The Little Wine Bus

Stay far far far away…
I booked a wine bus tour for my company and I wish that I had checked Unilocal before doing so. As others have already noted, the owner is quite aggressive and rude. We were promised wine during lunch and glasses of wine on a tractor ride through the «beautiful vineyard». The tractor ride was a complete joke and just a short circle around some vines right next to the side of the road. Then, while I’m having a private conversation with several of my co-​workers (including my boss), she interrupts me and drops a bill that included the lunch and tractor wine, asking for immediate payment. I’m obviously not going to start a scene in front of my co-​workers so I paid up. I spent the next week asking the owner for an itemized receipt (for expensing purposes). The itemized receipt never came and the owner emailed my company and complained that I had harassed her and asked for me to be fired… Yep.
A short glance at the other Unilocal reviews should tell you that this is not an isolated incident. Please stay far away from this company, there are MUCH better ways to spend your company offsite, bachelorette party, or whatever else you’re planning.

I really really wish I had read Unilocal before spending money on this tour. Simply put, don’t do it. Organize a bus yourself and throw your friends on it with booze, and you’ll be fine. The group of people we were with made my wife’s 30^th birthday amazing despite the tour company owners complete lack of customer service.
Top of the head:
–Promised itinerary two weeks after we booked the tour in August. Got the itinerary four days before the tour in October.
–Promised communication and the royal treatment. Got no response to email after email, and rushed can’t-wait-to-get-you-off-the-phone when I did get a hold of Tania. My longest conversation with her was 5 minutes, three days before the tour.
–I’m sorry but if you’re like me, misspellings, poor grammar, all caps, rushed communication without commas, and comic sans are markers of unprofessionalism. Expect that.
–Promised steep discount because Tania was a family friend. After seeing people paid around 80 a head on Goldstar, I’m wondering why my average was 140.
–Chastised repeatedly and told not to stress, when the issue was poor customer service. Rude.
–Terrible choice of third winery, wine glasses smelled like musty cardboard, beer lines were dirty, wine was awful. No info was given on the wine except a name (P.s. avoid this winery — palaia).
–maybe if we were more buzzed at the third winery we wouldn’t have minded, but the most drinking we did was not at the wineries themselves because we spent 6 hours on a bus.
–Told pickup was midmorning in August, then 9am when I finally reached her in October, then at 915 a week before the tour, then two days later it was 830. Sorry, but people have to plan.
–Was asked for cake flavors to cater to the bday. Awesome! Asked for vanilla with oreo filling. Received chocolate with oreo filling. My wife at a small bite graciously.
–was told there were no vegan lunch options because no one in that area eats vegan. What??? It’s 2015 and new Paltz is right there. Does she think we can’t google? Why is she so comfortable lying?
–was given the name of a bus driver and his cell 12 hours before the trip left in the morning. Showed up and it was a different driver with a different cell. Minor details matter sometimes.
–bus driver had the wrong itinerary. Or wait, maybe it was right? Itinerary changed 3 times. Texted Tania concerned about it, was told a fourth itinerary (!) And then after i corrected her, she said no worries it’ll be great.
–met Tania at the first winery, immediately singled me out as someone who stressed too much, and then later interrupted my lunch in front of my friends to ask me why she had stressed me out. not the proper time and place to have that conversation.
–we were told there would be a raffle, and promised two bottles plus a big grand prize. We got one bottle. No 2^nd bottle and no prize.
–was promised a «big bag of nice gifts for the 30^th bday person» — we got sunglasses shaped like wine glasses, 30^th bday bead necklace, and 30^th bday something else, I forget. Cheap dollar store stuff.
–to top it off, we were instructed to leave all the decorations on the bus. LOL. So we got cheap stuff that was being reused.
–was told we’d have a picture with a big wine glass that would make for a memorable picture (personal experience with a passed away loved one) for my wife based on an earlier tour she had taken. No such opportunity provided, despite verbal promise at the location when we were there
–we were told repeatedly how Tania was buying us things as gifts. No, Tania, you took 3 grand from me and my wife so WE were buying them. Least you could do was to give me and my wife credit for it.
–repeatedly told it was peak fall foliage and that was the reason everything was disorganized. Judging by the reviews here, that’s her m.o. all the time, foliage or not. So she’s a liar on top of being completely disorganized.
Ultimately was what right: a bus, friends, the weather, a happy birthday girl, fall in the Hudson valley, and nostrano and Benmarl wineries who make quality liquid and care about the customer experience. All of which had zero to do with the little wine bus. Avoid avoid avoid.

