Indian Rock Vineyards

I, like many others had a terrible encounter with the owner, Ed.
My wife and another couple stopped by Indian Rock for an impromptu tasting as we drove by and saw their beautiful grounds. We had our dog with us and tied him up outside in the shade and went inside. Upon seeing that there was only one other group in the tasting room and that there were old wood floors and the whole tasting room is open to the outdoors, I asked if it was OK for me to bring the dog inside while we tasted, to which the employee in the tasting room said absolutely, no problem, with no hesitation. I understand that dogs are not always welcome in tasting rooms and have no problem. with that
So, I went outside to grab our [extremely well behaved and calm 8 year old] dog. Before I could even get inside an older man, who didn’t identify himeself, starting yelling repeatedly at me «You can’t bring that dog in there», to which I replied very calmly, «Oh, I just asked and was told it was OK. Is that not alright?». Ed, replied with «Well I own the god damn place and I say you can’t». And when I say yell, I mean literally shouting at me. So of course at this point, I went inside to tell the other three members of our party that we would not be giving Indian Rock our business and we were leaving before we were even able to begin our tasting. As we left Ed continued to yell at us that they didn’t want dogs inside as we’re literally walking away. I told him that was perfectly fine, I understood that and had asked before bringing the dog inside and had no problem with that. What I DO have a problem with was being literally screamed at by a business owner while I’m trying to support their business.
NOTE: The employee in the tasting room was extremely friendly and apologized profusely for the owner’s behavior. I felt terrible for her and hope she’s able to work at a winery where she is valued and treated with respect. NOBODY should support this business.

The ladies here were so nice and accommodating, and the wine and port were fantastic! Really made our trip to murphy’s complete.

My wife and I greatly enjoyed this winery on previous trips, so much so that we joined their wine club. The staff in the tasting room was always kind, courteous and accommodating. We took a large group of friends out to Indian Rock late in the day one Saturday to enjoy what we felt was one of the better wineries in the area. As we turned onto Pennsylvania Gulch, we noticed an older man picking up the «tasting room open» sign. It was only 4:30 so we stopped and asked if the tasting room was closed, to which he replied «I don’t know» so we proceeded to the winery. Myself and part of my group entered the tasting room to start tasting and pickup our wine club release. After about 10 minutes, we were curious as to where the rest of our group was, so I exited to the parking lot to find Ed harassing my friends about coming so late in the day. Ed was the old guy picking up the sign that I asked if they were open on the way in. I told him that I was a wine club member and that technically the tasting room was still open, so I would like my friends to come in and taste. He told me he had a dinner reservation for 5:30 and that he didn’t want his staff working overtime. ok, I get that, but aren’t you in a retail establishment, where sometimes clients have to stay late to finish helping clients already on premises? And technically, he was still open… If he had asked nicely for us to hurry, our group would have only tasted those wines most important to them, or would have opted out all together. But Ed lacks serious customer service skills. which is costing his winery business. I had no plans to leave a bad review for this winery but upon emailing the winery with my concerns and requesting to cancel our wine membership, they didn’t even acknowledge my concerns, which tells me that Ed is most likely the one answering emails.

We visited Indian Rock Vineyards for the first time yesterday and we will return again and again. I am going to tell my friends about it too. The owners and staff were so friendly and warm. The wine was delicious and for sulfite sensitive folks, I should mention that they do not add sulfites to the wine. In the back of the wine tasting room, there are several picnic tables and a beautiful pond and view of the mountains. It is the perfect place for a picnic with friends or to meet new friends. I highly recommend this winery.

What a pleasant surprise this place was! I have been visiting the area for 10+ yrs before I followed the small sign on Hwy 4 in Murphy’s to this winery. I have been disappointed that several of the more famous local wineries now purchase their grapes from other regions (not to mention sell to lg grocery stores). They give me a headache! Unfortunately visiting those wineries you wouldn’t know that they are no longer «locally produced» until you ask!
These wines are awesome! You can tell that the owner/​winemaker is passionate about every wine he releases. The Coyote Creek red is an amazing blend of all the reds they produce– an exciting-​new blend every year. I chose this region for wines of this quality. I am now a member and loving every variety, knowing it is grown locally on their estate.
The staff is super friendly & they know all their members by name.

Had a lot of fun chatting with the owner and trying on the fun belts and jewelry. The wine was good, but it had a lot of sediment… the glass was coated with it. Great property!

The best winery in the Murphys area. When I’m out there, this is a «must stop» on the wine-​tasting route. Friendly and knowledgable service, wonderful wines, and a beautiful location. It gets crowded on Saturdays, when they have their bbq’s. (I think they’re for wine club members and guests — but perhaps they’re for ALL paying guests.)

Cute little place, good wine and a special bonus of jewelry and belts for sale. If you like «bling» be sure to stop by!

