This will be one of the least critical articles I write. My husband and I went to buy a car for me to use for however long my beloved Pepper, a red VW Beetle, remains in the shop. 

Once we had secured the vehicle, my husband mentioned he was looking for an adventure, a swimming hole or something when I noticed a sign on the side of Knox Bridge Highway. The sign was romantic and sparked some interest in me. “An adventure” I thought. My husband following behind me, I pulled over to look up what it was. A winery. I had always wanted to visit a winery.

I pulled back out trying to find the curb again and thought I had found it, so I braked and then resumed driving when I realized that was not the turn. My husband called. 

“Want to go to a winery?” I asked. 

“I’m interested in not dying.” He stated plainly. 

“Yeah. Sorry about that.” I said with a light-heartedness to my voice hoping he would forgive me but brushing it off. He chuckled. 

“I love you.” He hung up the phone as we parked.

Astethic & Scenery

It was utterly charming and absolutely gorgeous. Picture the perfect winery in your head and what you would expect to see.. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Well, to me, this was it. The most stereotypically beautiful and clandestine destination I have been to in a while. I felt like I had stumbled onto a gem – a best kept secret. I was immediately taking pictures of the place. They had so intelligently laid the whole place out. It was serene.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” I asked my husband.

“It is. I just wish I didn’t feel the dingiest I’ve felt in a while.” He said with chagrin as he removed his work shirt. We both felt extremely under dressed for this adventure. You’re supposed to dress up to go to a winery, right? Well, I wasn’t going to let it spoil the experience. The layout of the place is pretty intuitive. We walked up to the path laid out before us, and to a.. You guessed it.. big door! The name is very fitting as the first thing you encounter on this cabin is a large, ornately designed door.

Customer Service

Though Noah and I were not dressed the way we thought we ought to be and felt somewhat out of place upon entering the place, the person(upon studying the website, I have found that this is the manager of the establishment: kudos to this manager) at the front counter immediately greeted me with a smile, inquired of our experience level with wineries, and walked me through what they had to offer. She was extremely transparent and kind. When we were on our way out to walk the path we even overheard one of the owners or staff say that they just want people to feel welcome there just to be there, and that feeling of being welcomed permeated our visit to the lovely estate. It somehow felt like home.

Pricing

The pricing was very reasonable. We had an adequate dinner with a wine tasting for $50 including tip. This added to the approachability of the place.

The Food

We had the charcuterie board, the chicken alfredo flatbread, and the semi-dry flight. The charcuterie board was lovely and apparently a fan favorite according to our host which is to be expected from a winery. The flatbread was not house made and left some to be desired. It was not chicken alfredo – the base was red sauce and not a white sauce as we had expected. Because the scenery was so exquisite, it set my expectation high for the flatbread as well. I think a simple remedy for this if they are not able to make the flatbread in-house would be to rename and better describe the flatbread. There was also very little char on the bottom of the bread which I have come to expect from eating a flatbread.

The Wine

Don’t trust me when it comes to wine. My palette for food is quite refined, but I don’t drink wine often enough to be a very good critic, and I like my wine sweet. Noah likes his dry. We compromised with the flight we ordered. I would very much like to go back to order a glass of one of their sweet wines and be better dressed as well at some point. That being said, their wine didn’t hit all the notes as described on the explanation card(a lovely touch, by the way). Perhaps, a more experienced tongue than mine could have picked up on all the complexities described. It was enjoyable though. The wine did pair well with the charcuterie and chocolate, and the view was heavenly.

The Website

The website is adequate. I found them immediately and knew they were a winery. In the endeavor to capture the vibe of the winery in all its glorious vibe and beauty, I think it falls short.

Would I return?

In short, absolutely! As stated previously, there was something about the place that felt like home. It would have been easy to lose a few hours there if we weren’t in a hurry to get back. If it were closer to where we normally reside, I would love to take my friends to see the place sometime. Perhaps, we shall take a field trip someday. The only thing that might hinder me is that I wouldn’t want to alter the almost perfect memories of the place. It was an absolute experience.

Check out Big Door Vineyards for yourself at bigdoorvineyards.com.

‘The kisses of an enemy may be profuse, but faithful are the wounds of a friend. ‘

– Proverbs 27:6