Owera Vineyards LLC Reviews

First of all, i wish i could ve done less than one star! Last night, myself included in a party of 10, made the over an hour Journey to Owera vineyards. This was a 2nd time there for most of us and our last experience was great. They don t take reservations, so we called at the beginning of our journey to let them know, hey, we have a party of 10 coming, we will be there in about an hour . They said okay, and thanked us. Upon arrival, we were very excited. We walked in and were told there would be a 25 minute wait for a table. Okay, no problem, so we squeezed near the crowded bar, and about 8/10 of us got a drink. 25 minutes goes by, no table. Give them about another 20 minutes, still no table. I ask if and when they think we will get a table, and the young girl(who was nice by the way, but timid) says if you could please give us about 10 more minutes, we are trying. I said okay no problem. I knew they were busy. Two high top tables cleared out, so once again, we were excited that maybe we were about to at least get two tables next to each other. However, they seated two other smaller parties at those tables, while we have now waited for an hour. There was a band playing so other guests who had already checked out sat and listened to the band. I think that Owera really wanted to do something about this they could ve. They could ve put us at the two empty tables, but they didn t. Finally we decide, we re done and going somewhere else(after driving over an hour to come to Owera specifically) but I was still upset, so I asked to speak to a manager. A manager came out, another couple tables that were not next to each other had cleared and said we will seat you right now, and give you a couple of bottles of wine for free. We said okay, but it has to be right now. He says okay and walks away. 5 minutes later, still nothing. So we left with our party of 10, and went on TripAdvisor, found the BEST reviewed place in Cazenovia, The Brewster inn. We called them and asked if they had room for a party of 10 in 10 minutes. They said absolutely, come right over. We head over and upon arrival it is beautiful just like Owera. They were also packed but they made special seating accommodations for a party of 10 in another room. IT WAS READY WHEN WE GOT THERE AND WE CALLED ONLY 10 MINUTES AHEAD OF TIME! The service was excellent. We ordered more drinks, appetizers, our entrees and desert. Congratulations Owera, between the 10 of us and our dinner and tips, we spent nearly $1000. And that is what you lost with your lack of GREAT service. By the way, we will never be back. A young group that likes to go out to dinner frequently, and we will not buy your wine either.

The scenery is fantastic, the wine is exceptional and the staff is attentive, friendly. We loved our sever Samantha. This is one of my favorite places to go in Syracuse.

Great food, good wine, beautiful setting, and friendly staff!

Not your ordinary winery. Decent food to order as well as all the wine fixins. Beautiful view. Best part-- be sure to ask for Bianca as your server. Wonderful, charming lady, who works hard and has a wonderful attitude. Hoping management sees this and does whatever they can to keep her around! People like Bianca are tough to find. Cheers all, Tim

Wonderful atmosphere...great staff... amazing wine!

This place is beautiful! Very scenic and romantic. Nice wine and food.

I really enjoy going to Owera. It has great food, wine and a relaxing atmosphere.

Beautiful views, great food & wine, lots of great people there. We had an incredible time at Owera Winery.

Really great place! Very friendly and helpful hosts.

Nancy invites you to her home, not just her business! Ann Marie, Leigh Ann & I had a beautiful afternoon. Thank you, Nancy. We will be back!

I visit Owera any chance I have, and my experience is always absolutely stellar! Whether it's a Wine Wednesday, a Friday night for music, or a Sunday afternoon, the food, wine, and service never seem to fail. Of course their pizzas are exceptional, but the new menu proves to be even better. The shrimp scampi and crab cakes are my new favorite! Whatever is happening in the kitchen is magic, the food is down right awesome! Iff you have the chnace to go, try the Dry Reisling or Semi Dry Reisling, both are to-die-for. All the servers and bartnders are so upbeat and friendly. I cannot rave about this place enough.

Shocked to see so many negative reviews about the service! I have been here multiple times and had very pleasant encounters with my servers (especially the young lady in the white collared shirt.) Great place to wine, dine, and have a great time!

Great local vineyard. Wonderful assortment of delicious wines for pick up or delivery. Just stocked up. My fav is the Solo Chardonnay 2017. Super friendly staff!

We spent an enjoyable afternoon here sitting outside enjoying the weather and the fantastic food and friendly staff.

Creative, well-prepared tapas-style food, good wine flights, very pretty views, nice live music, great vibe. Our only complaint is the service. Our pleasant but inexperienced young waiter continued bringing food to the table without removing used plates, resulting in some funny-not funny attempts to stack dirty dishes and buss our own table just to make room for incoming entrees. Some better training and/or oversight by management could easily have prevented this, and bumped our rating up to a full 5 stars.

