Daveste’ Vineyards

I would have given more stars if me and my husband were not treated like invisible people. There were 2 girls (Jamie and Rose/​Rosie) helping 3 other couples when we arrived at a large empty space at the bar. We received no acknowledgement, no «hey, be with you shortly» or anything. Rose was engaged in conversation with customers but Jamie was milling around and looked at us but said nothing. About 5 mins later another 2 couples came in and stood beside us and Jamie immediately acknowledged them, gave them wine glasses and tasting sheets and began a conversation. Rose finally greeted us when she had break in conversation with the other customers, and she was very pleasant and helpful. The chardonnay was actually pretty good and we bought a bottle but have no intentions of returning.

I was pleasantly surprised about this winery — and it’s so close to Charlotte. It was our first stop on a winery tour of the area with friends and it was one of the best ones we stopped at that day. It’s a very boutique type winery with beautiful views and a staff that really cares.
Jody gave us a tour before the tasting and it was very informative. Love the fact that there are «volunteers» to help harvest the wine and share in the harvest meal. Sign me up…
Thought the wines were good — they had a nice variety and we bought a few bottles along with some amazing cheddar biscuits. The local art on the walls is a nice touch — some of the watercolor paintings are painted by the owner are incorporated in to the wine labels. We will definitely be back!

First let me start on the vineyard grounds itself. Absolutely beautiful, with large open fields a small pond, with a walking bridge over small waterfalls that lead to a creek that makes it a very relaxing atmosphere. There is a very nice patio with plenty of tables to sit and overlook the scenery. It has gas log fireplace and Heaters in the ceiling for those chilly days. We took a short walk down the trails that follows the small creek that took about a slow paced 30 minutes. There are also plenty of other sitting areas to take in the scenery.
Ok, now for the tasting and the wine. The tastings were uninspiring at best. We did the $ 7 (keep the glass) for 3 whites and 3 reds. The only wine I could distinguish a difference in taste was the Cabernet Sauvignon because of the taste of aged in a oak barrel taste. As far as the presentation, the girl was very uninspiring and didn’t talk much. We did purchase a glass of Reisling that’s pretty decent but it’s not part of the tasting. All glasses of wine are $ 5 and they sell over priced cracker and cheese plates.

Great Wine and location. Most of the staff is very friendly. I had my wedding here and it was beautiful. The groundskeeper is not always in a good mood but the others are very friendly and helpful.

Some nice wines and nice staff. They do have a nice porch to watch the river but so far its been to cold for us to actually sit out. But we do like the place and i would say half the wines are decent. Some nice local artists as well. There tastings do change depending on what is open so you just never know what you will get. They will however open any bottle if you buy a glass I believe

We have been to Daveste many times and have always enjoyed the wines and the atmosphere. The rocking chairs on the covered porch over looking beautiful country side makes for a very relaxing place to bring own picnic basket of cheese, crackers and grapes and pair with our wine selection.
Love the live music too.

What a lovely little vineyard!
My girlfriends and I chose this place to celebrate a birthday and of course sample some wines. And lucky for us this place made the perfect setting for a girls day out.
I really loved how quaint the vineyard was… the beautiful views made for excellent pictures and the small staff made everyone in our group feel very comfortable. They offer tours of the vineyard at 2:30pm and 4:30pm and wine tasting all day.
In my opinion it’s a pretty good deal…6 samples (3 white and 3 red) for $ 5…or keep the glass for $ 7.
We brought our own spread of goodies to go with the wine and after the tasting bought two bottles and… the rest as they say is history!
We had a lovely time! If you’re ever in Troutman stop by and have a glass… or two!

I think the vineyard is very pretty, however this is the worst wine I have ever tasted. THE WORST!
The 2007 Cabernet tasted like pure vinegar. When I told the woman behind the counter that it tasted like vinegar, she said she couldn’t smell it because she was old and her sense of smell wasn’t what it use to be. She never offered to open a new bottle because clearly that bottle was a bad bottle, so we had that vinegar taste in our mouths… that’s how I will always remember their Cabernet. NOT GOOD.
I was hoping that this would be a great winery because it’s so close to our house, but sadly, the wines were awful.

We go here frequently for the dry wines, the music, the atmosphere. We always bring cheese/​crackers or sandwiches and fruit/​veggies. It’s how we roll.

After reading some reviews, we decided toi return to Daveste to verify our positive experience — we did. The winery offers a beautiful locale, nice local wines, great live local music and a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. Nice people, nice place, nice wine… you could call it… NICE!

Quaint little vineyard, the tour was nice. The lady at the counter seemed distracted and rushed. Not sure if she even wanted us there. It probably didnt help that we did it through living social. Even with that said I still enjoyed it and may return to enjoy the outdoor seating.

