My boyfriend and I visited this vineyard after a recommendation for a friend and we are so glad we did. The views and location were gorgeous, the staff was exceptional and it had a great atmosphere. We arrived late for the 11:30 tour but the tour guide Amanda graciously let us join late and showed us a fabulous time. Ask for Amanda! read more

Linden is about wine. If you are aware that they don't cater to kids or dogs or limos or large groups, and that if you aren't a club member you don't have many places to sit and enjoy a bottle, and you just enjoy the wine... you will have a great experience at Linden. The cellar tasting is WELL worth the $20 and the tasting staff is always eager to chat and answer questions. I understand the low star ratings but the wine is quality and diverse. read more

I have not actually been to this place but am writing my review of their customer service and by the number of stars I think you get the point so I'll keep it short. I called to inquire about tasting because on the website it said they don't accommodate party larger than 6. When I called I was told that only 6 people can taste at a time. I said "Okay no problem. We have a party of 8 so 4 of us can sit outside an and enjoy the patio with a glass of wine while 4 of us taste and then we can swap." The woman said "I'm sorry we don't accommodate parties larger than 6 for tastings." I said "I understand we will not all taste at the same time so we follow your rules." She said "Miss you are telling me you are a party larger than 6 and you are trying to scam the system. If you show up with 8 people, you will be turned away?" Scamming the system? Really? I want to come and taste your wine so I can and give you some money to purchase the fruits of your labor and that is considered scamming the system? So I responded "Your rule states you don't let more than 6 people taste at a time for ambiance. So if 4 people came into taste and 4 more showed up later that didn't know each other they would be turned away?" Her response "Of course not. They would just have to wait until the first 4 were done tasting." I said "But because the 8 people know each other they will be turned away?" She said with complete confidence that her logic made sense "Yes, because we don't allow parties of 6 or more to taste." I don't care how good the wine is I will not support stupidity or pretension. read more

Don't visit if you a minority, married outside of your race, with children, or are not a club member. We walked in and was told there was other wineries that was better suited for us. She continued to pull out a map when we didn't immediately leave. It was pretty obvious that we were not wanted. When one of the members of our group inquired about the deck, he was told its only for club members. Please note, he was a club member! Linden never have to worry about us patronizing them again! read more

Had a terrible experience. After doing a tasting, my friend and I were told we could not purchase a glass or a bottle to enjoy on the property. We were prepared to purchase a case and wanted to go over the tasting menu while enjoying the scenery. We were informed by the rude tasting room manager that we should come back during the week if we wanted to drink on the patio. Um....we work. Thanks, but no thanks. We left and have never been back. read more

The wine is good (there is definitely better and worse out there), but the attitude of the staff is the reason I wouldn't return. I'm from the area and want all Virginia wineries to succeed, and I've heard good things about Linden. I visited with my parents (in their 70s), and did the tasting. I thought it would be a great idea to then get a bottle and sit out on the deck and take in the view, however you have to be a member to go any further than the tasting room. I noted to the woman working the tasting room there was plenty of space on the deck, how could they not allow us to enjoy a bottle on the deck. Her response spoke volumes, 'You're locals why not buy a bottle and go home and drink it." Seriously! Linden Vineyards has some good wines, but is it worth going to the vineyard? Hardly. You have to pass plenty of other places with a better staff and will certainly have a better vineyard experience. read more

Stopped by Linden Winery spur of the moment. Nice view and nice building. The cons...very stuck up. We were told right away that all of their seats were reserved for club members and only club members could order food. Then she basically said that we could do our tasting then would have to leave. You can't bring in outside food, you can't order food there and you can't have a glass of wine and relax. Total BS. They need to make this a members only winery if they want to act that way. I do not recommend this place. read more

The wines here are very good, no question. Unfortunately the service/friendliness was seriously lacking (I agree with most of the other comments about it being snobby, etc). Tasting seemed to be a bother to them, which was too bad. I will say, that if you get a chance to sit on their deck and eat some bread/cheese, DEFINITELY do it. Technically you can't sit out there without being in their wine club, but a lot of the local B&B's can give you a guest card to gain access. It was absolutely gorgeous and very tranquil. read more

If you are looking for an intimate winery in Northern Virginia, that is all about the wine, then look no further than Linden. Linden Vineyards cannot accommodate large groups, but if you are looking for a peaceful and relaxing afternoon at a beautiful winery, then that is perfect. I am a personal fan of the Hardscrabble red blend, and the Hardscrabble Chardonnay. If you get a chance, I highly recommend the cellar tasting. If you are a wine geek, make sure to visit! read more

