Winery Tier List

Welcome to our winery tier list. This is how we rated each of the different wineries we've visited based on a few criteria.

The criteria:

How we like the wine

Wine variety

Atmosphere

Food

Events

Service

Uniqueness/Kicker

So what does that actually mean? Basically, Vicky and I (Michael) simply talk through each of these categories after visiting a winery. We get a feel for how that winery matches against others we've tried and then we slot it into one of our tiers.

Disclaimer: Obviously, this isn't super scientific and is very preference based. Your mileage may vary. And honestly, it's been so long since we rated some of these, the reasoning has become apocryphal.

S Tier

Van Till Winery
Riverwood Winery
Canterbury Hill
Wollersheim Winery & Distillery (WI)
Equus Run Vineyards (KY)
Isinglass Estate Winery (KY)
Ladoga Ridge

A Tier

Noboleis Winery
Belvoir Winery
Weingarten
Carlson Creek (AZ)
Terre Beau (defunct)
Carlson Creek (AZ)
Cellar 426 (NE)
Stone Hill
Forest Edge Winery (KY)
Carriage House (KY)
Stone Pillar (KS)
Montezuma Winery (NY)
Shamrock Hill Winery
Four Horses and a Dog (defunct)
Jowler
Montelle
Contrivance Wine and Mead (WA)
Fountain City Winery

B Tier

Walnut Creek
KC Wine Works
Sand Creek
Twin Oaks
Wright-Mayer Vineyard (KY)
Z&M Twisted Winery (KS)
Top Hat
Silver Strike Winery (AZ)
Baltimore Bend
Silver Strike Winery (AZ)
Red Fox
Holy Field
Mallinson Manor
Arcadian Moon
Lost Creek
Curling Vines
Adam Puchta
Railway Winery (AR)
Endless Summer
Stonehaus WInery (TN)
Bluegrass Vineyard (KY)
Pillsbury Wine (AZ)
Harbinger Winery (WA)
Talon Winery (KY)
Fossil Springs Winery (KS)
Pirtle Winery

C Tier

Little Swan Lake (IA)
Rowe Ridge (KS)
Strawbale Winery (SD)
Windy Winery
Grindstone Valley
Fence Stile
Amigoni
Crown Valley
Olympic Cellars Winery (WA)
Lescombes (NM)
Peculiar Winery
Sassafras Winery
Hermannhof
Smith-Barry Winery (KY)
Keels Creek (AR)

D Tier

Valiant Vineyards Winery & Distillery (SD)
TerraVox Winery
Weston Wine Company
Merkin Vineyards (AZ)

F Tier

Purple Toad (KY)