I am only giving this business 2 stars due to the fact that it’s hard NOT to have fun while drinking wine with 21 of your friends to celebrate a 30^th. It was a gorgeous day and we managed to salvage the day, but that was in no way due to the staff’s help…
We were picked up in the Hudson valley and thank goodness for our sweet bus driver, Jeff. He was great. However, Tania did not deliver what she described to us upon booking and despite her buying our group a few bottles of wine to compensate, her terrible attitude the entire time made those bottles of wine not worth her effort. Arguing with upset customers is never good customer service.
For one, We did not receive the bus we were promised upon booking. Was supposed to be a karaōke bus. Instead it was a tiny dirty bus. Tania stated that the things she promised in a paragraph in an email she wrote our party planner were «typos». A paragraph of typos. The wine tastings did not include any tours as promised and the entire day was completely disorganized. Seemed as though they had never done a tour before. We had to wait hours without having any wine or entertainment and the last vineyard we went to was more of a hole in the wall bar (Palaia– at least there was cornhole games to play) Tania kept telling us it was a busy weekend due to the fall foliage. We knew that which is why we booked through a tour company that we hoped would expedite our tastings etc. we were asked to stand in line and wait for room on tastings which is never like any group tasting I’ve been on.
I would never recommend this tour to anyone and the other 21 people I went with wouldn’t either. Terrible communication, disorganization and not delivering what was promised. Do yourself a favor and just hire a car service and go to the vineyards yourself. Pack your own picnic lunch and enjoy yourself. Booking through this company does not provide you with any perks or specials at the vineyards.

Very very unprofessional, i never made it to the tour i canceled because i contacted Tania way back in june for the Aug wine tour its now the week of the event on a tuesday and still no itinerary. Everytime i called i would get a run around and an ill call you back which never happened. Then finally i took last chance and called the monday on the week of the event she told me to relax because she has a newborn. I just canceled. People need to know in advance Sorry i will never recommend this lady. I didnt even make it to the tour and already had problems.

SCAM… DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!! THEY TAKE YOUR MONEY WITHOUT PROVIDING A SERVICE!
My sister and her husband purchased a gift certificate for my husband and I as a Christmas gift the Christmas before last. I was not able to use it in the last 1.5 years due to family commitments, weddings, graduations etc.
I sent an email to the owner/​operator that my sister purchased the gift certificate from asking when their tours are so I can use it because now my commitments are over. She will not honor it stating that it has been too long since it was purchased. She said she can’t find it in her files (not sure how this is my problem) and that it must be four years old because she keeps a tight file (so the customer is wrong and she is right. No way she couldn’t have misplaced it)…REALLY?
I took pictures of the gift certificate and even gave her my sister’s name… Clearly it is from their company. She said she couldn’t imagine I would try to use a gift certificate that is four years old… REALLY? First of all its NOT four years old and WOW what a concept… I am trying to use a gift certificate that someone purchased for me that you already cashed the check for! How crazy of me.
Also, there is NO expiration date on the gift certificate so it shouldn’t matter when it was purchased. This is really how you treat your customers?
Little Wine Bus’s Guide to how to treat your customers…
#1. Tell the customer they are wrong and you are right.
#2. Tell the customer you are taking their money and without providing a service to them.
#3. Tell the customer that you can’t imagine they would actually want to use the service that was purchased for them.
By reading other reviews it is clear to me that the owner is not organized since many people complain about the operation of the tours and last minute cancellations that they were not told about. How is Is it my fault she lost the paper work for my gift certificate, even though I physically have the gift certificate that does not have an expiration date on it? She will not allow me to use it because she cannot prove when it was purchased.
Does this make sense to anyone? What a SCAM! Don’t waste your time with this company. Book a tour for the Long Island Wineries.

