We visited Medaloni Cellars back in February when there was snow still on the ground. First impressions: nice tasting room, fun environment, awesome Adirondack chairs.
We settled in for our tasting, and unbeknownst to us, the winery owner himself was our Wine Spirit Guide. We went through the usual rigamarole (Google it - it's a word) tasting: white to red, dry to sweet. Overall, the wines tasted very mature for the young winery, which was just established in 2011. Since it was just our first stop for the day (and well before noon), we limited ourselves to a wine by the glass, and sat down at the long, communal picnic table to enjoy the scenery.
On weekends, they have local food trucks set up. We had both just eaten so we didn't get to sample the day's wares, but we plan to go back to get the full experience soon.
After our glass, we were ready to settle our bill and pick out some To-Go Wine. And that's when we realized - there were no prices posted anywhere. When my tasting, glass of wine, and single bottle rang up to $45, I panicked. YOU SNEAKY WINE SPIRIT GUIDE! WHAT SORCERY IS THIS? WE DON'T EVEN GET TO KEEP THE GLASS?!? So I threw the glasses on the ground and we left.
Just kidding!
I sheepishly paid my bill like the upstanding citizen I am and we hightailed it out of there. Granted, the wine was good, but I might have picked a cheaper bottle of To-Go Wine had I known up front.
Flash forward several months into the future, when we start doing some casual Internet research into Medaloni Cellars so we'll sound knowledgeable when it comes time to write this-here blog post. Turns out Joey Medaloni is a well-known Greensboro businessman who owned and operated a string of nightclubs downtown back in the early '00's. So that explained everything.
I think we owe this winery another visit in the future. But at least this time we'll know what we're getting ourselves into.
I think we owe this winery another visit in the future. But at least this time we'll know what we're getting ourselves into.
 |
| Source: Medaloni Cellars |
We settled in for our tasting, and unbeknownst to us, the winery owner himself was our Wine Spirit Guide. We went through the usual rigamarole (Google it - it's a word) tasting: white to red, dry to sweet. Overall, the wines tasted very mature for the young winery, which was just established in 2011. Since it was just our first stop for the day (and well before noon), we limited ourselves to a wine by the glass, and sat down at the long, communal picnic table to enjoy the scenery.
On weekends, they have local food trucks set up. We had both just eaten so we didn't get to sample the day's wares, but we plan to go back to get the full experience soon.
After our glass, we were ready to settle our bill and pick out some To-Go Wine. And that's when we realized - there were no prices posted anywhere. When my tasting, glass of wine, and single bottle rang up to $45, I panicked. YOU SNEAKY WINE SPIRIT GUIDE! WHAT SORCERY IS THIS? WE DON'T EVEN GET TO KEEP THE GLASS?!? So I threw the glasses on the ground and we left.
Just kidding!
I sheepishly paid my bill like the upstanding citizen I am and we hightailed it out of there. Granted, the wine was good, but I might have picked a cheaper bottle of To-Go Wine had I known up front.
Flash forward several months into the future, when we start doing some casual Internet research into Medaloni Cellars so we'll sound knowledgeable when it comes time to write this-here blog post. Turns out Joey Medaloni is a well-known Greensboro businessman who owned and operated a string of nightclubs downtown back in the early '00's. So that explained everything.
I think we owe this winery another visit in the future. But at least this time we'll know what we're getting ourselves into.
- Staff: While the owner was our personal Wine Spirit Guide, he didn't impart any of his wine wisdom on us - 2
- Indoor ambiance: The nice surroundings and decor would be perfect in all seasons - 4
- Outdoor ambiance: Great patio and Adirondack chairs were a nice touch -3
- Regular wine tasting: Good wines with fun labels - 3
- Specialty wine tasting: Nada - 1
- The story: We found out a lot more than we planned in our own research, but didn't hear much about it during our tasting - 3
- Amount/selection tried: Measly 1 - ounce pours, you don't keep the glass, AND you have to pick between two tastings? No thanks. - 1
- Cost: Prices aren't posted on the tasting sheet, so we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. When the bill came, it seemed a bit high - for NC wine at least. - 2
- Location: Convenient to Winston-Salem, and literally down the street from a few other wineries, the location is great. And they're open till 8 pm which is unheard of in the winery world. - 5
I think we owe this winery another visit in the future. But at least this time we'll know what we're getting ourselves into.