Recently Jo Diaz in her blog, Juicy Tales by Jo Diaz tackled the question of children in the tasting room. “How do you feel about children in tasting rooms?” is an excellent blog post.

Jo’s blog post includes a description of a wine tour she led with four lively children and how at the end of the tour everyone was happy. Jo explains how she successfully included the children. People who lead winery and vineyard tours would do well to read Jo’s blog.

However, the blog did not mention what some wineries are doing to create a delightful experience for all visitors. While a few wineries prefer not to have children visit with their parents, many others are happy to have parents bring their children with them. Earlier this year while at Osprey Dominion Vineyards on Long Island, we discovered that they have an area set aside for outdoor games including volleyball and kite flying. On the West Coast, Vigilance Winery & Vineyards has a bocce court. Occasionally we have seen special areas set aside with toys for younger children.

Note to parents: If you do not want to receive eye-rolling looks from other adults, do supervise your children. Everyone will have a great time and your children may just learn something about chemistry and biology. Maybe someday you will hear them say, “I want to be a winemaker” or “I want to be a viticulturist.” I even recall visiting a tiny boutique winery and while waiting to talk to the owners, a Boy Scout was interviewing the winemaker for a project.

Now that many families have two working parents, it’s great that wineries can provide an opportunity for families to spend time together. Winery visits can be fun for everyone.

Cheers! Kathy