I went in September for my friends birthday. Upstate during the fall is as beautiful as you can get… unless you’re on this tour. First, it was crazy expensive. Second, the samples of wine they provided at the 3 wineries were so small you had to purchase your own glass to even feel buzzed. Third, we were rushed from place to place so we couldn’t really enjoy the atmosphere. And last but not least, the woman who runs the tour is nasty as they come. Now keep in mind, she was pregnant at the time. However, if your hormones are acting up that day, stay home. She barked at my friends and I a few times before she got into an actual argument with one of them. I’m pretty sure this falls under the category of unprofessional.
Basically, find a cheaper wine tour. I can guarantee you will have a better time.

Well I have mixed feelings about this trip, I purchased this voucher on goldstar because my last mintue travel plans blew up. First we were assigned seats like we were children there were two bachelorette parties who got preferential treatment on the bus (they were allowed to board first and had there own seating section) Also there was a blogger on the bus so obviously he received special treatment as well. Tania who is on level 10 all the time played loud music during the long rise and spoke in a mic all day which was annoying considering it was 9am in the morning which made the ride going to hudson valley overwhelming. She raffled off some prizes during the ride and explained her reason for starting this tour. We arrived at the first winery and we were broken up in two groups, a tasting group and tour group which was great because we learned about the history of the winery and there process of making wine. We were provided lunch and Tania made us all seat on a room and wait to be called up for lunch… we all basically ignored this because we are not children and me personally I can’t stand to micromanaged. When I got to the front of the line only veggie sandwiches were available, she told me the other sandwiches were for her other tour (she had 5 tours operating at the same time) and we could not have those I told her that all the meat sanwiches are gone and I dont want veggie. She opened the other platter and I was able to get what I wanted. We were able to eat outside to an amazing view of the HudsonValley which was great. We were only allowed to be at the first winery for 2 hours and then we had to go to the next winery. Tania is very strict on time management and she yelled at us to wrap it up and get on the bus. Once on the bus after people have liquored up (because you are able to purchase a glass or bottle of wine during lunch) the drunk karaōke started which was real loud and annoying and there was no way to escape the drunken noise. We finally made it to the 2^nd winery which it was a standing room tasting and the room was extremely small. We were only there for 45 minutes and then headed to the final winery, we were ushered into a room where we sat and was given wine while the employees explained what we were drinking, they offered us cheese and salami and pepperoni at 4pm we had to leave at 4:30 (you see the issues here) we rushed to eat and make our purchases, majority of us were still hungry so we ordered food and had to stuff our faces. We finally were ushered back on the bus, Tania said her goodbyes because she lived close by and we were sent back to NYC watching the movie Frozen (Thank God no more karaōke) so the bus was calm on the ride home which was great so I was able to sleep off all the wine I had. We made it back to NYC about 6:30pm which was great. I would recommend this trip to others just to get out of NYC and experience great wineries and views, I would suggest to bring snacks just in case you tend to get hungry when you drink. Also bring bags to carry all the wine you plan to purchase. Finally, be prepared that you will not have a quiet ride to the wineries so it is hard to nap if you are like me who went out partying the night before and is little hungover, lol. Some suggestions for Tania I completely understand that this is your business which is your livelihood so you have to be a little strict with managing a group 50 however some things to consider, customer service is key treat your all your customers the same, don’t treat me any different because I am not apart of a huge party. Also dont micromanage me, I understand you have time constraints and deadlines however if would have provided an outline of what wineries we are going to and how long we will be there it will give people a guide as to how the trip is supposed to run instead of you yelling and barking orders to people. Last thing to consider is if you have bachelorette parties maybe you should have a separate trip just for them, these young girls tend to be loud, rowdy, and obnoxious especially with all the drinking they do. All and all I would do the trip again but now I know what to expect.