Well, the owner Ed really needs to put on his website or maybe at his front entrance «NO LIMO“S ALLOWED!!!» because that would have saved us a wasted trip and much aggravation. A group of my girlfriends came to Arnold for a wonderful spa/​wine tasting weekend. We were having a terrific weekend until… ED…
We decided to get a limo for the wine tasting day because we didn’t think driving was a good idea and it’s also the easiest way to get around with 10 people. Imagine our surprise when we came to Indian Rock Vineyards as we quietly and respectfully walked up to the entrance, were greeting by Ed «hello ladies, there are too many of you to go inside all together». OK fair enough, we thought, strange way to greet your guests, but it was probably crowded inside. So we broke up into two groups and 5 of us went to the cute pond out back, and the other 5 were going to go inside, until A) We noticed that it was NOT crowded inside, plenty of room for all of us and B) Ed continue to treat us like we were not welcome. It would have been sooo much easier had he just told us from the start he didn’t like large groups of women spending hundreds of dollars each on his wine and joining wine clubs.

To tag onto my girlfriend Shelli’s review of our visit yesterday, I can’t tell you how disgusted I was at how we were treated. Not only was he rude and demeaning, he was downright sexist, too. For the owner of a winery to greet us with reject before even asking us any questions about why we were there, what the occasion was, where we were from, etc., he immediately drew the conclusion that because we were being responsible drinkers by renting a limo to take us from place to place, we must be a bunch of drunk, wild women just looking for more alcohol. And his comment to me after all of the rudeness that «hey…go on in and check out my wife’s jewelry because you’re women and you like that stuff…»? Are you kidding me?! I walked halfway into the tasting room and walked right back out and gave Ed a big piece of my mind.
I grew up in Healdsburg, a huge wine country region, with many many winemakers that are close and dear friends, and never would they treat a patron like Ed treated us. My husband and I own a house up in Arnold and I will be very sure to let everyone I meet up there to know what kind of a retched person he is. If he could have only seen the amount of wine we had already bought that day!
If anything, he’s making all the other wineries and winery owners we met yesterday look that much better. Thank you to all the other places we stopped for such an amazing time. Russell Irish of Irish Vineyards… you rock! Thank you for making our last visit so much more pleasant and inviting.

Indian Rock is a little ways of the beaten path but definitely worth the drive and time. If you are a port fan like me then you will really like taking the time to go there. They have one of the best ports i have ever tasted. I bought 4 bottles and keep one open on the counter. It stays good forever. They have a large outside picnic area which would be good for kids to run around in.

As mentioned in other reviews, the grounds are beautiful, and we were able to enjoy a free lunch since they were offering grilled hot dogs to guests on Saturday. It really is a nice touch, and made the place feel comfortable and homey. The woman in the tasting room was very friendly and knowledgeable, and the wines were more reasonably priced than most in Murphys. They weren’t my favorite wines, but my husband and I were with two other couples and we all purchased wine there.

We appreciate the service and fine wine

In terms of the setting and the value, it would be hard to beat Indian Rock. We visited on a Saturday, when they were offering a BBQ free to wine purchasers interesting in seeing just how nicely their rosato goes with grilled meat and the beautiful lake view (it is a smashing combination in case you are wondering). The ducks swimming in the lake and the resident osprey diving for fish will keep you entertained in between conversations with locals, and that is just the outside…
Inside the tasting room, the staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. We were so impressed with the rosato, that we bought a case (the $ 120 special for wine club members even convinced us to sign up, not that they had to twist our arms much). We also loved the 07 Pinot Noir (lighter and well balanced) and the Ruby Port (this a port that I couldn’t say no to). The viticulturist Steve even brought a few grape bunches into the tasting room so that guests could taste the fruit right off the vine…
All in all, this a great place for great-​value wines with prices that are so reasonable, that you’ll be asking for help to get the CASES to the car!

We came to Arnold/​Murphys for a five year anniversary three day weekend getaway. In that time we visited Indian Rock Vineyards twice and signed up for their wine club. My husband convinced himself we would be available to drive up at least three times a year for our wine club portions and that the deal was too good to pass up. Hmm… we’ll see.
Indian Rock is rather impressive in it’s modest setting. Beautiful to be sure with it’s tasting room set among the vineyards and next to a quaint little pond stocked with fish, which they give the kiddos fish food to feed them and two very possessive pure white ducks. A nice change from all the downtown, Main Street tasting rooms in Murphys. Every Saturday they grill for their patrons, wine club members and guests. We showed up Saturday, ate a couple of hot dogs along with some other picnic provisions we brought along and then headed in for a tasting. I think what impressed us the most was the fact they harvest 18 varietals on their property! 18! And all of it is good, if not a little young because they sell through it so fast. They boast 500 to their wine club and are looking to become private very soon, which means you will need to join their club or know a club member in order to get in for a tasting or purchase. With as few cases as they are able to produce with so many varietals it seems like the thing to do. Another reason we finally grew up and joined a wine club. Run, don’t walk to try this place out before they go private. You might find yourself turning in you card for Never-​Neverland to become a grown up too.

Nice tasting location for their wines. I was impressed with their red offerings mainly due to the fact that I prefer my reds lighter. We walked out with 2 bottles of 05 Zin and 1 06 Pinot. Has a very cozy feel, despite the limo of 10 cougs that were prowling about at the same time we were trying to taste. Oddly enough, they also sell rhinestone belts (including a jesus model) if your coug is into that sort of thing. Mine isnt.

A new winery in the Calaveras County wine scene. The winery grounds are beautiful and spacious. It’s laid out like an old ranch and you overlook a small valley. But the joy is found in the bottles. The gem was a $ 9 bottle of Indian Creek Red, a delicious red table wine. Well worth the visit.