"Maybe this isn't the winery for you." My boyfriend and I visited Linden on October 21 (maybe the 22). A close friend had raved about the wine so I was eager to try this place out. We did the cellar tasting and were happy with the woman who conducted the tasting, the wines really are great! Near the end of this tasting, she asked us if we had done the bar tasting upstairs and we told her no. She then said, "oh, well then after this go upstairs and you'll do the bar tasting." Based on this statement, myself and my boyfriend along with another couple had the impression that the bar tasting was included in the Cellar Tasting and we had just missed that. During the bar tasting, we were helped by another woman who appeared older and taller. Throughout the bar tasting, she kept complaining about a group in the restaurant area. This group seemed to have over 6 people and they were having a good time but by no means were they unruly. With almost every pour, the woman complained with statements like "so much for groups no larger than 4" or "huff, they are being too loud". No customer seemed bothered by these people and it was uncomfortable to have the employee complain to us about other customers throughout the tasting. We loved the wine and purchased at least 6 bottles (not a case because we had more wineries to visit) and when the bill came we were charged for both tastings. We looked at the other couple and they also seemed surprised to be charged for the bar tasting. None of us said anything, we were all having fun and didn't want to dampen the mood. The internet or phones were down so we had to just jot down our credit card info so they could be run at a later time. Two days later, I received a call from someone at Linden to confirm the credit card purchase before running it, something I appreciated. I took that time to confirm that we were correctly charged for the bar tasting because we were led to believe it was included - I was VERY polite about this and explained, look if we assumed wrongly no problem but just know that we were not the only ones who interpreted the situation that way. What was the Linden employee's response? "Maybe this isn't the winery for you." The nerve! As she is about to charge my credit card $400 she delivered that snide line. Now, every time I look at a bottle of Linden on the rack I think about how miserable and snobby their employees are. read more

We stopped here by chance on our way home. The winery sits on a hill, nice views and really nice set up. The reason why this experience was just ok was because of the service we received. When we arrived, we asked to have a glass of wine (since we had our kids with us and tasting is not allowed outside) and were informed that "just this one time" they would grant us a glass but normally the seating is for members only so we would get a guest pass as they were not busy. I just picked two of the five glasses available. The lady looked at me and said "what, you just took a lucky pick?!", suggesting that this is an unorthodox way of sampling ... My husband wanted to say "why what's NOT a good option here????" :-) Anyway, we just felt patronized a bit and for the money we ended up paying ($40+ for two glasses and a small cheese board) we would have liked a friendlier service, that is all. Both wines I picked (Rose and Petit Verdot) were great by the way! read more

I have to say this is a rating of hospitality. I use to love this place, was a case member just over a year ago, but wow what a different change this time from the place I once loved. My boyfriend and I brought my parents who were visiting. I was excited for them to try it since my dad extremely knowledgeable on wine and I had not gone wine tasting with him since a trip to France over 10 years ago. We were meet by a short blond/gray haired women who was just pure rude to us. We mentioned we might do a picnic before a cellar tasting, but were told that since my case membership had just ran out that were were not allowed anywhere on the property to eat. Nor would we be allow to sign up for a later cellar tasting if we left the property. Finally took our chances and went down the road and came back for the last tasting of the day. They were able to fit us in, but honestly I was not impressed by the wine. I'm not sure if it was because the bad experience made everything taste not as good, or if the wine was just not as good as previous years. However, either way I'm going to think hard before I take any other visitors to this vineyard. read more

I along with six of my girlfriends had hoped to come by for a tasting on a Saturday afternoon. I called in advance to let them know we were coming by. I was told on the phone that they would prefer if we did not come noting that they like to keep their winery "civilized". The assumption that a group of educated, professional, women enjoying an afternoon in the country is uncivilized is kind of an insult. Who, in this economy, turns away business anyway? Fascinating business model if you ask me. Apparently they didn't want our $150+ dollars, which we are equally happy to give to someone else. As a note, I found several others who were thrilled to host us and likely even more thrilled to take our money. As a note, i've been here several times, mostly for the view, and it's always been empty. I'll be crossing them off my list of wineries. Good luck Linden. read more

