Jen H.
Yelp
Beautiful winery and view, but customer service was disgusting.
** Dog friendly winery only on weekdays. Dogs are not allowed on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
I called a month in advance to make a reservation for two people and a dog and asked if they could make an exception to their no flight tasting on lawn area policy. I spoke with an employee and he ensured me that it shouldn't be a problem and they could accommodate us as long as we arrive early. He also added that since it is slow on Mondays, it shouldn't be an issue. I was instructed to email Paumanok to book my reservation and to include that an exception would be made for the flight tasting on the lawn. A second employee replied to my email and confirmed the special accommodation. Super understanding and nice.
Fast forward to my reservation - Because it took me more than an hour to get a rental car (another story), I was late to my reservation. I called in to let them know that I will be 30 min late because I'm coming from Manhattan.
I was on the phone with the tasting manager and she was absolutely the worst. I have explained to her that I had an awful and stressful morning getting a rental car, and currently rushing to the winery now. She was so rude and had no empathy. Her attitude was disgusting. To sum up my phone call with her, she pretty much told me it's my fault that I was late, the employee shouldn't have made the exception, and it would be unfair to others if exceptions were made. I was told my options were either leave my dog in the car for 30 min (it was a hot day) or choose another venue, period. Yes, I understand that I was late and you had rules, but it would've been nice to give me a call in advance. Her excuse was "I just came back from vacation and literally just saw the request". You mean you just saw the request because I called -_- Since I was on my way there already, I had no choice but to go.
We ordered three glasses of wine and a salami / cheese board. The red was good but abnormally warm. On the other hand, the whites were cool. I told the server that the red could've been better if it was cooler. Her reason was because it was warm outside, but this doesn't make sense because the whites were cool. Now, I am questioning their wine storage and care for wine. The salami / cheese board was extremely dry. I'm not even joking -- driest cheese in my life. The bread was flaky and crusty, looked kind of moldy in the middle =/
The funniest part about this experience was that there was barely anyone at the winery. Let me be clear, this was on a Monday afternoon. At one point, I turned around and there was no one! NO ONE -_- If she was a good manager and cared for customer experience, she could've easily made an exception, like how they promised.
I am giving an extra star because the winery was beautiful. Other than that, this place would've deserved 1 star.