There wine is way too expensive now that they raised their prices. Its decent wine but not good enough to be in the $20 range. I used to buy cases at a time but now...$24 for a bottle of decent Cabernet franc wow, $19 for Chardonnay! I have been twice recently but i just cannot pull the trigger on a case of wine anymore, bring back the old prices and I will. The food is good and a really nice atmosphere though.

We are in town from Florida & visiting some family in the Cannastota area. We were looking for something to do on Labor Day (yesterday) & found this place. It was amazing! Mario was our bartender. He was so friendly & helpful, my family loved him! We had hoped they were doing the wine tastings but unfortunately they weren t. Mario made sure to make up for it though! Super awesome experience & would definitely recommend. The Frontenac Gris was my favorite wine if you like sweet wines!

After the two of us missed out on a wine tasting [at 4:15pm], Mario was very helpful and accommodating at the bar with both the menu and various wines. He made the visit perfect! Both food and wine were delicious.

Love this place, the wife and I are frequent patrons! Food and service are always top notch.

Bacon lollipops and brickoven pizza very good wines

I went to Owera Vineyards with a group of 10. As they don t take reservations, we called an hour in advance to give them adequate time to prepare for a party of this size. Upon arrival, we were told it would be about a 25 minute wait until we could get a table. My party and I waited at the bar, ordering several bottles and glasses of wine, for nearly 45 minutes. When we asked if a table would be ready soon, we were told it would be another 10 minutes. We continued to wait, and after almost 20 further minutes saw that the table which was being prepared for us was given to another party. While the quality of the wine was adequate at best, the customer service and ability to manage a restaurant was mediocre. I ve seen better service at a local pizzeria. This vineyard is pretentious yet amateur, and frankly a waste of your time. If you re looking for a 5 star dining experience, I highly recommend the Brewster Inn.

Been many times. Always exceptional. Definitely get some food here. The pizza is really good. We got the cheese charcuterie and it was very good also. The bartender was very nice and personable. They have a great selection of wines. Highly recommend.

They are bartenders, not butlers, Brandy. Have some patience and wait.
Last Saturday at Owera was busy and fun. My wife and I were joined by
4 of our friends, and we all enjoyed great wine, music and service.
That bartender could not have moved any faster and be any more pleasant. Relax when you go out you may actually fave fun

The best shrimp crab cakes I've had and at a very reasonable price.

Wonderful wine but a little disappointed at the lack of customer service during the winter months. My family and I love the wine and have had very pleasant experiences there in the past summer months. I called recently to have wine shipped, left a message with a very sweet girl, but then received no response. I wanted to ship 12 cases to different family members for Christmas, since every time they come to visit I have to have Owara wine stocked. I think if there was an option for shipping on the Owara website it would be a lot more convenient. Again, I am a big fan of the winery and wine, but my family and I will be disappointed that we wont have our favorite white wines for Christmas and New Years.

this place rocks. can't wait till I'm of age. I've made some of the food platters and done general cleanup and food prep.

I love this place! Exquisite music, wine, food, ambiance, and a wonderful staff. From my first visit, I was warmly welcomed and treated like family. I recommend the adventure of one of their flights of wine- the bar staff will help you choose the right wines for your pallet and the price is incredibly reasonable. The menu has something for everyone- a brilliant combination of rich comfort foods and eclectic, healthy dishes. Even though I'm on the other side of the country at the moment, I was able to call in and pick up the check for some dear friends who were dining there tonight- a service that few places would be kind enough to facilitate on a busy Saturday night! Owera nails it in every way. Definitely worth the beautiful country drive. :)

Awesome gluten free find! Stopped here on the way out of town and had the BEST ever Gf pizza and dirty Caesar salad. Had to stop on the way home for another pizza and got the same salad again. Also tried the GF mussels, the sauce was such a pleasant surprise. Great service, highly recommend this place to everyone!

Nice winery with great wine, nice tapas and a great sunset. Betty's White, Teddy's Red, Cazenovia Blush and Cazenozia 1793 are amazing. The brushetta was delicious. The bacon lollipops were good, a little thinker and fatty than we typically enjoy. French onion soup was cheesey and wonderful. The Steak/Shrimp/Veggie Trio was a little tough, but the green sauce was worth it. Overall, an enjoyable summer date night spot. They even had live music inside of you enjoy it (on Friday)

In general you could do better at Walmart. There is no lake view. The service is atrocious. Perhaps the pizza is not bad. I wouldn t know there s no place to sit. Really bad wine. Walmart is better

The bar tenders where fantastic. Had the wine flights and enjoyed what the vineyard had to offer. Would not recommend getting the charcuterie board but everything else was good.

