tarpon springs castle winery

Took advantage of a Groupon to come here. We took the one hour session on how to become Wine Snobs. There were some interesting points he made that I hadn't heard before. Wasn't very impressed with the wine. Tho I did buy several bottles and the sangria mix. I have been to Napa Valley a couple of times and there is just no comparison!

We stopped in for a tasting and bought a couple of bottles. If you're looking for vineyard wine tasting like California or N. Michigan, this is not it. However, we love to drink some wine and have interesting experiences, so this was great! We used to live in the Tampa area 10 years ago and stopped here then. After 10 years, while on vacation, we stopped in again. Same owners and same tasting. We really enjoyed the wines and we've been to quite a few wineries around the country.The tasting is definitely interesting. Try to keep an open mind and don't be stuffy.

Everyone there acted condescending and rude to us. Only had one wine that was even remotely good. Had a conversation with one lady who seemed drunk or on anti depressants...or both....they have not a clue about wine or anything else for that matter. Stay clear of this place.

Waste of time and money. Dingy, dirty place. Owners were rude and on the strange side. Wine was not that good and overpriced. The talk was stopped and started several times always going back to the beginning and repeating. The chocolate pairing was a sample box of Russel Stover chocolates. Must have gone to the outlet and bought them out. Not the type of chocolate you expect to find for a wine pairing. The whole "password" thing is weird. You do not get to watch them make wine as their sign says. It also says open but they usually aren't . Don't waste your money.

Husband and wife team answered door in duty clothes and looking unshowered. Place was dirty. Very strange people- gave me the creeps. Wine smelled like a combo of bad grapes with a touch of sewage!!!! I could not drink it and was desperate to get out of there AAOS fast as possible. These people are either mentally unbalanced or scammers or both

I received a Groupon for a birthday gift and as I LOVE wine, I was so excited to attend. My friend and I showed up at 3pm, rang the bell, and an elderly lady answered the door in what seemed to be her night gown. She asked us for our secret password (which was never mentioned after that so we were a little confused as to why they told us we had a secret password.) We sat down at these small table with hard plastic lawn chairs with another 3 couples. The Groupon was for a "sangria" and wine tasting. We received one wine glass and 4 SMALL pours of disgusting wine, one tasting like rotten grapes. One of the other couples stood up and said he couldn’t even drink it. We listened to this elderly couple talk about wine for about 10 mins and then talk about things that had nothing to do with the class. The tour was very unprofessional. The woman almost spilled wine on us 2 times. She used the same glass for all wines, red and white and there was no palate cleanser provided. I was told when I called to make the reservation that we would be taught how to make Sangria. The "Sangria" was a bag full of flavored sugar that you can buy in the supermarket, that you add wine to. When we left with the wine glasses, they didn't even clean them, they just wrapped mine in newspaper. I asked if she could wrap them separate as my friend and I were going to separate places. She wrapped mine and then put her dirty glass in a zip lock Walgreens prescription bag. We felt as if they were rushing us out after we declined on purchasing any of the wine. I definitely would NOT recommend this tour to anyone! This is one Groupon deal that should be discontinued!!! VERY DISAPPOINTED!!

We love visiting wineries, and this is one of the favorites of one of our friends. We went with them, and were told there was a "Groupon" we could purchase at the winery. It was totally my fault that I didn't ask how much...and for what...but...it wasn't worth it. We ended up paying almost $50.00 for a bottle of wine. The Groupon was for a "sangria" and wine tasting, and bottle of wine. The older gentleman was nice, but everything he told us in his "class" were things we already knew...or things about him that we really didn't need to know ;) The "Sangria" was a bag full of flavored sugar that you can buy in the supermarket, and you add wine to the bag. The tour was relatively boring, and the wines were ok...but I thought expensive. Not an experience we will repeat.

