Genuwine Tasting Room

What a nice wine bar. I’m sure I would spend way to much time here if I lived close by. The ambience was so nice and relaxing. The food pretty good. I had one of the best wines I’ve had, although the glass was a little expensive. The server was very nice and helpful. The live music was perfect for the venue.

I was greeted by an extremely courteous waiter who seated and served me immediately. When I asked him for dinner suggestions, he offered me several possibilities. He obviously had a thorough knowledge of GenuWine’s menu. I tried the vegetable pizza which was outstanding. Without reservation, I recommend GenuWine Tasting Room.

This is a TASTING ROOM. Thus the name, get it? It is not a restaurant. Sure, you can get little snacks, and if we were in Spain you probably would get them for free with your wine purchase. Sadly, Magnolia is not Madrid, so a glass of very good wine, a little cheese, a few crackers, a handful of grapes, and a bite of trail mix is going to run $ 25 – 30. You could go to GTR Every Weekend for a year, or you could save for a Round Trip ticket to Madrid. I’ve done the latter: The former is much easier. I’ll be back to GTR again, but I’ll get there when there’s live music, which is really a large part of the entertainment value that I did not get. I was there too early, and left before they played. Like going to a baseball game, eating a hot dog, leaving before the first pitch, then complaining about the price of the hotdog.
I’ll also split the cheese plate with my wife.

This is truly a hidden gem when it comes to wine bars in the Woodlands area. To start off, the staff is amazing with a couple sommelier’s who really know the wines they serve to the most friendly and professional servers. The manger is always running around making sure everything is just right. They have some great local music on the weekends and some weeknights. The entertainers are loud enough to be heard but not too loud to prvent conversation. The delightful menu can be great for wine snacks or a meal if you desire.
We have been four times and we feel like friends when we walk in. Also, the other customers (like all good wine bars) are a fairly regular crowd and some of the best people to hang with on any given evening. Make a reservation for Friday or Sat, especially is you have a large group. The web site is not bad either, you can see the menu as well as the music schedule.

Poor service went for lunch with girlfriends was refused the wine flight with «no I can’t do that right now». Food was over priced and bad. We waited 1 hour to be served and the salad was like a side order, pizza on a tortilla. Very disappointing.

Love this place! It is always a great night out with friends. Also the wine club membership is awesome.

Go for the wine and music, not for a meal. Food is secondary, and disappointing.

Very pleased with the entire visit — from reservation on open table to leaving GenuWine. My only complaint is it’s not closer to us for we would go at least 2+ times a month. The service, food and atmosphere were amazing. They offered live music the evening we visited and sound and style was perfect! Our server which we assumed was the owner (was just a «grunt» as he calls himself lol) was so knowledgeable and suggested amazing wines that I loved — that’s not an easy task for me. We even signed up for a wine club to ensure we will be back! Thanks again!

I love this establishment! From the first time we step in we knew it was gonna be a cool place to hang out and listen to some real live music! Great food too!

Wine selection was very good. Food was not great. We had the meat and cheese platter, a tiny chicken pizza, and a berry salad. Ordered a $ 50 bottle of wine. Total bill was $ 134. Go to Robards for the same value. Not worth the money, at all. But a nice place to visit occasionally because it’s close to home.

The worst element of this business is their location. They need to hire 10 cranes, pick up the whole place including the staff, and move it 10 miles South and 4 miles East. Then they can be closer to me. On the good side, where to start? Awesome and eclectic decorations in this quaint and welcoming spot. Excellent food, especially the flatbreads. But best of all, a great selection of wines. My wife and I are very experienced wine travelers and tasters, and I can tell you I didn’t know 80% of their large wine selection. Lots of wines from small, boutique wineries. And quite varied. Any wine bar/​shop that has a Tannat from Uruguay and a Pinotage from South Africa prominently displayed is aces in my book. It took us a few years to make our first visit to Genuwine, but it won’t take anywhere near that long to return. Great job Genuwine!!!

Great staff, tasty food. A place where the owner makes a person feel right at home!
Come for the live music on the weekends, this place is a jewel in the city of magnolia!
I had the Lietz Dragonheart by the glass try that one for a young crisp Riesling

I ordered the $ 25 meat and cheese plate. The portions were very small, I felt cheated. Also, they added a 20% tip to the the bill because I. brought in seven people. They should have been happy I brought in customes, there was only three other people there. The service was good, the wine and beer a bit on the high side. Nice atmosphere. I was not there during the live music. Maybe that would have justified the high prices. $ 4 for a bud light.

This place is great for Magnolia! Very well selected wine list, the staff is educated and helpful when selecting the perfect wine. It’s nice to see wines on the menu that you don’t come across at the grocery store or menus all over town. The food menu is small and a little pricey but pairs well with the wine for sure! They have live music sometimes on the weekends and it’s fun to sit on the patio when the weather is nice!