Come for the wine (love the Owahgena Red), stay for the pizza! Seriously, eat the pizza...amazing.

We came in for my sisters birthday on Saturday as a party of 4. Our server Emily was fantastic, as always. She is very knowledgeable and friendly. The scenery can t be beat. However, our experience was less than favorable. While we love the wine, our food was very disappointing. Our biggest issue however was the patio seating. We have burn marks on our forearms from the tables! Yes, really! It was 85+ degrees out and there was 1 covered table which we were told was being held for another party of 4. We had asked to be moved inside but was told there were no tables. We ended up having to ask Emily for ice cubes numerous times to cool down the tables. Why not put umbrellas out? All the tables have slots for them. Several other tables left while we were there because the tables were too hot! The only reason I gave 2 stars is because our service by Emily was excellent and the wine was tasty. Overall though, not worth the $100+ we wasted on an experience for my sisters birthday that we did not enjoy.

Great place. Great food. Great service. Great location. Great wine

What a beautiful place. Met friends there, hung out and enjoyed some wine. If you haven't been here, you should make it a place to visit.

Great food and drinks! People there are very friendly also.

Was an enjoyable and relaxing setting. Good good and drink. Affordable bottles. Good selection dry to sweet.

Beautiful grounds and facilities, with food and drink to match.

Beautiful location, great atmosphere, wait staff was a bit slow. Got no info or background on wines. NONE of the wines are close to sweet. Not to our taste at all. We had French Onion Soup that was very good.

One of our favorite places to hangout. It is low key, tastefully decorated! We can have date nights or bring the kids. The place has delicious food, especially brick oven pizza (made in front of you). My kids enjoy watching the lady make the pizza and she does not mind questions. We love their beef, that's from their own farm. The wine selection is wonderful. We always order the wine tasting and try to take home a bottle or sometimes cases. They offer discounts on the last week of each month.

Great spot for wine tasting and some good food. Also has local beer and cider if wine is not your thing.

Great wine, great food. Worst service I have ever had.

Pros:
wine fight option
Beautiful scenario & patio
Indoor has a nice vibe

Cons:
It smells absolutely disgusting inside.. like cat pee! All I could smell was the strong odor
The service is ok
The wines are absolutely terrible. I like almost all wines & I could not finish my tastings
The food is somewhat bland and very expensive. For expensive meals, I d like it to be delicious

I would not come here again.

Too noisy. Bartender overworked. Left after 1 drink

I've been there many many times, my wife and I really enjoy going there. Really good wines, great food, very pleasant atmosphere. I highly recommend checking it out!

Walked in to have a flight at the bar. Bartender said it would be 45 minutes because they don't have enough flight glasses...

My husband and I have come here twice. The first time, after waiting 30 minutes we were seen at the bar and we ordered their wine slushies. They were very good slushies, but not worth the wait. This time, we waited to be seated - waitresses ignored us - but a bartender gave us menus and told us we'd be served outside. We waited outside for 20 minutes with the waitress not coming over a single time. We know she saw us because she said hello as we sat down (there were only 4 tables being served). Terrible service. Not worth it at all. Find somewhere better.

Mediocre cheese boards and overly sweet wine. Slow service but decent views

As a place for wine tasting, it's pretty good. But it's really turned into a bit more of a restaurant, and kind of loud sometimes. Good place to meet up with people, but if you're looking for a nice place for a date there's plenty places in Caz that are a bit more suitable. Most of the wines are good, beers are hit and miss, and the ciders are usually very good (but there's a slight variance in aroma between the batches).

Tonight the service was horrible. 1 bartender which was extremely rude and very unhelpful. We decided not to stay to eat after the experience and probably will not go back.
We go to many vineyards and this was by far the worst experience yet. Save your money. Don t go.

I'm not sure how places like this receive 5-star reviews. Is it because people are swayed by the beautiful views? Or perhaps they don't want to admit to themselves that they paid so much for a mediocre experience? Owera has what it takes to be a high-end restaurant, but they aren't there.. yet.

If this review was based solely off of the scenic views, it's 4-stars. If I'm rating the service, it's 3.5-stars. The food (based on what we ate; we obviously did not eat the entire menu) is without a doubt 0-stars. The owners should go undercover one day to see for themselves a few hours before close.

We went on 'Wine Down Wednesdays', which was a nice feature; half-off wines can't be beat. The Dry Riesling was acceptable, although lacking the standard aromatic features you would expect. There was no 'burst' of tropical fruit as portrayed in the description. The flavor was flat but refreshing. The views are peaceful and you get the feeling you are somewhere in the Finger Lakes.

