Lynfred Winery Oktoberfest

Every year it is the same problem… too many people… not enough seating under the tent and sometimes rain. This year not only was it cold and very windy but started to rain and not enough seating under the tent and where there are tables and chairs they are so close together that you can hardly squeeze into a spot. They really need to set up another big tent or stop letting more people in when it got to standing room only in the middle of the tent so you cant see anything going on. Although we were near by we could not hear the «sing along music» from 3 – 5 pm on Saturday and certainly couldn’t see the grape stomping. The food is good and I like the wine but it’s a pretty sad excuse for an octoberfest. Get better sound system and set up an area for dancing and plan on where to put people if it rains.

Have been every year for quite a few years now — love the fun, festive atmosphere, grape stomp hosted by Jeff Hoover and the debut of warm holiday wine! Go with friends and buy the Oktoberfest by the bottle — best value!

Oh, not my cup of tea.
It was very crowded. And I have attended some fests this year, so I’m used to crowd. This just did not seem great. I could see it being better the previous years, when the weather cooperated. This year, we were all crowded by the heaters, elbowing each other randomly left and right.
The grape stomping contestants complained, that their feet were cold.
The music was just good for the occasion.
Yes, you seem to spend a lot of money there. But mind you: The admission $ 3. a plastic cup-«glass» of wine– $ 6, a bottle:$ 12. Not bad at all.
Unless you want some of their finer wines. Then, go to the winery. They are open, you can shop around for wine as well as gifts.
I guess the reason I don’t like it, is, that it seemed disorganized. Hard to talk to your friends (not a date-​friendly one), but too crowded for one to meet someone. A couple of rude people fired up on wine completed the so-​so picture.
It is a good event to experience. I will probably not repeat it, but I will recommend it to my friends
I appreciate the heaters outside, 2014 has not been the warmest year there, so everyone enjoyed these.

We’ve been meaning to do this for a few years and now we can see what all the fuss is about! It’s not quite a true Oktoberfest (no beer) but there was a tent, long tables of «happy» guests and plenty of German music. The $ 3 admission was more than fair and the food was reasonably priced too. Plus who can complain about $ 12 bottles of wine. We brought our kid (yup, we were THOSE people) but we were glad to see many other kids with parents. You can’t beat drinking outside with your kid running around having a good time too. There were also a few fun kids events (but the space designated for this was too narrow/​crowded in my opinion). The food was somewhat disappointing — the pork was salty, the brownie was like cardboard and it just wasn’t authentic to Oktoberfest. The main tent was also far too small for what was going on. Not enough tables to watch the grape stomping nor listen to the music. But they were quite limited by the space offered on the grounds. There were plenty of other places to sit — you just had to scout them out and then claim it as yours! Many of the attendees brought their own lawn chairs, next time we’ll do the same. In the future, it would be nice to see another live band perhaps near the front gate. The wine was — well, cheap and decent as is always the case at Lynfred. I didn’t particularly love the selection (Petite Syrah, Merlot, Oktoberfest) and missed many of my Lynfred favorites but for the number of people they had to please, it was a good effort on their part. One «complaint» was that they allowed smoking on the premises (but not in the tent). Though many of the smokers on the grounds tried to go to the fence (and away from the crowd) — it was still unpleasant to have to be around the smoke (though probably no more pleasant for them to have to be around my running/​screaming kid). All in all a unique event on a nice piece of property with decent wine at a fair price. Who can beat that?