Simply put, this tour delivers on atmosphere, but comes with an awful tour guide.
Tania is the owner/​tour guide and could not have been more negligent or condescending. She is not a people person, and considering the fact that her name is on the line, it surprised me that she was so uninterested in ensuring customer satisfaction. She treated everyone like they were unruly children on a field trip.
On the trip up, there was karaōke, which would have been fun if Tania ever let go of the mic! She asked for volunteers, got a ton of hands, and acted like she’d gotten no response! In the entire 2 – 3 hours on the bus, one person was actually handed the mic.
The winery’s were gorgeous. However, I felt that the tour was extremely disorganized, especially at Torne Valley Vineyards. There was not enough room in the wine tasting area for everyone on the tour, so we were all forced to uncomfortably stand on top of each other for the entirety of the tasting.
On the way home, there was more «karaōke» time, where Tania again ignored everyone who volunteered to sing and instead just played the karaōke tracks for us. It was awkward. When it was time to choose a movie, she had us vote, but didn’t take our votes into consideration at all! I think I saw one person vote for the movie she chose to play!
I really think the tour would have greatly benefited from some simple structure, as it was a generally confusing experience. I would not choose this particular tour again.

Never again.
TL;DR: Check out the filtered reviews — I count at least 25 one star ratings. We paid almost $ 2,000 for the tour and were whisked from tasting to tasting, barely given any wine, barely educated about wine, barely buzzed at the end of the day. Tania acted not like an event planner or a business owner. We were given no direction and were yelled at several times. Highlights included the bus, the lunch and my great group of friends.
We booked a private tour with the LIttle WIne Bus for a friend’s birthday. Our driver showed up early, the bus was nice and clean, had been decorated for the occasion and there was plenty of room. Great! I was surprised that there was no tour guide on the bus but we met him at our first stop, Glorie Farms. Rick, our tour guide had no energy, barely said hello, barely a Happy Birthday to my friend. He pointed the way towards the wine tasting room and off we went. We were rushed through a tasting of wines that were preselected. Any additional tastings were $ 1 each. We got to keep our tasting glass as a «souvenir.»
Back to the bus we went. Next stop, Benmarl Winery. Beautiful views. This time we did get a formal tour from a worker on the vineyard. It was nice to see how the wine was fermented, how they were kept in casks, and the bottling process. We then went and tasted a bunch of selections. The tasting was great, our server was very knowledgable, made recommendations and wasn’t afraid to give an extra tasting or two to those interested. We were told to meet «out back» for lunch. It was pretty confusing but finally we found Rick who had set up a bed sheet on some picnic tables. We were served pre-​packed lunches that were actually stellar. Sandwiches, homemade pasta salad and rice pudding. No drinks though, so Rick gathered some tap water and cups after a bit. Cool.
Soon we went to our third destination, Palaia. With no directions, we started descending a hill after getting off the bus, until Rick came out of the main bar, calling us in. We were told to sit and wait for the tasting, which was taking place with another large group. Tania (the owner of The Little Wine Bus) came in, asking why we didn’t have our glasses. Huh? They didn’t have glasses for us at this vineyard so we had to reuse the glasses we had just used. We told her we didn’t know, no one had told us, and I asked why can’t we taste out of plastic cups (after all, who wants to use an un-​washed glass that someone else drank out of). Tania continued to chastise us, and blame our friend who booked the tour, saying it’s her fault. She mentioned it about 3 times. Rick hand-​rinsed our glasses and by now we were just happy to be rid of Tania so we opted for an outside tasting. We were given tickets to use for 5 tastings and headed to the back where there was a «Harvest Festival.» It was not a tasting at all, just a table selling wine by the glass. No introductions. No descriptions. You basically had to ask for whatever you wanted to try based on the name and were treated like shit as they rushed to pour you a taste. At this point, I realize I’ve been wine tasting for 4 hours and I’m barely buzzed so on top of the $ 166 I spent on the tour, I started to buy some wine by the glass. The festival offered an «I Love Lucy» grape stomping contest which I did not attend (didn’t know it had started) but some of my friends had a blast. While I had a glass of wine inside, Tania yelled at us to come get the cheese platter outside. «Why aren’t you outside, I TOLD YOU it was going to be outside!» She kept blaming our friend who booked the tour, throwing her under the bus. At this point, we were fed up. One of my friends told her no, we didn’t know, because we were expecting a tour guide to tell us what was what, and that we were paying and tipping ($ 75, not optional) a guide who wasn’t giving us any direction. Tania said to my group, «why is he being so NASTY» and they then got into an ARGUMENT in the middle of the tour. We are a group of professionals, wanting the true wine-​tasting experience. Several people were buying cases at each vineyard and yet we were being treated like a bunch of vandals. Luckily, our birthday boy was not around to witness it but it really set the tone for the day and at that point, we just wanted to go home.

