VARA Winery & Distillery
315 Alameda Blvd NE, Albuquerque
(505) 898-6280
Recent Reviews
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Words can not describe how awesome Vara Winery is! The wine is delicious! Service from Norma and Alexis is top-notch. Join the wine club! Such great perks!
If you’re a foreigner or just visiting the U.S., avoid this place at all costs. My group and I went in to enjoy a wine tasting, only to be met with outright discrimination. The server demanded ID, which is fair, but when we presented a valid foreign passport, she rudely informed us that only U.S. passports or driver’s licenses are accepted.
A passport—an internationally recognized and official form of ID—was not enough for them. This policy is not only ridiculous but also an obvious attempt to exclude non-Americans from enjoying their establishment. It’s appalling in a country that prides itself on welcoming people from around the world.
The server handling the situation was unprofessional, dismissive, and showed no willingness to understand or accommodate. Instead of providing a sensible resolution or even showing basic courtesy, we were treated like second-class citizens.
This place clearly doesn’t care about customer service, inclusivity, or even common sense. If you look young and don’t have a U.S. passport or driver’s license, don’t bother coming here—they’ll treat you like you don’t belong.
Save your money and go somewhere that respects ALL customers. Would give zero stars if I could.
This place used to have a large tasting room area with tables and food. Now they have an EXTREMELY tiny space with room for less than 20. Apparently they needed more room to store their wine. We went on Saturday afternoon at 4:45 and it was so packed. There was only one person working and we waited over 30 minutes and never got a drop of wine. We were planning to taste and pick a few bottles to take to an upcoming event. We ended up leaving. I don’t expect them to continue to need the large space to “store” wine when you aren’t able to even taste and buy their wine.
Lovely experience- we were told the food truck shut down in march 2024, but it is still a fabulous experience. Strong selection, kind staff- clean space. Highly recommend.
Friendly staff, tasty wines and cocktails. Tables inside and some nice little table under the tree outside. No food other than chocolate and popcorn, but if you just want to stop in for a drink like we did, it was perfect.
The server was pleasant and nice, atmosphere was fine. They explained that this was just the tasting room. Cocktails don’t exist - it’s a “build your own” section of the menu which basically meant that we had to order them neat or make up whatever we could think of on the spot. Our server didn’t know what varietals were in at least one of our wines. No food was offered except for packages chocolate or popcorn. Disappointed.
Be aware: there is no food at this location! I came hungry and left starving.
This place was just ok. I wasn’t a fan of any of their wines personally. The indoor space looked like it is still being finished. They do offer liquor which could be great for couples who don’t both love wine. There was good seating and our hostess was lovely.
Great service, with nice portions of food for tapas! My husband and I split three tapas and felt like it was an excellent dinner. He very much enjoyed the whiskey flight, as well.
First night, y'all took over Public House, and we felt like we had to leave. I understand the celebration, but 5 - 6 kids making the place loud and crying is not welcoming to a couple on a date night trying to reconnect and get away from their own kids for a grown up chat and some drinks. Then the guy from the distillery walked up to the bar with a baby in his arms to order a drink, and my husband made a light-hearted joke about carding the baby, to which he responded that he owned the place. The vibe isn't the same. It's only day 1! While we enjoyed being regulars, I'm not wanting to go back. Love Chip, but no, thank you.
Restaurantji Recommends
Vara has amazing wine and spirits. The tapas are also wonderful
Relaxing atmosphere. Great wine and spirits!
Varna’s corkage fee is $30 FOR THEIR OWN VINE. Corkage fees is defined as a fee for outside bottles brought in. As other restaurants do, they could always up charge a bottle as they do their glasses.If you want to enjoy a bottle on site visit Noisy Water Winery.
An exorbitant corking fee to open their OWN wine? Ridiculous. Considering the season, a tourist tax is expected but for long time locals revisiting this place color us disappointed
I would highly recommend this place to any foodie. My husband took me on a date and we sat inside. It has a very industrial feel, so to be more romantic I would recommend to sit outside. The food at this restaurant is exquisite. we ordered the seafood paella and duck. I wish I could have ordered 3 more plates of duck. It was small but savory, rich and decadent. The small paella was enough to feed a small family. I would definitely go back and order the same thing!
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