Horseshoe Bend Vineyard and Winery

Adorable vineyard in the Bardstown area. Ann is as sweet as they come, and knows her wine!

What a tasty winery!!! The staff was friendly and accommodating! The wine was good as well. Not my favorite but definitely one that tastes fresh :)

RIP OFF! Very disappointing– especially after the long, treacherous drive it takes to get there. Mom had a living social deal, $ 10 for tour and a cheese tray with old cheese. The owner immediately mentioned she had no souvenir glasses left and couldn’t honor that part of the deal. We proceeded with the wine tasting, which was $ 5 for FOUR wines (she was out of one of the wines) and she gave very small samples. Despite that, we still each bought a bottle of wine and she still didn’t offer to wave the tasting fee. We have been to 15+ wineries alone in Kentucky and Indiana and this was by far the worst… You will leave feeling cheated out of your money for nothing.

Driving back to Lexington, coming from Nashville, I decided to stop off at Horseshoe Bend. I also recommend stopping here on your way back or to the bourbon trail, on the Bluegrass Parkway.
I first tried their wines at the Lexington Farmers Market and was impressed, and then I tried Red Jester at a wine festival back in the summer and it was my favorite wine at the festival. Oh, and at the Incredible Food Show. You get the point, I was already a fan before visiting the winery.
The five mile drive off of the parkway was less than scenic. It was a curvy road but not the country scenery that you see in some parts of KY. Don’t knock the winery for that, at least it’s only five miles, and the turns are clearly marked, so you don’t even have to use your GPS.
We got there at around 4:30 on a Sunday. They close at 5, but in no way did I feel rushed. Regina was so sweet and explained the history of the vineyard and each of their wines. I did the $ 5 tasting. I found a new favorite Horseshoe Bend favorite wine, Cabernet Franc Carmenere. It seems to have less tannins than most dry wines. Don’t quote me on that though, a wine specialist I am not.

Wow! I went to a Kentucky wine tasting event. Featuring all the local wineries. This one is a jewel! the Jester Wine is extremely flavorful thank goodness they had a bottle to sell me! Rich robust but yet with no rough edges. Dry and fruity very nice wine. I am planning a trip out to the winery soon that is for sure. They also have dinner events at the winery on occasion. Just visit the website to see the happenings!

Horseshoe is quite possibly the prettiest winery in Kentucky. It’s a long drive, including a ways down a one-​way road, but it’s nestled on top of a beautiful ridge, surrounded by green Kentucky hills. The building itself is beautiful as well and I suggest you do your tasting on their gorgeous porch if you can.
This used to be my favorite winery in KY for its wines too, but they have had a bad year or something. Their wines were all a bit watery this year, which is not how I would have described them at all when I visited in 2012. I still appreciate them using unique, difficult-​to-​find grapes like the Norton and I will give them a third try next year, with a new harvest. I also felt like the woman doing the tasting didn’t know much about the wines, other than the descriptions on the paper she provided. I even mentioned Norton being the American grape, thinking it would prompt her to tell us a little about it, but she didn’t go beyond the script whatsoever.
I was also a bit frustrated that they decided to close early the day we visited due to low crowds. Luckily, I had called ahead the day before to learn this, but if I had driven all the way out there to find them closed, it probably would have ended any business relationship in the future. As it was, they lost the two wine bottles we would have purchased to sit on the porch and relax.
Horseshoe is pretty far for anyone visiting, regardless which metropolis from which they hail, so I feel like they need to step up their game to remain competitive. They have the view, but it’s a heck of a drive to get to it. They need to improve their wine quality back to where it was and be sure that, if they say they’re open to a certain time, they honor that.

The drive to this winery was very scenic. However do watch out, this is really out in the countryside. Getting there required you go on a narrow gravel road. It was awesome to see abandoned buildings, farms, barns and the rolling hills of Kentucky along the way.
Once we got there I was amazed by the view and location. Gorgeous! We were greeted by the employees and owners. Felt very welcomed.
Instead of sitting inside to try the tasting there was another option to sit outside and the server was to come around with the wines we picked out from the list (tasting). It took long to get the tasting, because it was extremely busy. There should have been more than two people serving on a busy day. That was my only complaint.
I really like the quality of their wines. Very smooth and not acidic.
Also the artwork on the bottles of wines were designed by the owners son which was very fun and comical.
Overall it was a great experience, but was not pleased with the service.