NOTE: the first part of this is written as part of my experiences. I will not take it down but I think it is important to write the aftermath.
I cannot comment on the actual experience since I did not end up going.
For my birthday, I wished to arrange a tasting for six people. I emailed and got a prompt response, which was encouraging. Monica was very much interested in the kinds of wines and price points I was looking at.
She referred to the tasting as 'complementary' which I found curious because in all reasonableness, the establishment would lose money if the tastings were absolutely free. I was assuming there would be a tasting fee, or if there were bottles to be bought, So on my next email, I set out more details of my group's preferences and waited for her next response.
Her next email responded to the preferences but failed to make any note of the actual tasting and prices itself. So I wrote point blank, asking her "is this tasting free?", expecting a no, but at least letting me know so I could tell people how much $ to bring.
She responds and tells me that the 'preferred' expenditure is 4 bottles per person, or 2 cases in total for the group. I'm visiting from Canada and the maximum one can take duty-free over the border is 2 bottles, though I was planning to buy 2 bottles at $200+ apiece. Another person is also visiting from Canada, and there is not much of a chance my group would buy 4 apiece. Two each, perhaps, and I could even get some more so that I could just enjoy on my trip.
I don't know what their thought is but to me, a 4 bottle minimum purchase is a material statement that they should have prefaced their first email with, or at least confirmed it earlier. So I wrote back, expressing my disappointment and wanting to confirm if that 4 bottle 'preference' is indeed 'mandatory', since I was willing to try and work out something. If it was mandatory, then I would cancel.
I've heard nothing back since. It's been 2 business days since I wrote before. As such, I think that this experience may be wonderful and all, but I would give strong caveats to anyone else who seeks to make a reservation: don't visit from other countries, and don't come thinking 2 or 3 bottles a person is satisfactory to them. (though at most wineries, purchases of bottles will exempt you from tasting prices)
NB: since the writing of this review, I received a personal call from the proprietress of 750 Wines. After a long discussion, I am still unsure as to what to make of the experience since I was not there, but I appreciate her efforts to articulate her position over the phone to me.
What I interpreted as one set of experiences seems to have been viewed in a different light by them. Not being fully aware of exactly what I knew, when they asked for a reference and I pointed out a blog, they assumed I personally knew the blog writer and thought I was aware of all salient terms to a visit. That resulted in them thinking to state that the tasting was free, though I was seeking a better elucidation of the terms that would be expected from a tasting.
I won't lie - the phone conversation was partly frustrating, because at some points I felt like my points weren't getting through. In the same vein, I would have to think their side must have felt the same. In the end, we came to an amicable conclusion and I will try it another time in the future, when I visit the area again.
I appreciate their efforts in calling me and trying to find a possible resolution to the situation. That being said, I hope this serves as a good message to anyone in the future, because having not been a Napa familiar, I tried to understand certain terms and services in the context of someone from outside without much knowledge of the terms and conventions commonly used in the region. Hopefully, the management will be more alert to alluding to this to others in the future, because they do seem to be genuinely nice people and I hope they don't encounter misunderstandings like this in the future. read more
