parley lake winery

We dropped by in October (wouldn't recommend this unless you like screaming children and their even crabbier parents) It was PACKED. Way too packed. I would love to go here again as the food was great the weekend we went. I'm not sure if they typically have food or it was just because it was their busy season. I didn't do the wine tasting part due to how busy it was inside the barns.

Minnesota may not be the mecca for wineries but there are 3 in Waconia alone. They each have their own unique setting and all fun in their own way.Parley Lake has more of the farm feel with the big barn. In the summer on most weekends they have some kind of music outside with sitting all around the property. Very relaxing, good wine and friendly.

this location and owned by the same people. The people in the apple orchard are extremely rude , but they do it with a smile on their face. I was at this location 45 minutes prior to closing on a Sunday afternoon and was told I could no longer pick apples because they were closing at 6 PM. When I explained that I was passing through and would be on my way home the next day they would make no exceptions. Plus their apples are way over priced. Clearly they are out only to make money on their wine. Clearly I would not return to this area and would not advise future patrons to do the same.

Six of us arrived shortly after noon on Saturday and the place was busy. Beautiful grounds, great places for photo ops, and an awesome barn where we did the tastings. It was a little disorganized to start, as there was a tent outside where we were suppose to get our wristbands, however, there was no sign and nobody there at the time. So, it took a little bit to get ID'd and go back up to the barn for the tasting. The pourers in the barn were nice and knowledgeable and graciously took a few photos for our group.There is an apple orchard there too. They were cutting apples to try and you could buy all sorts of apple items, cheese/apple snacks, and they had a whole section of breads, pastas, jams, pickles, honey, etc. My friend purchased a fiery chipotle cheesy beer bread that was awesome, I will definetly need to get more of that for our next chili night.There were animals, lots of places to sit, hayrides, and many people having picnics. We wish we would have known the firetruck with the pizza oven was going to be there. I did not see that on their website originally. It looked delicious, but we had snacks in the car.I personally liked the reds they had. We visited 2 other Waconia wineries that day and we thought this one was the best. Not only for wines, but for being put together. We will definitely go back.

We had a coupon for this place which was very generous. There regular tasting prices are not much more and will go back. Have been to several wineries before and this is our new favorite. Tasted five wines, took an informative tour on a haywagon and listened to music while relaxing in a beautiful farmyard. Loved the atmosphere and the dedicated employees. Would like to go back for apple-picking season beginning the firat weekend in September!

This used to be a great trip with family. Now, it is hit or miss with the drinking tours, private parties and sometimes hay rides with people there for the wine and not all the else available. LOVE that they don't charge entry, and we always buy something to take home, often times APPLES. Tour the gardens, plenty of photo ops, animals, hay rides and often times seasonal meals such as pizza available for sale. We still make it an annual visit. Love the grounds.

The place is nice and has a wood fired pizza place cooked out of a firetruck. It tasted ok but I have to admit it reminded me of the 99 cent pizzas I buy my kids. The crusts looked processed. The place had music going from an artists and there are places to sit. Most of the staff was friendly. However, we had an older gentleman who I have to admit will cause me not to come back. You have to get a wrist bracelet to taste and they mark each one. We told a young man that we were going to share tastes instead of getting two. When the older gentleman in a bow tie was looking at my wrists my wife said we were going to share. He made a scene and insisted that I get carded and he put on a wristband that shows I am carded. Then he carded my wife and her aunt and made my wife's aunt take her id out of the purse. I know we have to be careful about underage drinking but my wife's aunt is 58 and I am 48. When others would give us a taste they poured and told us about the wine and then marked our bracelets, he would pour hold it up so he hit the line and would mark the bracelet first before doing it. Is he efficient, yes. He is also annoying and we bought no wine at all. We started to refer to him as the wine Nazi instead of the soup Nazi. Don't get me wrong good wine is one thing but customer service sells wine. I won't be back. Bathrooms were portable not sure if they had flush available.

