither of us could drink it and unfortunately it had to be poured down the drain. This was not a cheap bottle of wine. I don't know how to tell people how to prevent this, but hopefully this does not happen to you.
Jeff Beer (mogulman)
Wow. Amazing experience at this winery. The owner spent so much time telling us about his wines and wine in general. We've been to wineries in Napa/Sonoma, Colorado and Portugal. Loved this place. Will definitely come back and bring friends.
Morgan Elsinger
We have gone twice now for tastings and both times have been absolutely spectacular! Kristen is wonderful. Best winery in Palisade by a million!
Cyprien Jungels
Kristin gave us an amazing free tasting, with a lot of wine tasting education mixed in. We learned a lot about tasting notes and technique, and about their process in making wine. They make great old world style wines, and we went home with a few bottles. Definitely worth the stop!
Bear Tucker
Tasting experience was an hour long session of the owner repeating the same mantra over and over about white down the middle and red to the sides. I understood his position the first time and didn’t need to hear it every time I took a sip of wine for next hour and a half. Either way, the wine we tasted onsite was good so we purchased a case. The wine you take home from this place is not what you drink at the winery. Each bottle from the case that we purchased had a strong vinegar smell and taste forcing us to pour down the drain. I highly recommend not wasting your money on buying their bottles or your time at a tasting.
Linhmarie Smith
The only vineyard/winery to offer free tastings! We had such a great time learning about the wine and the time/effort that goes into their products. Alex was an amazing host, ask for him - he’ll have you laughing until your stomach hurts!!!! If you’re lucky, their pizza fridays are a cool experience!
Chamanthi Yost
What an amazing experience! We learned so much about wines, how to drink them and what to look for. Ms. West took her time explaining why and how perfectly and she was right! Highly recommend
Loralee Stock
We had a wine tasting with the wine maker. I was actually taught how to drink wine. Regret all the red wine I’ve drank before this. drinking it on the sides of you’re tongue changes everything period period
Rick Whitford
I'm a Cali wine snob, sorta. 90% of wineries I've experienced are there. So I resisted Palisade...to my great demise. This place is amazing and V Vinyards gave prob the best "show" and education ever! Learned ao much. No longer needing to go to Cali for GREAT wine. I'm not kidding. Will be back soon.
We have been here twice now and both experiences have been exceptional. During our most recent tasting, we had the pleasure of tasting the with Alex, the wine maker at Varaison. He gave us an exceptional tasting experience and is incredibly passionate and confidant in his product. It’s like having Robin Williams serve you with his completely outrageous sense of humor. It’s as a good as a Napa tasting without all of the pretentious BS. Regarding Alex, I cannot decide whether or not I want to give him a big hug or slap him silly. He expanded our knowledge and appreciation of wine considerably while simultaneously destroying our ability to enjoy a mass produced bottle of wine from a liquor store ever again. I guess we will be making the 5 hour drive to Palisade more frequently to avoid the USPS shipping charges since no wine we have had can ever compare to this. See you soon, Alex!
Stephanie
Pros: very friendly people! Fun experience for wine tasting - they taught you a lot about tasting wine. Nice environment!
Cons: we didn’t LOVE how the wine tasted. It was good but not our favorite (but that could just be our personal taste - we just liked other places better) They didn’t give you the option to just buy a bottle or have a glass right away. You had to sit and do the tasting and it took like an hour. But it was really fun! But just be aware of that.
We saw a lot of reviews that when people opened the wine they bought and took home, it was bad and tasted spoiled. We were scared, BUT that was not the case! We bought the Joyeaux Rose (the only one we liked okay) and it tasted just as it did at the winery! It was totally fine! So, I guess that is not always an issue.
Eva Magaña
In May 2021, my husband and I stopped by he tasting room and had a wonderful experience. Which led us to buy a case of wine. We drank 2 bottles a year, which were fine, but then when we got toward the end of 2023, we found that every bottle we opened had gone bad. Sadly, this meant 6+ bottles of quite expensive wine for us had to be dumped. Attached is our receipt so that you can see what wine we purchased.
I reached out to the winery twice and didn't receive any response.
Samuel Pehling
We chose to visit Varaison because it was dog friendly, but we were surprised by the excellent service and experience they offered. A full tasting that turned into a wine training in how to best select, taste, and enjoy wine. Isabella was our guide for the afternoon and she was friendly to us, accommodated our dog, and was discerning to our palates. In fact, in many ways, it seemed like she was just a knowledgeable friend who was hanging out with us while sharing her experience. A well run and organized winery is always a pleasure to visit, especially one with personable ownership. This is a must stop for anyone who wants a legitimate tasting with free knowledge to deepen your appreciation for wine, its making, and its history.
Eric Berve
I wish I could give it more than 5 stars, this place genuinely changed how I view wine. The owner walked us through every step of a tasting(which is free btw), explained the proper way to taste each bottle, gave us notes on what flavors to look for, and was just overall an extremely pleasant and knowledgeable person. Highly, highly recommend visiting, we will be back the next time we're in Palisade
Such a delightful experience. Educated on the wine tasting experience. Everything we tasted was so good. A must stop for your wine touring adventure.
