Maggie H.
Yelp
I brought my family to Noboleis for an enchanting afternoon when I redeemed my 2013 MO Winery Passport at Noboleis a couple of weeks ago. We scheduled a tasting and tour for 8, but then found out some family were coming into town and hoped to get together with us. Just a couple of days before the reservation, Noboleis added another tasting to our reservation and three more people (non-wine drinkers) to the tour. I appreciate how accommodating they were in doing so.
We took up most of the counter, which made for a memorable and intimate family tasting. Some were dry fans, some were sweet and some were uncertain, but the tasting room attendant did not try to get us all to taste the same thing or get at all confused. She even had some of us try a couple of extra wines, including a port, when we officially had completed all of our tastings but still wanted to try a few more.
After the 15-minute tour, during which the friendly guide informed us on the wine production process, nearly everyone in our party purchased some wine and food. Noboleis started a tab for me, so I just ran in and told them what I wanted and didn't have to waste time paying 3 or 4 times in an afternoon. You know the wines and winery are good when individuals in your party decide to purchase both bottles and glasses with the name of the winery. It means they want to remember the day... and we had just started!
As Noboleis allows outside food, we had quite the spread of fruit, cheese/meat/crackers, chips, candy, and other snacks. It was more like a small party, except no frenzied cleaning of a house in advance, and not much cleaning up at closing time. We just selected a corner under a large tent and took over a couple of tables.
We conversed, took photos, explored the vineyard and made memories on one of the most beautiful days I can remember at the winery with, hands-down, the most beautiful setting on the entire wine trail. The view at Noboleis beats all others because you're right in the middle of it all. I loved that though Noboleis' hours are until 5, staff understands that guests are reluctant to depart paradise and drop a hint by bussing tables and emptying trash cans rather than by directly asking us to leave.
The only constructive criticism I can offer Noboleis is that the restroom situation leaves something to be desired. Noboleis gets pretty busy by mid-afternoon, and one restroom for females doesn't quite cut it. I'd love to see them invest in additional facilities. However, this is the case with many wineries in the area, so I can't hold it against them.
One more thing: I love that Noboleis allows minors. Yes, there are pros and cons to allowing minors, but when the minor you want to bring is your 19-year-old cousin who is visiting the state for the weekend, it's great that some wineries will welcome her, her parents, and her grandmother! Noboleis made MO seem pretty cool. Plus there's so much space for little kids to run around in sight of their family without being a nuisance. There were several kids there, and all seem engaged by their surroundings.
Thank you, Noboleis, for providing the perfect setting and beverages for our family get-together. The afternoon was absolutely perfect.