My husband (Michael Prince) and I love this place!
We are members of the wine club so we go there once a week for tastings and dinner. But on occasion we’re there twice a week to check out the band!
The owners and staff are AWESOME!
It’s close to home too! Check it out if you haven’t been see what your missing.

This is a great place for date night or just hanging out with friends. The night we went they had a cool little band there playing some classic blues Jazzy stuff. The music level was just right where you could get into the music or still have a conversation at your table. The food was really good and the service was very friendly. It was a packed house and the servers were working their butts off but still had time for everyone. Real pros.
We will be back for sure and we are joining the wine club.

Our favorite wine bar in North Houston area. Great atmosphere and friendly staff. Enjoyable live music and good food. Weekly wine tastings are always new and interesting. Cheers to Rhonda and Barb for having such a nice place for us to sip great wines.

I love this place! Good wine, food and music! Wait staff is friendly and helpful!
We go about once per week and are members of the wine club. Highly recommend.
They are on
so you can earn points towards dining dollars.

Absolutely perfect atmosphere for those of you looking for a good, relaxing time. Great music and good wine… What’s not to like. I’ve been looking for a place like this since I moved here a couple years ago.
Family-​like feeling with great live music on the weekends. You’re missing out if you haven’t stopped by yet!!!

The food and the wine were both wonderful, and reasonably priced. The bruschetta may be the best I’ve ever had. All of the cheeses on the cheese plate were excellent, and the cheese plate itself was very well put together. It came with honey and nuts (a little heavy on the almonds for me, but I know that’s a personal preference).
They had a band the night we were there, well a couple of guys anyway, playing classic rock cover songs, and they were pretty good. I wasn’t expecting music at all, so they were a nice surprise. A little heavy on The Eagles for my taste, but that’s my taste. I hate The Eagles. Hate ‘em. Always have. Except Hotel California, which they didn’t play. They did cover Marshall Tucker and a couple John Fogerty tunes, all good. Didn’t care for the Springsteen. Lose the I’m on Fire cover, that’s my advice. Doesn’t work for you. You want slow depressing Springsteen? Try Nebraska. No one’s ever expecting Nebraska.
Here’s where Genuwine lost me:
1. Lighting
I like my wine bars a little on the dark side, and the light over our table was blinding. Blinding. We actually slid our table about two feet over into a corner, where it was still pretty bright.
Recommendation: Try some dimmer bulbs.
2. Greeting
We were not greeted when we arrived, and there was no sign saying seat yourself, or if there was, we didn’t see it (and we looked), so we wandered through the restaurant and over to the bar, where we stood for several minutes until I was able to get the bartender’s attention. He said, «Sit anywhere,» which we certainly would have done if we’d known we were supposed to. Fine, whatever. But then another party arrived, stood around at the entrance for a moment, wondering what to do before just going ahead and seating themselves — and that bartender, that same bartender — goes over and greets them. WTF?
Recommendation: Greet your customers, and greet them in the order they arrive.
3. Menu
The menu’s got the wines they sell by the glass, but if you want a bottle, you’ve got to walk around the restaurant and fine one. Now, I’m not a wine bar aficionado or anything, but I’ve been to several over the years, and this concept is new to me. Sure, it’s nice to have the option of seeing the actual bottle, but what if I don’t want to get up and walk around? What if I don’t want to squeeze between other guest’s tables, apologizing for being so close and overhearing their conversation?
Recommendation: Put the bottles on the menu. I don’t care if your stock changes frequently, seriously how much time does it take to print out a list of what’s on your walls? Or if that’s too much work for you, at the very least move the tables a little further away from the walls so customers can walk by without apologizing to your other guests.
4. Customer Service
The staff was not very friendly (any of them, from that bartender to the women I overheard another table refer to as the owner when I was squeezing by them to find a bottle of wine). They weren’t unfriendly, they just seemed indifferent. And we kept having to ask for stuff. And the appetizer took forever. And it was the wrong one. The right one was awesome, we just had to wait for it.
Recommendation: Don’t make me ask for water refills, or napkins, or silverware. Try to
anticipate your customer’s needs. Also, when you bring out a cheese tray, take a moment to review what’s there. Yes, I know we ordered it, but A. that was twenty minutes ago, and B. I may not have had these particular cheeses before. I want to know when I’m eating what. I think this is the first wine bar I’ve ever been to that hasn’t done that.
Looking back, this review seems a little negative. And there are certainly several items that will probably keep me from coming back, especially considering I don’t live nearby, so it would take some effort. But they’ve got their core products down — like I said, the food and wine were top notch. Top notch. Damn, that bruschetta was good.