Brenda A.
Yelp
This place is the worst place to go if you are non-Caucasian. Unfortunately, the experience here was nothing but saddening and discriminating. Our party of 7 called 2 hours before we got there to inform this winery of our arrival. That way, when we arrive, we're expected and attended accordingly. When we arrived, the guy that greeted us, Scott, was unpleasantly surprised by the size of our party (and probably by our ethnicity being Latino). We informed him that we did indeed called beforehand and he acted like he did not know anything (even though we're sure he was the one that we spoke to us on the phone. But, because we sounded Caucasian, he treated us kindly over the phone and not in person). He proceeded to sit us down and expected us to wait for his other guests to finish wine tasting (which would likely take forever). Then my friend asked if we can try some wine and he uncomfortably gave us all a glass of wine and merely explained the kind of wine we were tasting, unlike the lavish and detailed explanations he was giving to other wealthier looking guests. It was clear that he most likely assumed we wouldn't comprehend what he was talking about if he were to give us the same descriptions. After we realized what was taking place, we wanted to leave that area and instead enjoy ourselves on their benches to taste wine and play board games. As we were arriving to the outdoor benches, it was obvious that the benches had not been wiped down in weeks (spider webs, bird droppings, dust, etc). In the meantime, my fiancé happened to cut his finger trying to open the wine glass (his fault though, the wine glass was safe to open). When we went back to the entrance to ask to clean the benches and for a first aid kit to stop my fiancé's bleeding, Scott and the other lady at the counter (didn't catch her name, but remember her for later) clearly acknowledged our presence but completely ignored us and attentively helped the Caucasian, wealthier looking guests. Until finally I had to interrupt them to ask if I could borrow the first aid kit and to have someone wipe down the benches. Once my fiancé's cut was sealed, I turned back only to find them wiping down not our bench, but another bench that was hand selected for a group of 5 Caucasian guests who had literally just arrived! They immediately assisted them and saw us as an afterthought. Regardless of the audacity of their obvious discrimination, we continued with our day and enjoyed our day only due to our board game and friendship. We laughed and received many judge-mental looks from all parts but unfortunately we got used to it and didn't let it affect us. Hours later, we decided it was time to go. As we were leaving, Scott didn't bother talking to us about our experience and had an obvious, annoyed look on his face. The whole time there, we were just as mature and cooperative like all other guests. But when we announced our departure, the other lady at the counter sighed in a form of relief (as if she was happy that we were finally leaving) and in the most ignorant way ever yells, "hasta la vista! Adiós! Dios los bendiga!" with this incredibly distasteful laugh and heavy white accent (almost as if she was making fun of us, when none of us were even speaking in Spanish). Even though all she said was, "Bye! God bless you!", in Spanish, why was that even necessary? Why did she wait till that moment to say something as borderline racist as that was? Why couldn't she at least give us that kind of ignorant attention when we arrived, or needed assistance with the benches or first aid kit, or offered us wine and equal descriptions of the wine? I had never felt more discriminated. I wish we were treated differently so that I can share another experience, but we couldn't even enjoy the features of this winery because of how neglected we were. But hey, at least if you're wealthy and Caucasian, you'll love this place:)
PS: Sad to say, but the only people there that welcomed us and treated us kindly were a few other guests that were there (also Caucasian). I think some of think took notice in the racism that was taking place. There are really nice people out there, regardless of their skin color or stature, but unfortunately the employees here like to select who they offer good service to.
