Rose G.
Yelp
I've been here twice now, once in December of 2019 (before the pandemic) and once in November of 2021 (during the pandemic), and it's overall been a good experience both times, as long as you're a dogless person. Mostly good wine, particularly love the sparkling wine - the rouge sparkling being one of my personal favorites. Also have pretty good service with nice and knowledgable staff.
I will say I was very disappointed that they rescinded their previous policy of allowing dogs. I was expecting to be able to take my dog with me, but when we got there we were denied. I know they'll say that they make "clear" in the confirmation email that only ADA service dogs are allowed now, but it's as a tiny disclaimer (which I'll admit I didn't even see - plus I already paid for it and was charged for it at that time) when they previously did accept all dogs that consumers are relying upon. Even a simple Google search makes this place look like it's still dog friendly when it isn't.
Their rouge sparkling wine is made from red wine grapes, and is delicous though, and made all the vineyards around still full of color. Our tasting this time around was very nice too. It was in a separate building than my last wine tasting, which I just sat at the bar inside.
Since I wasn't feeling the inside during a pandemic, I actually booked it for outside. But unfortunately it did rain before we got there, so they moved us into this big wine storage place with super tall ceilings. I was very happy with the choice, since (1) we wouldn't have to sit in wet seats...and (2) the tall ceilings made it feel nicely ventilated.
I also really like the person seeing us through our tasting, Liam. He was very friendly and knowledgable, and answered all of my friend's questions about wine. I gotta admit that I just want to drink the wine and I don't care about the information at all at this point in my life, but I appreciate it for whomever I'm with that wants to know! Also, always happy to just listen while I keep on drinking my wine lol. It's probably also because it was kinda yucky outside, so not a lot of people coming out, but they weren't trying to rush us out at all. And if you did need something, just a glance at the person made them come over and ask if you wanted something.
Also, one thing that was soooo super friendly is that Liam asked if I wanted a second tasting of whatever was my favorite in the tasting since I was disappointed that they were no longer pouring the rouge at the winery. Don't worry, I was able to buy two bottles of it to take home thankfully, but with 2020 happening and all they had to stop pouring it due to its popularity with everyone home and drinking. So I got a second tasting of the sparkling wine that I so super wanted. And we got some pictures next to the cool wooden casks for wine.
The only thing that was really disappointing about Frank Family Vineyards was that they apparently changed their dog policy. They used to be dog friendly, but they no longer allow dogs at the winery, even at outside seating. This was pretty disappointing since I specifically made reservations for the entire weekend based on dog friendly places so I could bring my Lilo, who just sits in her stroller the entire time. While it was a nice experience, I hated that I couldn't bring my Lilo with me - I'll admit that at this point, it's me that's a little co-dependant on my dog and it makes me feel terrible to be away from her.
Fortunately, it was cold and dreary outside, so I was able to leave her in the car this time around, with the windows cracked and her favorite punk music playing on my phone for a short while. But if it had been a hotter day, I would have just had to cancel the reservation even though I already paid for it. Overall, while it was a pretty good experience as a dogless person, I probably won't be back for a wine tasting again since I really love being with my Lilo. There are a good bit of dog friendly wineries around, and I'd rather visit those so I can hang with my best friend (aka Lilo). I found it really odd that they reversed their policy on dogs...especially with dogs being such a big thing in California. Like, going from not dog friendly to being dog friendly makes sense, but def not the opposite.