Whitecliff Vineyard

My favorite winery in New York. I have been a customer for years, and am constantly impressed by the vast selection offered, and interesting blends that they create. I am somewhat picky when it comes to wine, especially whites, but have never been disappointed with a selection from Whitecliff. There is something for everyone here regardless of palate. Additional bonus-​ALL of their wines are vegan!
My personal favorites are the Red Trail, Dry Rose (VERY unique!), and steel aged Chardonnay, which I actually first tried the other night. Crisp fruit flavors throughout without being too sweet. I recommend attending a tasting, where their wine professionals will assist you in making your selections. The staff here, in my experience, are consistently knowledgeable and passionate about their product and wine in general. Highly recommended.

Went for the Wreath fineries at the wineries… would not recommend, the staff has a shotty attitude towards patrons, when we walked in we were giving a soup (really good) and a reisling… lady downstairs was awesome! Stars belong to her. Once we went upstairs it was chaos… one girl gave us another white, then next station was a sweet red… once we finally got to the main station, and seeing the menu we were giving the choice of «sweet or dry» sweet was the port… I asked for a malbec, get told no you had your already… bullshit, I didn’t want your crappy port you made me try in place of actual good wine… WELP, my party went outside I went to pee, the STAFF STARTED BAD MOUTHING MY GROUP TO OTHER PATRONS, saying we were assholes etc.
That’s uncalled for… and then when I say something a staff tried fighting me, come on… get over yourself… your coworkers were out of line… your shitty wine and poor service won’t win anyone over, good luck you just lost a lot of business from dedicated wine drinkers… do yourself a favor save your money go to Benmarl instead…

I can only say THANK YOU! They welcomed our group of 12, we had a lovely time tasting, eating cheese, and enjoying the gorgeous views! Oh and the wine was delicious, we definitely will be back!

Nice wine selection. Friendly staff. Great setting. We used a Groupon and made it well worth it! Nice tasting glass.
We would return.

Whitecliff has a great selection of wines, and absolutely has something for everyone. The staff are helpful, friendly, and very knowledgable. The view is great and the outdoor seating on the lawn is a perfect way to spend an afternoon.
I love that all their wines are vegan and that they have a very tasty, local vegan cheese option in the tasting room as well. The dogs hanging out on the property is a definite bonus and the fact that I can bring my pup is a total dream!

The wine tasting room is a little tacky. I felt like I was in my grandmothers living room filled with useless knicknacks and dusty doilies. The wine here is good however. We bought a bottle of La Grange White. This is one of the more scenic wineries in the area due to its position under the «whitecliff» of the Shawungunk Mountains it faces. The drive here is quaint and bucolic but it’s far away from other wineries. We only came here because we purchased a Groupon:

The location is breath taking. It has a beautiful view of the moutains. The wine selection was also pretty good.

Stunning view and a nice little porch area to sit at. The owners are friendly and the wines are very tasty. They offer two tasting packages that each have different prices and different amounts of wine. If you get the more expensive of the two packages then you also get to taste one of their spirits. This was a highlight for me because I think it was delicious. When we were there it was very crowded, on a Monday of all days, and there was one stranded girl working. She was kind, worked hard, and was knowledgeable. It was sort of a downer to see some unruly customers giving her a hard time, but she maintained composure.

Our favorites were Mountain Laurel White and Traminette. Our favorite Reds were the Merlot Malbec and the Table Rock Red. The staff were extremely knowledgable and so friendly. We brought our own lunch to enjoy on the patio which was scenic and relaxing. The best part is this vineyard is dog friendly so we were able to bring our dog. We will definitely be back again.

This place was i big disappointment. The testing room is very small and not well organized, it did not have an inviting atmosphere. There is not seating at the bar area, there are few bar stools on the opposite site, but all taken. The bar was very crowded without a space to even stand so we moved across the room and it took them a while to even see we were there. Finally someone approached us and gave us a menu. The woman who did it was somewhat helpful, will give us the wine to taste, but then she will walk away and serve behind the bar, then will come back after some time. Very weird service, maybe because was little busy. The wines not so impressive, more like a cheap table wines then anything else. They also have a patio with some ugly tables. The only really positive thing about this place is the stunning view.

This is a very solid 4 star review. I think the two things it’s missing are a regular tour and snacks. The cabernet franc (which I love love love) gave me a visceral desire for a piece of cheese, and there was no cheese in sight.
My husband and I dropped in on a quiet Friday, overlapped with two other tasters for the first glass, and then had the place to ourselves. The man we spoke with was really friendly and knowledgeable and was fun to chat with during the course of our tasting. The wine selection is broad, so there’s something for everyone and the grapes are pretty unique. I’d definitely go back.

There were three hosts. One of the male host Mike (short dude w/​long hair) was the most friendliest of the three. My partner Ramon asked a lot of questions about wineries, production, locations, etc. Mike was patient and engaging throughout. This place offered 6 wine tasting for $ 10 plus souvenir glass. The location is rather small with limited seating arrangments.

