Catoctin Breeze Vineyard

“Husband and I who are both elderly have had a number of wonderful visits to Catoctin Breeze over the last few years and always find it to be a fun and invigorating time. Whether its the music, the food, the company, or the staff at the winery, the day is full and lovely. Recommend it for a terrific day trip to the area.”

“A couple years ago when I was visiting a friend we stopped by the vineyard and I was thoroughly impressed. The service was great, the wine was very tasty, and the employees seemed to be very knowledgeable about their product. Fast forward to now, I am subscribed to their quarterly wine program where I get to enjoy several bottles of their wine shipped right to my door. Recently, I had moved and the process of working with Catoctin Breeze to update my shipping information was an absolute “breeze”. It was just a small reminder of the first time I had visited and good to see their customer service is still a strong point. Can’t go wrong with their Albariño! Cheers!”

“The experience was very nice. The wine tasting was ok. Maybe not my kind of wine I care for. The service was excellent! The place is beautiful. I wish it was late spring, it probably looks amazing outside.”

“Mixed review. The wine is decent. The service was decent. The services offered are a tour on Fridays and Saturdays. Or $20 wine tastings of four pairings. It seems like the location focuses on reds. But you had to have the tasting at the bar countertop. You couldn’t sit at the other seats in the tasting room. And you certainly couldn’t leave to go outside. This is something I see at certain wineries, but there are also more of them that do offer a flight that you’re able to take with you somewhere else. Or the server comes to you outside. But the location! It had recently rained a few days ago, and the ground was still pretty moist enough where the chairs were sinking into the grass. Many of the outdoor seating areas were so overgrown with weeds that they were up to your knees when you tried to sit outside of the primary seating area. The tables that they had out there were sitting in water and overgrown grasses. There is a lounge that is upstairs, but it doesn’t offer views of the vineyard. And then the main seating area is not covered with gravel or Cement. So you’re sitting in the grass with sinking soil… I would suggest that they manicure their seating area as much as they did the flower gardens leading up to the house. Also, add bay windows to the upstairs sitting area. And seats to the bar!”

“This sadly was a disappointment. We happened on to this little winery. It looked pretty. It was a chilly day with a pretty good breeze. We entered into the main room with bar. We advised we had never been there before. Our server was nice enough but knew very little of wine and was reading off a sheet. There was no option for whites- only by the bottle and no tasting prior -odd. Reds were all very similar in choice. We asked to taste one as we were not offered a “tasting” nor was there anything indicating any pricing for such. There was a flight, by the glass or bottle listed. She got out a glass and put an embarrassing “drop” of wine in it. Apparently we were to “share” this as nothing else was offered. It was ridiculous. We ultimately purchased a bottle and were given two glasses. She did tell us there was outdoor seating and there was an Argentinian food stand out there as well as live music. We sat under the pergola. The grass needed mowed and there were no patio heaters or anything to break the wind. Mind you, this is in a mountain area. We got a food plate to share and listened for a few songs. Music was nice, wind was bitter. We packed up our stuff and took it inside to a table. We were sitting there enjoying our wine and small snack plate when a girl walked up with blue hair, dressed in a sweatshirt. She was nice enough but a bit snide and told us we were not allowed to have the snack plate “inside “! Are you kidding me? First off, our original server told us about the food, second- it’s being sold on your property! She said the owner saw us and sent her to say something! I can only guess the “owner” was the couple sitting in the back room with a big dog eating food they brought in and had a cooler sitting next to them! She then said we could take it back outside or she would “allow “ us to go upstairs in the “members” lounge this time. So we packed up the four pieces of sausage and 3 bread cubes we had left that seemed to now be a huge, embarrassing deal and followed her outside, across a patio, inside a barn door and then went upstairs. Let me tell you- if I were a member and this was the place for us- I would want a refund! The minute I set my glass down- gnat- right in my wine! They were thick! Absolutely disgusting! The couple next to us were complaining about it also. We ate quickly and returned to the main room. There were also gnats in main room as well!(Indicator of lack of cleanliness.) We then asked to recork/seal our bottle as we just wanted to leave. We were told they didn’t do that and just gave us a paper bag with a handle! What?! This place is overpriced, under experienced and terrible at customer service! The wine was mediocre at best and finished with alcohol on the palate. I don’t recommend it and definitely don’t plan on returning. I only gave it two stars instead of one because the music was nice and the views were pretty.”