The server knew what she was talking about and was friendly. The service was slow. We asked for a side of shredded cheese for the pizza and waited five minutes as our pizza got cold. But don't be so quick to blame the server. Servers tend to be blamed for everything. Start with the owners first, then management, and then servers.

Our food was a mix between Wegmans frozen pizza and a poor attempt at homemade soup. I do not feel I got my money's worth. The worst feeling is going out to eat after a hard days work and leave feeling underwhelmed and disappointed.

They have to do away with their 'Boards' concept. The pizza came out on a nasty, stained, and greasy piece of wood. I'm sure on paper it sounded rustic and different, but in real-world use it's disgusting and gave the ambiance of a Texas Roadhouse. Although I am not suggesting the boards are unsanitary, the appearance is a turn off. It would be much more classy to serve their meals on an Acopa Nova White Asymmetric Plate.

They describe the 'Fire and Smoke' pizza as being brick oven fired with Gouda. Are you sure it wasn't a microwavable pizza? Half the pizza had no drop peppers, and if it had Gouda on it, neither my spouse nor I could taste it. And where is the 'fire'? Three small spots on the pizza gave some sort of indication that maybe it touched a brick oven. Their oven temperature is set too low and they're cooking it too slowly. Are you sure the oven is set between 530 and 800 with 630F being optimal for 90 seconds? Again, don't place the blame on the person making the pizza. The owners should be guiding their employees on how to make the perfect pizza. The pizza would taste amazing with prosciutto and 'slabs' of smoked Gouda instead of 'shredded'.

Their menu describes the Onion Soup soup as, "..gratine ed with Swiss and provolone cheeses." What was served was a cold blob of cheese and bread. I never understood how a server can bring cold food to the table and not expect the customer to complain. The soup lacked flavor and texture. The attached picture was taken less than ten seconds after it was served. No steam. This is not 'gratine ed' in any sense of the word.

I hope the owners use this review constructively, investigate my thoughts, don't take the easy way out by screaming at employees, and make changes as necessary. The scenic views are great, but word-of-mouth reviews are quite powerful. No amount of scenery can replace the lack of food quality. We won't be coming back to this establishment.

Owera winery is always good. The food the pizzas and of course the wine. We usually go on Friday night to listen to the music and enjoy the food.

Great place to just sit and relax. Very nice setting if you are around in the summer and you can walk around the vineyard

We were bit skeptical initially but a awesome place , Frontenac wine was amazing. Macrons were mouth watering . Will get more Freinds here for sure

Went with a group of 10 after calling ahead to make sure it wouldn't be an issue. After spending a considerable amount at the bar waiting our "25 minutes" which turned into 45 real quick, they told us we would be seated at high tables (that are uncomfortable and hold 4 each at best). We agreed due to our hunger, but to our disbelief after about ten more minutes they sat other smaller groups at said tables. We got up to leave but the manager stopped us and said we would be seated immediately, my only question to that was "where, the tables you just gave away?" Needless to say we left hangry and headed to the Brewster Inn for a great time and meal. We were happy to bring our $1200+ bill to an actual restaurant that gave us our own dining room and great service.

Beautiful setting and decor. Pizza was fantastic. Was a little disappointed so many wines weren't available for tasting, but still a great experience!

Fantastic experience. We sat at the bar and Kate was wonderful. She was super knowledgeable, and very fun. Wines were great but also try the pizza - we had strawberries, candied jalapeno, and goat cheese (gluten-free version).

Everything is good on the menu. Simple and basic with flat bread pizza and assorted light plates, but do you really want complicated food when tasting wine and enjoying the bright blue skies?

The owners are often small talking in the tasting area and give you some history on the wines. There is a small room you can rent out for events and gather we a group of friends if you want a small amount of privacy, as the room is fully windowed with others being able to see in.

If you want an easy going, non-pretentious place to have a glass of wine and light fare in Cazenovia, put this on your list of places to visit.

Nice place in a picturesque setting. Service was a bit slow because it seemed our waitress was also one of the bartenders. But she was quite pleasant and food was well worth the wait. We will definitely go back.

The food is great and the wine is better! On Thursdays, they host trivia, which is a lot of fun.

Had visited here for wine & dine, awesome outdoor seating with vineyard view in distant. Live music, wine & range of pizza varieties, what else you need? Highly recommend it.

Terrible service. Literally sat outside for 20 min without anyone coming over.

Had a great time there, food was awesome, drinks were great, definitely plan on coming back again