Ozan Winery & Cellars, Alabama, United States

3Jim S. 5:00 PM Sep 8, 2020

Train ride and tastings
We reserved the wine and whisky tasting and train ride on our anniversary. Since we were going to be doing several tastings we came early to have lunch first, in preparation. First let me say that the tables were socially distanced and all employees wore masks. However, very few patrons wore masks when leaving their tables and we were the only ones to wear masks on the enclosed car train ride. We were glad we arrived early since the tour only included 5 of their approx. 12 wines available to sample. So we shared a tasting prior to the tour with lunch allowing us to try 5 more. As other have said, the train ride is unremarkable, but it is a train ride. Our train was over half an hour late, so while waiting outside in the hot Alabama field for it to arrive, we sampled one (their only one?) whiskey. There was no background to how nor why this spirit was made, but just a small tasting. The train was so late, that the tasting manager walked down to offer a vodka tasting during the delay. Both spirits were surprisingly smooth. When we returned, we sampled an additional 5 wines with a nice cheese and cracker plate. We found the reisling and chardonnay nice (grapes are not grown on site). I'm not too fond of the fruit wines, but they would be good over ice cream (very sweet). The locally grown reds were not palatable at all, and we discarded them after the first sips. It is important that you know that he tasting pours are only 3 to 4 oz at most, so split between two people, and with food, you should be fine for driving later. Safety first! Note also, that although there is handicapped parking closer to the winery on the hill, there is not access nor shuttle accommodations for aiding those with walking difficultly down the hill and across the fields to where the train boards, so prepare accordingly if this applies to you. Overall the service was good...until more people arrived, then we felt forgotten (even though we arrived early). No one told us when the train ride was starting, and we had to go inside to close out our lunch check ( and later found that we were double charged!) PRO TIPS: go on a less crowded day; have low expectations and plenty of time to wait; if you like reds then don't bother, but enjoy the whites and sweet fruit choices!; Do the tastings, but the train ride to nowhere is not worth the time (go to the train museum down the road if you are a big train buff)

3Portia T 5:00 PM Mar 3, 2021

Be mindful when you check out
The winery was beautiful, the wines were delicious, and we had a great time tasting. The issue I had was when we finished our tasting, $7.00, we went inside to purchase some wines and settle our tab. The wines we purchased were taken off the shelf and placed on the counter by myself, not an employee. The total amount was close to $60.00 and a screen popped up asking for gratuity. I was full prepared and ready to tip our tasting server however the "recommended" gratuity amount (15,20,25%) was based on the total of our bill, including the bottles of wine I picked up myself. I just felt it was a slippery way of increasing a gratuity based on purchases and not service. Just be careful when checking out. I'm actually touring some wineries in North Alabama beginning tomorrow and we have decided to skip this one, we will just purchase the wines in a store.