We did the groupon experience and have been to other Florida wineries and this was very enjoyable. Its a small place but the cutest couple own this and made it a fun experience. I live in Ohio and my girlfriend lives in Florida and this is the BEST wine I've found so far in the U.S. They make the wine the European way without a lot of sugar, mostly juice from the grapes and they get their grapes from all over the country, even some from Ohio. I've been to Europe tasting wine and the wines they make rank right up there with the wines we had in Europe.I loved the part about tasting chocolate with the wine and now I look for wines with a cocoa flavor to them, but it still doesn't match the great taste of Tarpon Springs Castle wines.We have another groupon for the wine snobs and can't wait to get back there. We received the bottle of wine and purchased another 4 bottles and have since finished all of them.

We attended the Wine Snob event and had a very enjoyable time. The owners know a great deal about wine and love to share their knowledge. We learned how to properly taste wine and how to know for sure that the wine brought to us is what we ordered and also drinkable. If you are looking for a fancy California winery this place is not for you but if you want a down home experience with a couple who know wine then you will have a great time! There were four of us and part of our experience included a wine glass for each person and two bottles of wine.

Despite the bad reviews, we had a great time. We also haven't done many wine tasting events like this. The owners were nice, the wine tasted good. We got a deal on Groupon so the price was great. We plan on returning for their wine and chocolate tasting event.

Having good friends with us made it survivable - room was hot, smelly - the couple was not professional at all - used the same glasses for all wines & when we left w/the wine glass, they didn't even clean them just wrapped them up in paper & handed them to us. Although they did provide us with entertainment as they bantered back & forth. Felt like they were mad because not all of us bought their wine. It was an experience that we shared with friends but will not go back.

This is one Groupon deal that should be discontinued. Without a doubt it was the worst wine tasting we have ever been to. Absolutely terrible. We had wine spilled on us, and not even good wine !

My wife and I bought this as a GroupOn. We read some of the other reviews on Tripadvisor and were a little cautious, but we figured for the GroupOn price let's try it. I'm so glad we did. First, this is Florida. If you are expecting a setting out of Sonoma or Napa, don't. I've been to all those places and I can appreciate that experience. One the other hand this is Florida, land of Margaritaville. Of all the Florida wineries I've been to, this is the only one I found that makes non-fruity wine. So take of your tie, put on your flip-flops and relax.Second, the password. So this is a little quirky, but if you accept it as part of the experience you will have fun with it. If someone tells you that you need this password to get in then maybe you should write it down.Third, this is not just an open tasting. This adorable older couple truly enjoys sharing their life and experience as part of the program. We were two of a scheduled group of eight. One couple was fifteen minutes late. When they rang the bell, they interrupted the flow of the session. The owner opened the door and explained that that we were already past two of the five tastings. He offered them to come back later in the day. They didn’t want to and he did let them join the session. I could tell that this wasn’t something from Seinfeld’s 1995 “The Soup Nazi” episode. The owners truly wanted the couple to have the best experience while also respecting the group currently in progress. Overall, the building wasn’t what you would expect when you hear “winery”, but it was a quant building in Tarpon Springs where we got to enjoy about 90 minutes of entertaining stories and some information on the making of wine in a European style. The wine itself was very good. We ended up leaving with our one GroupOn bottle and four more.If you like good wine and can relax and have a little fun, then you will too enjoy this experience. We plan on going back again with some friends.

We had a Groupon Deal for this, but it would be worth paying full price. We received 5 tastings each, 4 chocolates each, a full glass of wine each, and a bottle of wine to take home...plus we got to keep the glass. The owner was quite a character...had lots of stories to tell and was very knowledgeable regarding the various wines. Would highly recommend this to anyone!

My husband and I had an amazing time. The wine was outstanding and the couple running the winery were very cool especially when you talked to them. This was the first time I did not get a headache from wine. The people that left bad reviews above were extremely rude and talked the entire time during the information that the owner was giving us about the wine. Maybe if they saved their chatting for another time and listened they would have had a better time. I actually booked another tour with this winery next Sunday! Awesome time and great memory. Susan