We did the Living Social deal. Took the kids and had a blast. Great band! Made a few friends and just hung out, drinking wine. It is a great way to kill a Saturday afternoon :-)

Daveste Vineyards is a winery located way out there in Troutman. It’s a beautiful location with plenty of rolling hills and greenery, and they do offer to have weddings on the grounds. Though it begs the question of what you will serve your guests since Daveste’s wines are way, WAY below par, and in some cases downright nasty.
The tasting room is your first stop, and it’s a pretty nice building that has that winery feel. There is a small bar set up for tastings and plenty of tables inside and outside to choke down glasses or bottles of wine. The brief winery tour also begins in the tasting room. The winery tour was slightly informational and takes you through the vineyard and into the fermenting and bottling rooms. The tour ends back in the tasting room where you are encouraged to do a wine tasting.
The tasting is $ 5 a person and consists of three reds and three whites. Unfortunately, most of the wines were just horrible. The red wines we tasted were the 2010 Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin and Dulcinea. The Cabernet and Chambourcin were both bitter, with a sour aftertaste that didn’t do anything at all for the wines. The Dulcinea was their dessert wine and was slightly better, but it was way too sweet, even for a dessert wine.
The white wines were their 2011 Chardonnay, Viognier and Traminette. The Chardonnay was extremely dry and flavorless, and the Viognier was nothing to write home about. I will say that the Traminette was my favorite. It was unique and the the hint of lime you get is a surprising shock to get from a wine. No one else in our tasting group shared my enthusiasm for this wine, and at $ 18 a bottle it was definitely not worth bring home.
Daveste Vineyards is one of those cases where looks can be deceiving. The grounds, buildings and vineyards all look like they belong to a banging winery, but the end product does not reflect the beautiful exterior. I would recommend steering clear of this winery and looking for a different one. I did make sure I remembered the name of this winery… only so I know to never buy a bottle of it at the store in the future.

We have enjoyed many afternoons at Daveste. Born in California with three siblings there, I’ve been to CA’s Buena Vista, Gundslach, Mondavi (Robert himself led the tour,) Kendall Jackson; wonderful tours and wines. North Carolina’s wine industry is young, and so are the wines. The wineries are varied and refreshing. Daveste offers a beautiful locale, live local music and a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. Even a gloomy winter afternoon is nicely spent in front of the fire looking out over the pond, sipping summer’s sunshine in a bottle. And on the right day, there’s cheese and crackers.

Very small vineyard off a desolate country road in Troutman, which the route often contains a police checkpoint, be prepared.
The grounds are really pretty with rolling hills and farms. I’m not from here and it makes me forget I’m in NC, a very western feel. This was the best part.
We had the five wine tasting (I think it was $ 7 with the glass). The wines were fine to pretty watered down tasting, I doubt they literally diluted the wines, but lacked body and creativity for such a small vineyard. Other small vineyards I’ve been to (not here) have something remarkable or extremely unique, something. That wasnt the case here, I had a terribly hard time finding a bottle to buy even after trying others not included in the tasting. Speaking of– the bottles were expensive (like $ 25) for a small vineyard, especially a not-​that-​good-​one.
The lady doing the tasting was very nice, but seemed incredibly distracted with helping the other employee for there only being two other customers there. Whenever we asked a question about the wine, the answer always involved something to do with these wines being way better than off-​the-​shelf wines. Like amazingly better. It was weird, being that stuck up about unremarkable wine. I heard their winemaker might be God, but I’m not sure. She did rinse my glass between the whites and reds… but said I could drink the rinsate instead of dumping it if I wanted to cleanse my palate??? I guess I’d have preferred drinking fresh water.
Overall, the grounds are great and would probably be nice for a wedding rehearsal thing/​bachelorette party stop/​date (although don’t forget about the potential police checkpoints, and that they stick to a STRICT two glass maximum, whether or not you are driving), they have picnic tables and a small deck. They don’t have food of any kind (this would have helped their score had they had ANY kind of snack… bags of cheetos, anything). It’d be nice to check out on a really nice day you don’t have anything better to do than drive out to the country for a lovely quiet day and mediocre wine.
If they let you, bringing a picnic would seriously double your experience here. But at that rate, get a $ 10 bottle from Harris Teeter and take your picnic somewhere closer to home.

3 stars only because of the beautiful land and scenery. Otherwise, 2 stars at most. Yet, another disappointing service experience in North Carolina :(it’s probably not fair to review a winery as a Californian but if you’re going to have one expect to be critiqued. Fail all the way around. Mixing wines in the glass, no water to wash palate, and the wines were acidic. The reds lacked body and were acidic. If wasn’t for the company and the scenery it would’ve been regretful. Keep trying NC!