I hosted my sisters bachelorette party with the Little Wine Bus this past weekend. We had a phenomenal time! Tania was wonderful and couldn’t be more accommodating. The bus is fun and energized, and even has Kareoke! The wineries were much better than I expected them to be. I’ve done wine tours in Napa Valley and the wineries Tania took us to were better than most of the ones I’ve visited in California. I highly recommend this tour to anyone. Even though I live in Chicago, I plan on coming back and taking this tour again with my boyfriend. Thank you Tania for an amazing time and for going out of your way to make my sisters bachelorette party a great success.

This is going to be a 1 star review based on the customer service, seeing as the tour itself ended up not happening.
As others have mentioned, when you call the phone number listed on the website, you get the tour directors cell phone. Sometimes she doesn’t answer, but when she does, she sounds way too busy to answer questions and responds to them in a tone that indicates that she can’t believe you’re wasting her time. Emails took a week to be answered and I had to repeat the same information constantly. I bought two tickets for the wine bus through Goldstar as a gift, and the number of phone calls and emails that had to be exchanged just to get the basics were excessive.
Finally, about 3 days before the tour, I was able to get some more details. However, when my parents (I bought the tickets as a gift for them) arrived at the manhattan meeting location on the morning of the wine tour, they told me that nobody was there. I called Tania to ask what was happening and she was suddenly nice and apologetic and said that the tour got canceled but that her assistant must have forgotten to call us. She said that we would get the tour for free and a complimentary bottle of wine because of what happened. That of course also proved to be very difficult to arrange as I had to take care of everything myself and I eventually gave up and was luckily able to get a refund from Goldstar.
Overall, a very complex process and terrible customer service.

My husband and I had a great time on The Little Wine Bus tour. Bus left promptly at 9:15am. Tania met us at the first winery and followed the bus in her car all day, so there was no karaōke on our bus which I was thankful for. We had a very lovely quiet ride to the first winery. When we arrived, she jumped on the bus and greeted us. She is very enthusiastic and a ball of sunshine. The three wineries we went to were great. We had lunch at the first winery — it was ok – sandwich wraps and hot pasta. I preferred the pasta because it was hot. The views were spectacular at the first two wineries and the third had a great vibe, sort of like woodstock, hippie with a live band and hot cider. Overall, amazing views, great wines and company. It was a full day, but it flew by because we had such a great time. We will definitely sign up for her other bus tours.

Hopefully this review won’t get filtered out like the other negative reviews! Seriously, check the filtered reviews — they tell the real deal.
6 friends and I bought vouchers on Goldstar and it was such an ordeal to organize a date and hear back from Tania I should have known not to expect what was promised. It took multiple phone calls and emails to just get a confirmation that we had our spots. Twice she asked for all the voucher numbers — they were on the original email I sent her and still part of the chain. Then we told her we would be adding 1 to 2 more and gave her a voucher for 1 more. On the bus she just couldn’t seem to grasp that we had only given her 8 voucher numbers. One of our friends overslept and we were simply trying to let her know he wouldn’t make it when she rudely said to us «his is null and void.» Yea, we know that — you don’t have to be so rude!
So the bus arrives late (we’re all on time at 8:45 on Sunday morning) but no one can get on because Tania has to seat everyone in specific areas — great to be assigned next to the bathroom. Assigned seats were probably because she had a bachelorette party and 30^th birthday party on the bus — the 2 groups she catered to the entire time! It would have been nice to know that I was going on someone else’s bachelorette party on a Sunday afternoon.
Let’s talk about the bus ride — this woman has no volume control when it comes to speaking in a mic and she does not stop talking. It’s 10AM on a Sunday morning, just quiet down, no one wants to hear you. So on our way to the second winery we find out that this isn’t the Little Wine Bus, it’s the Kareoke Wine Bus! We get to spend the rest of the time on the bus listening to drunk girls sing karaōke. Because we were assigned seats I was placed directly below a speaker and she kept the music so loud I had a pounding headache after 2 songs. I kindly asked her to turn it down a bit on the ride home and she was so incredibly rude about the request, telling me it says all over the voucher that there’s karaōke on the bus. I read that voucher back and front and everything on Goldstar and it never said anything about karaōke.
Other undelivered promises — no breakfast (granola bars and water, thanks), 2 wineries because of the sangria festival which Tania consistently reminded us she paid for entry to (no, we paid the entry, you aggregated our payments), no lunch because it was the festival.
For the most part, we spent 4 hours in the car, 15 minutes actually tasting, and 4 hours sitting outside drinking wine we bought at the vineyards making this tour totally not worth it — it would have been cheaper and more pleasant to hire a driver and do it ourselves. Plus we would not have had to hear that awful voice
.long.