We have been wine tasting at vineyards for decades, and we were blown away by the things we learned in regards to how to taste red versus white wines at varaison vineyards. All of us enjoyed many of the wines, so much so that we did buy a number of bottles at the end of our tasting. This was in early November of 2024. Fast forward to now later January 2025 and we were excited to open one of our bottles - Bin 405 Merlot 2018. Unfortunately, the bottle was totally rancid. It truly tasted like vinegar. Neither of us could drink it and unfortunately it had to be poured down the drain. This was not a cheap bottle of wine. I don't know how to tell people how to prevent this, but hopefully this does not happen to you.
Wow. Amazing experience at this winery. The owner spent so much time telling us about his wines and wine in general. We've been to wineries in Napa/Sonoma, Colorado and Portugal. Loved this place. Will definitely come back and bring friends.
We have gone twice now for tastings and both times have been absolutely spectacular! Kristen is wonderful. Best winery in Palisade by a million!
Kristin gave us an amazing free tasting, with a lot of wine tasting education mixed in. We learned a lot about tasting notes and technique, and about their process in making wine. They make great old world style wines, and we went home with a few bottles. Definitely worth the stop!
Tasting experience was an hour long session of the owner repeating the same mantra over and over about white down the middle and red to the sides. I understood his position the first time and didn’t need to hear it every time I took a sip of wine for next hour and a half. Either way, the wine we tasted onsite was good so we purchased a case. The wine you take home from this place is not what you drink at the winery. Each bottle from the case that we purchased had a strong vinegar smell and taste forcing us to pour down the drain. I highly recommend not wasting your money on buying their bottles or your time at a tasting.
The only vineyard/winery to offer free tastings! We had such a great time learning about the wine and the time/effort that goes into their products. Alex was an amazing host, ask for him - he’ll have you laughing until your stomach hurts!!!! If you’re lucky, their pizza fridays are a cool experience!
What an amazing experience! We learned so much about wines, how to drink them and what to look for. Ms. West took her time explaining why and how perfectly and she was right! Highly recommend
We had a wine tasting with the wine maker.
I was actually taught how to drink wine. Regret all the red wine I’ve drank before this. drinking it on the sides of you’re tongue changes everything period period
I'm a Cali wine snob, sorta. 90% of wineries I've experienced are there. So I resisted Palisade...to my great demise. This place is amazing and V Vinyards gave prob the best "show" and education ever! Learned ao much. No longer needing to go to Cali for GREAT wine. I'm not kidding. Will be back soon.
Restaurantji Recommends
We have been here twice now and both experiences have been exceptional. During our most recent tasting, we had the pleasure of tasting the with Alex, the wine maker at Varaison. He gave us an exceptional tasting experience and is incredibly passionate and confidant in his product. It’s like having Robin Williams serve you with his completely outrageous sense of humor. It’s as a good as a Napa tasting without all of the pretentious BS. Regarding Alex, I cannot decide whether or not I want to give him a big hug or slap him silly. He expanded our knowledge and appreciation of wine considerably while simultaneously destroying our ability to enjoy a mass produced bottle of wine from a liquor store ever again. I guess we will be making the 5 hour drive to Palisade more frequently to avoid the USPS shipping charges since no wine we have had can ever compare to this. See you soon, Alex!
Pros: very friendly people! Fun experience for wine tasting - they taught you a lot about tasting wine. Nice environment!
Cons: we didn’t LOVE how the wine tasted. It was good but not our favorite (but that could just be our personal taste - we just liked other places better) They didn’t give you the option to just buy a bottle or have a glass right away. You had to sit and do the tasting and it took like an hour. But it was really fun! But just be aware of that.
We saw a lot of reviews that when people opened the wine they bought and took home, it was bad and tasted spoiled. We were scared, BUT that was not the case! We bought the Joyeaux Rose (the only one we liked okay) and it tasted just as it did at the winery! It was totally fine! So, I guess that is not always an issue.
In May 2021, my husband and I stopped by he tasting room and had a wonderful experience. Which led us to buy a case of wine. We drank 2 bottles a year, which were fine, but then when we got toward the end of 2023, we found that every bottle we opened had gone bad. Sadly, this meant 6+ bottles of quite expensive wine for us had to be dumped. Attached is our receipt so that you can see what wine we purchased.
I reached out to the winery twice and didn't receive any response.
We chose to visit Varaison because it was dog friendly, but we were surprised by the excellent service and experience they offered. A full tasting that turned into a wine training in how to best select, taste, and enjoy wine.
Isabella was our guide for the afternoon and she was friendly to us, accommodated our dog, and was discerning to our palates. In fact, in many ways, it seemed like she was just a knowledgeable friend who was hanging out with us while sharing her experience.
A well run and organized winery is always a pleasure to visit, especially one with personable ownership. This is a must stop for anyone who wants a legitimate tasting with free knowledge to deepen your appreciation for wine, its making, and its history.
I wish I could give it more than 5 stars, this place genuinely changed how I view wine. The owner walked us through every step of a tasting(which is free btw), explained the proper way to taste each bottle, gave us notes on what flavors to look for, and was just overall an extremely pleasant and knowledgeable person. Highly, highly recommend visiting, we will be back the next time we're in Palisade
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