The website advertises wine flights and wines by the glass. We walked through a tourist shop to a small back room. After quite a while a woman came in and told us that they do not offer glasses of wine, only sell bottles of wine; and that if we wanted to buy a bottle of wine it could be opened so that we could drink some on the spot! How do we know we want to buy a bottle of a wine we haven't been able to try? Honestly.
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 1
Menu advertises "flights" and "glasses". You get there and they have self-promoting literature advertising the same thing. It's actually not a wine bar like that at all. It's a place to sit in the back corner of a gift shop. We drove out of our way to come here, thinking we could taste through some of the local producers all in one place. In actuality, they will sell you bottles and let you drink them there. When I asked (tactfully and patiently) about the flyer and said "it says you offer 'flights and glasses' online and even here in store, is that just on certain days, or...?" I was cut of snarkily and told by the lady working there that it's not "her" store, that "she" doesn't own the place and "she" doesn't offer flights or tastings but that I could buy a bottle a drink it there. I guess I should have said "your place of employment" instead of "you"? They also don't offer a restroom, so if you DO pop your own cork, we hope you can keep what might result bottled up. Pass up and go to the local vineyards instead who will assuredly act in a more gracious and congenial manner and skip this snarky bait and switch mercantile!
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 2
Top notch wine! The bartender has a great palette. He really introduced us to some fantastic wines in Mendocino County. We learned a lot about the graves that grow in the area. He’s also very entertaining! He’s a local here. He regularly visits all the wineries. It’s located inside a really fun trinket shop where are you can get local merchandise and fun gifts for your family.
Great spot to stop and taste, talk and marvel about wine with the owner. Great selection too. We stop by everytime we are in Mendocino or Fort Bragg. Looking forward to our next visit.
The MendoVino Tasting room is a locally-owned gem of a small business. It is located in the heart of downtown Mendocino and is very cozy.
Michael, the owner, is extraordinarily personable and goes above and beyond to make you feel at home. With a lifelong passion for wines, Michael has a deep knowledge of the region's offerings. He specializes in sourcing wines from local vineyards that otherwise have no distribution. With great snacks and a custom wine club with free tastings to boot, what's not to like?