Parley Lake is in a nice countryside setting. Tasting is in a rustic barn which adds to the character of the place. Fans or AC would have helped eliminate the stuffy feeling on a somewhat warm day. Wines were good with Petite Annie and Marquette my favorite white and red. Staff in the tasting room was attentive and informative. $10 wine tasting included tasting all current wines, a half glass to enjoy outdoors with music, and a take home Parley Lake glass. We enjoyed our wine with a small pizza baked in two minutes in the back of a retired fire truck. You will need a car wash after this visit as the road is gravel.

We were in search of a friend of ours, Harry. We knew he worked for a winery in Waconia in an old barn. Three strikes and you’re out. This was the last winery in the Waconia area that we stumbled across as we meandered through the country roads. The internet mistakenly said it was closed on Sundays. It’s open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon until 6pm. We were surprised to see it was open. And so happy to see this one had a barn. We bought the wine tasting, 4 choices for $5. We didn’t plan on wine tasting today so I didn’t have my ID. Even though I am well past the age of 21 with some gray highlights to prove it, I needed special permission from the owner. Bring your ID if you plan to taste or plan to be in Waconia and accidentally fall upon the vineyard. It was such a bargain – the glass was a souvenir and we got the wine. Tasting was fun.Look for Harry. He’s the one in the bow tie. He knows the wines up and down the vine. He knows about Lester soil that makes this area a special place to grow grapes. He’ll teach you how to smell, swirl and aerate the wine in your mouth so you can get the most out of the tasting experience. His descriptions made me want to try every wine. We had to narrow it down to 4. There were vendors outside. The day we visited there was this cool fire truck that was converted into a pizza oven. They were selling fire roasted pizza. We saw someone getting a caricature drawn of themselves. There were arts, crafts and homemade food for sale. There were a few places to sit outside and enjoy the surroundings. It was a fun experience. Harry is the best. They don't sell beer on Sundays, but they do sell rootbeer if you're not fond of wine or forgot your ID!

This fun off the beaten path winery offers lots of samples with knowledgeable staff to educate their patrons. The barn is rustic and charming and meeting the winemaker himself was a treat! We enjoyed our tasting and then a glass on the lawn while enjoying the sculptures. Great stop and can't wait yo come back for apple season.

Parley lake consistently produces very good Minnesota wines ( Ok the Brianna comes from a grower in Neb. that trade juice with) We've been getting wine from them for 4 or 5 years now and you can see it improve year to year. This year they had a new way of handling Marquette..they have their standard 11 month aged wine same as everyone else ..and depending on the oak used and the vineyard that Marquette is a dry, oaky red..in addition to this they decided to bottle a young Marquette with just 5 months of Oaking..I was surprised it completely changed the profile of the wine..now it has both the taste and mouth feel of a merlot... Unlike Sideways I DO enjoy merlot! they also have pizza, entertainment and the day we were there, free vineyard tours but as it was overcast lith light drizzle we just stayed inside.we had passports so the tasting was free AND we still got the glass. We purchased the young Marquette and the 1213 Frontenac gris..both fully estate produced. We will get more next month at the Wine & art fair in Cannon Falls.

Loved it! Visited with 9 other women as part of a limo tour. Steve Zeller, the wine maker, met us on arrival and conducted the tasting himself. Very nice... Though we recommend some crackers. Definitely recommend the 7 tastes for $10... You can keep your tasting glass.

This is a great little winery in Waconia. The wine tasting is set in an old barn and has a very laid back and country feel. If you do the full wine tasting for $10 you will be able to sample 8 of their wines which are nice. There is also an apple orchard, small petting zoo and tractor rides. This place was great for a fun afternoon in the fall!

This is a combination wine tasting and Apple Orchard! Something for everyone!! And if you come your birthday week you get $5 off winetasting! Nice rustic Barn offers as the tasting room! The wine stewards are very informational! Most of the grapes for the wine is grow on there property! apple grape combos are yummy!

Very busy place! Lovely setting! Good wine. However, the staff was very rude. Harry needs to get a position in the company where he does not have contact with people! You can in force the rules without being rude. If I already have my ticket in my hand, you do not have to tell me you need my ticket and treat me like I am trying to cheat you and try to get a taste without paying - every time! We went to 3 wineries that day and this was the least full of all of them.wine tasting should be fun! We did enjoy the wine and bought 4 bottles in spite of the staff.