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Last time we went there, we tasted all the wines for free, and bought about $90 worth.
Tried taking my parents there yesterday, and it was nearly too crowded to even get in, and now they charge $8 per person to do a wine tasting. We grabbed one variety we remembered liking and left.
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Yep toooo many were showing up for free wine. All the wineries in California also now charge for their wine tasting. Can't make a decent profit if the "customers" are all drinking for free, and the problem is because it's free too many will come to drink and NOT even buy one bottle :-). Remember people will always take advantage of the word "free"[
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In Oregon they charge also but if you buy $100.00 or more ...the tasting is free.
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I wish them luck. Like I said, a few thimbles full of wine and they took nearly $100 from us, versus asking for $8 and us walking out with only one bottle. There were 4 of us, going from free to $32 seems like a pretty big jump, IMHO. I guess their business model has changed from selling bottles of wine to selling little taster glasses full of wine. Considering how packed the place was, it seems to be working for them.
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You can buy Volcano wine at Longs.
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We last went mid-june... although they were charging for the official tasting, as we are on their list & local, they allowed us to try some of their newer bottles, and the trial tastes were free.... and more than generous (that also may be a problem with the past tastings, the taste samples were more than a simple taste...and it may also have been the whole dram laws that made the free tastings a thing of the past...
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Yeah, last time I was there is was slow, free and I bought a mixed case. It was a fun relaxed and kinda quaint experience. If it's now a busy tourist trap I'm not interested.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
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quote:
Originally posted by macuu222
You can buy Volcano wine at Longs.
Since seeing it at Walmart, I sort of expect that it's carried by one of the bigger distributors. It was a lot cheaper at Walmart than the winery, though the winery gives the kama'aina discount. Don't know which one is cheaper after the discount. Like oink said, we went there more for the experience. At the rate they are going, I can envision the "no tour bus parking" signs to come down soon.
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It was so packed. I counted over 20 people in that small space. And if you've been there, you know how small it was. That was not counting US or the staff of about 5 (?) I think.
We wanted to show off our "local" winery and thought it would be fun. We ended up going in and out as fast as we could. I like to support local businesses and would prefer to buy the wine there even if its a little more expensive. But unless they build a bigger location or change something I won't be going back with other friends and family that visit here.
Dayna
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Dayna Robertson
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quote:
Originally posted by dayna
It was so packed. I counted over 20 people in that small space. And if you've been there, you know how small it was. That was not counting US or the staff of about 5 (?) I think.
I'm sure someone from County will follow-up about the illegal occupancy -- after all, it's a fire hazard, right?
