Katie Herstein

Review of Cline Cellars

We just visited Cline and I wanted to share our ba...

We just visited Cline and I wanted to share our bad experience, in case anyone else is planning a similar visit. We were a group of about 20 people - including adults and kids, and had chosen Cline because it was kid-friendly (for the record, we've visited before as a family and had a wonderful time). The bus company had made a reservation for us and they were expecting us when we arrived. To be fair, we were late - but hey, it's wine country - and it's winter - it's not like they were terribly busy. Our wine host, Tom, was rude and spoke down to us. He seemed to be put out when people came in and out of the tasting, and many of us had to ask him to pour the next wine. I was also rushed by the staff to "settle up" -- before we were even close to finishing the tasting! No one was friendly - with the exception of Tom's assistant who, we were told, was in training, and graciously took our camera and snapped a few photos for us. The worst part about the visit was the staff and their strange behavior. Every time a kid was seen wandering alone, they were on them like a hawk - asking who the parent was. When my dog barked because it was startled by a larger dog, I was quickly approached and told the dog couldn't bark. Our children were scolded multiple times and basically told they were not allowed to do anything. The feeling was TENSE - not sure how else to describe it - but it wasn't what I expect or hope for when wine tasting...especially on such a special occasion.