This is my first review. I never felt that I needed to really go online and review a place before, but there’s a first for everything!
First off, the whole area is very nice and peaceful. You want to get away from all the hustle and bustle of the city, New Paltz, Phoenicia, and Woodstock are great places to check out.
Gardiner is right near New Paltz, which is where this winery is located. The property has a magnificent view of the Catskills, I’m talking stock-​photo brilliance. Almost surreal.
I went wine tasting with a few of my friends one weekend and the service was great! We got to take one of the ‘Tours with the Owners’ (which I believe happens each Sunday this month), and it was very informative (and delicious). Michael and Yancey (sp?) are incredibly kind and warm, but obviously know what they’re doing too!
After the tour, we did some tasting, and the girl behind the counter was very polite, and smiling. She was able to give us a few pointers on things to do while we were up there too (the Distillery was great, haha!). The wines were delicious, we came back with 2 – 3 bottles each, and in retrospect it was not enough. The Red Trail was my favorite.
I will be coming back for more. I would also definitely recommend this to my friends (ones who haven’t already been).
Good Job!

Came here after a hike on a rainy day. I’ve been to a lot of wineries and this one just didn’t impress me. The cute girl that led our tasting didn’t know much or didn’t offer up much information about the wines. The portions for each tasting were very scarce. Some of the wines were tasty, but nothing really stood out. I like that you get to keep the wine glass. I think we’d have a better experience on a nice day where you can sit outside and enjoy your snacks. On this visit the room was really packed and the other customers were rude.

Whitecliff Vineyards has good wines but their customer service at their tasting room was unprofessional today. My husband and I brought 6 of our friends with us on Shawangunk Wine Trail today. I was excited for my friends to taste some great wines at Whitecliff. When we arrived, the young redhead behind the counter asked if I had a reservation for my group. Their website and the sign on the door note a reservation requirement for ten people. We were a total of eight. When I reminded her of the winery’s policy, she lied to my face and said that it’s actually eight.
It’s not.
Then, they told us that as a group we had to stick to the same six wine samples because trying to meet our individual preferences was too difficult for them with a group of eight people. This was a big turn off because Whitecliff has a very large selection that we were hoping to get a better sample of. Both of these setbacks really knocked Whitecliff off the pedestal for me. I’m glad I got a couple of bottles but I won’t be going out of my way to seek Whitecliff out or spend more money here, nor would I recommend to any of my other friends to visit. Whitecliff may have some great wines but their poor customer services leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.
They should learn from Brotherhood Winery which was able to give my friends both generous portions and range of selection which led to MORE MONEY BEING SPENT, return customers and increased business from word of mouth.

Came here for a wine tasting as part of a friend’s bachelorette party. This was our second stop, so we might have been a little tipsy from the first winery. I believe the tasting is $ 10/​person for 5 tastes, and includes the wine glass. We also bought 2 different types of cheese to snack on with our wine, and they were both pretty good.
The wines were decent. I tried the sweeter whites (riesling, etc), and was generally pleased. There is a porch where you can sit with a bottle of wine and enjoy the day as well. Beautiful scenery!

Me, my boyfriend, and a friend took a day trip up to upstate NY from the city. This was the second time we had been to Whitecliff and were not disappointed. The views from this place are amazing, basically the white cliffs of a mountain, but the grounds are beautiful and the staff is very knowledgeable.
The day we were went, there was a wine and olive oil pairing happening. It was reasonably priced; however, the staff was sooooo stingy when it came to handing out bread. The three of us felt like we were begging for more bread, but other than that, it was great. I recommend stopping by when you are in the area!

Beautiful view, but that’s about the only positive comment I can make. Staff seemed annoyed to be pulled away from chatting with non-​buyers rather than ring up a sale. My wife also felt the servers/​cashiers were rude.
Wine is overpriced and average at best. We still bought 4 bottles just to commemorate our trip to the area.

I could give them 5 stars just for the view. But wait! They sell wine… and some tasty products as well!
It’s been a couple of years since I was last here. The downstairs is new to me. I understand it’s used for bulk wine pickups and as a spillover tasting area, though I was also told they don’t necessarily keep all the wines for tasting downstairs.
There is a staggered set of options for tasting, depending on how many you would like to try, including single glasses. Besides some of the usual fare, one of the wines which caught my interest was their Merlot Malbec (60%/40%), a wine which is available but not currently listed on their website. The staff are pleasant and informative and very people-​oriented. From behind the counter, they made sure to greet each group as they entered (I almost wanted to shout, «Welcome to Moe’s!»)
Other merchandise included a number of jellies and butters to sample and purchase. The pumpkin butter is very addicting.
And of course, the view in the back yard (and getting there) of the white cliffs of the ‘Gunks is spectacular. Take some time to sit out back a the tables and chairs they provide to enjoy the view and perhaps that glass of wine you bought.

Probably one of the better wineries up here. They also seem to have the most variety of wines too so there is something for everyone who likes weaker /​sweeter wines. Nice kid who poured. You get six wines for the price of the tasting. That is really good!
Reserve Chardonnay was our favorite and we bought a bottle after the tasting.
Riesling. They had a few I believe and this was their past bottling. I hate rieslings and this one you did not feel like you were drinking simple syrup. Not bad.
Rose– Was essentially basic.
Malbec– Flavorless and had spice take over the fruit.
Pinot Noir– Was not a pinot. It was nearly transparent and watered down.
Cannot remember the sixth.
I think they are trying to bite off more than they can chew. They should focus on creating a solid good wine and not the variety. They Chardonnay was very good and unique. I think they could achieve some nice blends since they have a dozen plus wines if they focus.
Buy a bottle of your favorite and sit on the deck!