Ever since I missed Lynfred’s Oktoberfest last year, I kept my calendar clear so I could attend this year (2013). I’m a huge fan of Lynfred Winery, so I had no doubt Oktoberfest would be fun. The ominous, dark rain clouds in the distance and the rapidly cooling weather couldn’t keep me away. We arrived with some friends an hour after the festival opened, got our wristbands and food/​drink tickets ($ 1 each), and prepared ourselves for some delicacies and crowds.
THE HAPPY:
+ $ 3 admission. not bad.
+ lines were deceiving. they looked long but moved quickly!
+ the winery was open, so we could go inside and shop/​pick up wines.
+ they had Rose, Apple, and Oktoberfest wines available by the glass and bottle.
+ good variety of food ranging from pretzels & cheese plates to full roast pork dinners. everything was $ 10 or less.
+ friendly crowd! I also ran into several random people I knew.
When the rain came, everyone still maintained good cheer. While many people ran inside or towards the tent, many others stayed out in the rain, with or without umbrellas. At one point, the power went out in the winery, but everyone shrugged and continued whatever they were doing until it came back on. I guess wine was all we needed to be happy!
THE MEH:
+ way too crowded.
+ not enough tables for everyone.
+ spent way too much time navigating the grounds.
+ I didn’t see any grape-​stomping action during my two hours there.
+ parking can be a pain, but you will manage to find a spot somewhere.
+ you will easily spend money. this is hard when you have very little.
+ not much to do other than drink and eat.
At one point, after we had our hands filled with drinks and food, we were having no luck finding a table. Only about half of the people at tables were actually eating. We found one that seemed half-​empty only to have some people tell us that they were «saving the seats» for some friends. Needless to say, we were a bit grumpy about that. One sweet woman, who saw us struggling to find a spot, came up to us and offered half of her table. She was saving spaces for her birthday party, but let us eat there as long as we needed to since her party wasn’t until later. Thank you, Diana!!!
I also really, really wanted to grape-​stomp. I heard that some kids and adults got to grape-​stomp later in the evening, but I didn’t get a chance to see or try. Bummer.
OVERALL:
It’s worth visiting if you live in the area, but may not be worth the drive if you live further away. The food, wines, and people were all very good & pleasant, but you will probably spend most of your time trying to look for a table that will accommodate your group. After doing that for most of our time there, we were eager to leave. I also wish they had more activities and that I had paid better attention to the schedule of events. Yet — it was nice. I’m glad we went.

Who knew it would be this humid in October?
Despite said humidity, we enjoyed our Oktoberfest visit at Lynfred Winery. From the moment we learned there was such an event at LW, it was on the calendar. So for 2 months maybe, my friends and I were looking forward to it, especially since I usually forget/​miss the Oktoberfests. Not this year, I vowed!
THINGS I LOVED:
Cheap $ 3 admission, free for kids under 13.
Short lines, and moved quickly.
Lynfred is always beautiful.
Lynfred wines, obviously! :)
You can have your wine bottle re-​sealed for transport– no wasted wine, plus better deal than by the glass. :)
Fun, good omp pah pah band (Polka band).
Food pretty cheap: $ 1-​$ 10
Pork, even without sauce, moist, flavorful-​Recommend!
The kids grape stomping was adorable and they can win food tickets.
Easy, free, convenient parking.
Friendly staff and visitors!
THINGS I DIDN’T LOVE:
Humidity (not their fault, clearly). But with it being both humid and crowded, more space to mill about would be a good thing. It just makes you want to get outta there, and I’d think they’d want you to stay longer and spend more dough. We had planned on staying to participate in the adult grape stomping. Even though our group scored a couple tiny tables and chairs on the lovely deck, that’s only comfortable for a short time and not all of us had chairs. Plus you are isolated from the events. So after we ate, we walked around to stand in the main tent, and eventually decided to go after the kids got to stomp– which was really fun to watch and dance with the polka band’s tunes.
They need way more tables & chairs. We got there prior to the event start time and it was difficult to find a table even then, and people were saving seats. You can bring chairs with, which I’d recommend.
Would like to see more variety in German foods like spaetzle, and maybe take the bacon out of potato salad or add more veg entrees.
Pretzel was supposedly made on premises, but tasted like it was microwaved. (Huge tho)
Could use more fringe kids activities to keep them entertained.
OVERALL
It was a fun, good time. You won’t break the bank here, which is a nice change of pace. Try to grab a spot by the stage in the main tent. You are in the heart of things, can see the stage events, and are comfortable and get a breeze, too. You can always send someone in to buy the bottles of wine you know you desire. ;) I wouldn’t plan on staying more than 2 or 3 hours personally, at most, so plan accordingly based on their schedule of events that interest you. I also wouldn’t drive more than a half hour to visit, unless of course you also get to visit with your friends, and then, of course, it’s totally worth it! ;)