The Little Wine Bus experience was a blast! Tania is an organized, fun, upbeat, and professional guide. She certainly knows how to get a crowd involved in an entire day of fun.
The bus was clean, driven professionally, and even stoked with snacks, waters, and karaōke CDs for the ride home.
We visited three wineries and were hosted very well by each of them. The tour included lunch which was very good.
The only reason we don’t give 5 stars is because we really did not like the wines all that much, with the exception of the first.
If you’re looking for an awesome fun day out of the city, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this!

This is more of a 3.5 star review.
I spent the last 2 months planning a huge birthday blowout for my brother, sister, cousin & I who’s birthdays are all in May. We were so excited to find that ridiculous deal $ 86 (+tax & service charge, thanks Unilocalers!) & quickly had all our friends buy the deal. However, things weren’t all fine and dandy.
One of the issues I had is communicating with Tania (CEO and Tour Guide). Initially, when I first spoke to Tania in early March, she was super sweet &said she accomodate our large group even though the date selected wasn’t one of the Goldstar dates (the dates on Goldstar say April-​December btw). She would throw in some extra’s for us, since it was a birthday group &we’ve been wanting to do this trip for awhile. We left it at that, and she would send me an itinerary come April. April came & went without a word from her. I followed up & she said she’d been busy with her April buses and would get the itinerary to me as soon as possible. 2 weeks before our trip, still no itinerary.
My sister emailed her to add a few more people to our group, suddenly there was an issue. She had seats available on the bus, however she told us they were full priced seats & she couldn’t accomodate us, how is she supposed to pay the bus with Goldstar price seats? I thought that comment was sort of rude.
Another email that I felt was inappropriate was when she offered us a birthday upgrade. She described the birthday upgrade as decorations for our portion on the bus, birthday tiaras and hats, with cupcakes and birthday drinks. Initially, we didn’t think it was a necessary expense so I told her that we’d pass on the offer. Her response «Ok so no private party just for your group and toast behind the iron gates in the ancient wine cellar either… Wow ok. «Eventually, we gave in after reading the birthday description on the website. We never got that toast though… or the «extras» she had initially said she’d throw in…
Now a week before our trip, everyone’s getting anxious. Still no itinerary. Tania emails me 4 days before the trip, letting me know that we can now add on those additional people at the discounted price (great, we have to invite uninvited friends). That was fine I guess & two days before the trip I FINALLY received the itinerary. (I usually wouldn’t make a big fuss about the itinerary but there are 21 people in our group who have no idea what time to meet where, where we are going, and what to expect)
This past Saturday was our tour. However, getting to the bus was an absolute nightmare. The Revlon Walk was going on & no one was allowed at 47^th and Broadway which is where we were supposed to meet. I had a group of girlfriends wander around Times Sq aimlessly, until they spotted the bus on 48^th and 8^th.
I did not receive a phone call from Tania or the other guide listed on the itinerary, Renee. I actually called Renee who said she hasn’t been able to find the bus or Tania. I think that was poor planning. The morning ruckus sort of put a sour start to the day. Eventually Tania showed up & started manuvering people to their seats, which was sort of awkward because we were already settled before she got on the bus. I guess it was neccessary though since the bus was filled with several different parties.
We had to leave at prompty 9:15am to make it to the first winery, unfortunately two of our friends were stuck in traffic due to the walk and Tania gave them five minutes to make it to us, but they couldn’t get through the traffic. They ended up tailing the bus the rest of the way, sucks.
We stopped by 3 wineries in Hudson valley, Brotherhood, Benmarl and Palaia. The first two wineries were fantastic. We had a great tour guide at Brotherhood, who explained each of the wines wonderfully &gave us a tour of their cellar. Get the Riesling here, it’s fantastic. Benmarl had a fabulous view. It was right on a cliff, overlooking the scenic Hudson Valley. We had a great lunch, complete with blankets to lay on the grass staring at the amazing view. (get their blush wine, it’s delicious) We were supposed to do our wine toast in their cellar but I guess it was too nice outside that she just didn’t do it? I wasn’t aware of that until it was time to leave. The cupcakes she made we delicious though that was also a part of our birthday upgrade. Palaia isn’t even worth mentioning. None of the wines were good, they don’t even make their own wines there. It was a disappointment.
There was some karaōke on the bus, but only a few songs were sung. There was also a raffle, but no trivia which was promised. We ended up watching Bride Wars on the way home. Eh.
Things to know:
–definitely bring snacks/​drinks on the bus– we were offered granola bars &water, but that wasn’t enough for our drunken haze
–wear comfy shoes, almost died walking around in my heels
Overall, it was a fun trip. Everyone did enjoy themselves but it could’ve gone alot smoother with some better communication and planning

Was not all it leaves you to believe. We had a good time because how can you not have a good time drinking wine with your friends, however the website lets you think you will be getter more than you actually do. My main complaint that was that we were supposed to get breakfast, when I emailed the company about this they replied «We will refund you the 75 cents for the bagel». Which is a rude answer to a valid question and not good customer service.
that the website is misleading as it reads
«Tour includes: 3 great winery visits, all wine tasting, cellar tour,
wine education, goodie bags, breakfast (breakfast only if departing
from NYC or South Jersey) full buffet lunch, dessert, afternoon snacks,
water, games, wine trivia, cheese & cracker platters, great music on
fun on the bus, bus movie for way home, and FUN, FUN, FUN! Too much
more to list! «
And we did not receive what was Cleary written.

snagged a deal on Goldstar for an $ 81 ticket – you can’t beat that! the breakdown:
–leave midtown promptly @ 915a on a bus tricked out in holiday décor.
–spend a large portion of the ride to the first winery trying to figure out when the last time you were out and about so early on a Saturday was – this may include thoughts of «why on earth did i decide to do this?». don’t worry – these thoughts will be fleeting, as you’ll remember you’re there in the name of wine consumption/​enjoyment.
–wait, it’s only 11a and I’ve tasted like 5 wines? and now it’s time for lunch? WIN. i can handle this
–enjoy the beautiful upstate new york scenic backroads while listening to your friends make asses of themselves doing karaōke on the bus (yup, they had karaōke on the bus)
–the rest of the day becomes a bit blurry after this point, but it certainly was choc-​full of wine and fun.
other perks include: lunch and other snacks/​bottles of water included, raffles for prizes, a very perky tour guide. can’t wait to check the tour out again during the summer!

Now this is the way to a wine tasting in style!
When our friend Monique R invited us to go on this magic bus tour of wineries in Warwick Valley we did not know what to expect. All I do know if that we all scored quite a bargain on Goldstar with tickets at a big discount. Only $ 81 per ticket, and that included a whole long day of wine tasting at three different wineries, lunch at the first one, raffled prizes, bottled water, and snacks on the bus. Also, the bus was one of those posh new luxury tour buses, and not one of those yellow prison school buses. The lady, Tania, who runs the tours was incredibly lively and upbeat the whole day. She was terrific, and even had the bus decorated for the holidays. She took care of our crazy group’s needs. All eight of us had a great time.
Oh yeah, being Unilocalers you know we like to eat. We came armed with bagels, cream cheese, brownies, macarons, cheese, crackers, olives, chocolates, and other good stuff. Tania has no problem with bringing food on board, and we even made a plate for the driver. The bus was packed, but we made our own little party out of it. I think some of the people around us were a bit jealous of our cornucopia of gluttony!
The ride itself is great. Nice and comfortable. Each of the wineries we visited were unique and fun. From ciders to wine we tasted many varieties. Amazing photo ops and views at a few, a tour and lesson at one, lunch at the first, and souvenir wine glasses to take home. From the 9AM start to the arrival home around 7PM this was a full day of adventure.
I also have to mention that there is karaōke on the bus. Oh yes! Some good. Some awful. All kind of fun though. A highlight? Monique singing Madonna’s «Like A Virgin» at the top of her lungs while her parents sat right in front of her. They did not turn around once during this rendition to look at her. Awkward. (I kid Mo)
On the way home the whole bus was pretty beat and quieted down. They also have movies on the bus. Tania put on Elf and then National Lampoon’s Vacation. Great flicks and totally appropriate to end the day. Just a great way to spend a day with a bunch of super friends (Julia, Mel, Monique, Kristy, Stacey, Mo’s cool-​ass parents).
If going on this bus tour be sure to check Goldstar for discounted tickets. When you factor in the costs for an all day wine tour, lunch, transportation, food, etc, it comes out to be quite a bargain. Great call Monique!

When i went on this tour in the summer, I made a note to self to plan a birthday trip since I enjoyed myself so much.
I, along with 7 of my awesomest friends woke up early on a Saturday armed with bagels-​courtesy of momma dukes, Phil’s Homemade brownies, Mel’s tray of assorted cheeses, Julia’s gourmet garlic and cheese stuffed olives, Kristy’s fancy chocolate and my homemade french macarons. We hit the road for a boozy day.
The wine bus was filled to capacity which only meant our fun was going to be at capacity too!
Tania, the organizer, is a lively hostess and plans quite a day. She does a great job communicating the days events and also with great information on where wine comes from, how its cultivated, and stuff you would surely be amazed by. (wine is medicinal. that’s my story and I’m sticking to it)
Snacks and lunch are provided on this tour, but i encourage you to bring your own as many people come hungry and behave like vulchers… and they really should get an email from Peter D about how to behave at an event with free food.
The first stop was Warwick Wine Co, home of Doc Cider. This was my least favorite stop this time around because it was sheet chaos getting a taste of anything. The lunch they provided redeemed them. Coal oven pizza with a Waldorf salad and homemade cider doughnuts.
Back on the bus, we traveled to Benmaryl and entertained ourselves with tour bus edition of Karaōke Winos. Ever sang «Like A Virgin» on a wine bus in front of your parents? I did. And they could never be more proud.
At the much more quieter (is that a word?) Benmaryl Winery, we tasted and imbibed peacefully with breathtaking views. Feeling a little gracious, Benmaryl opened their most expensive wine ($ 27.99) the Boca Noir and allowed us all a taste for $ 1.
One more time, back on the bus to the gorgeous Millbrook Winery. This tour involved a witty and clever guide walking us through the wine making process. We then had a tasting and a platter of cheeses.
By this time, we all tuckered out on the ride back to the city where we watched a movie.
Always something going on! Its a day of making new friends, trying new wine and losing your karaōke on a bus V Card.
My guests and I took advantage of a GoldStar deal that made our tickets $ 81 per person. If you calculate the transportation, lunch, tastings, and souvenir glasses– that’s quite a bargain.

What a fun wine tour!
Tania is an amazing hostess. She was extremely accommodating with our terrible math skills (did we have 6, 8, or 10 people?) and she is very lively. She makes sure everyone gets pumped before each stop on the tour and also encourages karaōke.
The ride up was very comfortable. We brought our own snacks but some small ones were also provided by Tania and her crew. Each of the stops were amazing. I felt like we did not spend nearly enough time at the second winery but it was redeemed by the fact that they had great photo opps outside.
Coming home, we watched National Lampoon’s Vacation. Who doesn’t love that movie? Unfortunately, we got held up in a bit of a traffic jam so we were left off further uptown than expected. Ahh, New York City during the holidays.
I can’t wait to go again! Btw, extra tip: Use Goldstar to get your tickets. Only $ 81. I say only because if you think about the cost of a tasting and food at each winery, plus transportation costs, you’ll realize this is truly a bargain.