I viewed the reviews here on Yelp before going to the Linden Winery on a Saturday afternoon. There was some argument as to if they allow you to sit outside and drink the wine you buy when you are a non member so we decided to just go and see what happens. The tasting was average and went well. We had much better service at two other winery's especially the Three Fox where they had great food pairings and are very enthusiastic. We enjoyed the wines and decided to buy a bottle. That's where it went wrong. The old woman that was helping us handed us the bottle which we then ask her to uncork so we could drink it outside. The first thing she said was "are you members here?" well considering it's our first time to the winery we of course are not members. After learning this information she tells us she can't uncork it and we can't drink it there as the weekends are for box club members only. Since we wanted the bottle to drink at the winery and enjoy ourselves we told her we didn't want it. She then snatched the bottle out of my boyfriends hand and turned away without saying another word. We have never been treated so rudely by someone before. Maybe she is annoyed that she gets that reaction about the box club member weekends all the time? Well maybe they should reconsider such a stupid rule. Hey, maybe we would have become box club members but NO WAY now. To end the argument they do allow you to sit outside on weekdays but not weekends. WORST winery I've ever been to. DON'T go there, nothing they offer is worth the attitude about it. read more

After visiting Linden a few times over the past years, I can unequivocally say that I will never return. Their wines, while good but nothing to go crazy over, do not make up for the complete disdain the people working there show the patrons. I first visited Linden over four years ago. My husband and I, with another couple, ventured out there on a cold winter day. The person running our tasting didn't seem very happy and was standoffish and snobby. But, we got a glass of wine and some food inside, and it started snowing. It was a beautiful sight (probably the only positive for this winery is its view) and was nice to sit and relax with friends, so overall, it was an okay day. We visited three more times (at the insistence of another couple we were with, not our own volition). This is when Linden really started to rub me the wrong way. At one visit, the lady running our tasting let us try the Hardscrabble Chardonnay, even though we weren't doing the cellar tasting. We liked it and bought a few bottles. During our next visit, we attempted to converse with person doing our tasting (like pulling teeth, mind you), and I mentioned that I really liked the Hardscrabble. She proceeded to ask, in a bit of a surprised voice, "Oh, you've done the cellar tasting?", to which I explained no, we hadn't, but the previous woman had been nice enough to let us try it (and we had just drank our last bottle at home the previous weekend). She looked at me with a bit of annoyance and said, "No, we don't ever let customers upstairs try the Hardscrabble. We reserve it for the people who pay for the cellar tastings." When I proceeded to tell her that I had indeed tried (and bought) the wine, she continued to argue with me about how I was wrong. Why would anyone argue with a customer and try to prove them wrong, even when I was able to describe the appearance and taste of the wine? I let the subject drop, even though I knew I was in the right (as did my husband and the other couple, who had also bought the Hardscrabble during the previous visit). I should have learned after these previous visits. However, we did visit one more time after the birth of my daughter. We were out wine-tasting with the same couple, and hesitantly, we agreed to give Linden another shot . From the minute we walked in, I did not feel welcome at all. Now, let me say that I understand some people's hesitation when they see kids, thinking they'll start crying/screaming, especially if they wanted a relaxing day at a winery. I totally understand it, and they had no way of knowing that I am not one of those people that allows my child to scream in public and bother other people. Had she started crying, I would have immediately gone out to the car, away from others, until she stopped. However, it was how the woman decided to tell me how to react that really pissed me off. My daughter was 6 months old, and I had her attached to me in a carrier. She was as quiet as can be, content just sucking on her thumb. We walked up to the counter, and the woman looked at me and the first words out of her mouth, with contempt, were, "Alright, you can taste, but if that (pointing to my child) starts crying, you need to leave." Yes, she referred to my child as "that". I was so taken aback, as was the other couple in our party, that we quickly finished our tasting - in retrospect, we should have left, but I think we were just in shock over what she said - and left without purchasing any wine. The repeated lack of respect Linden's representatives have shown customers is disappointing, to say the least. I have quite a few friends who enjoy wine-tasting around Virginia, and none of us will ever return to Linden. They have permanently lost our business, and from the looks of some of the other reviews, we aren't the only ones. read more

Visited Linden for the first time, and it was a delightful experience. The setting was welcoming ands we were greeted warmly. The tasting was presented in a relaxed format and the staff was informative and gracious. The wines were all excellent and as described. The claret was especially smooth and luscious; I can't imagine anyone who enjoys red wine not being delighted with it. It was a pleasure to then join Jim in the cellars for the reserve tasting. He is knowledgeable without being 'geeky' and his passion for what he does is palpable. I gladly purchased several bottles. I agree with the previous positive reviews, will definitely return, and will recommend Linden to friends. I detected none of the negativity or snobbery mentioned by another reviewer. I can't thank Jim and his team enough for a wonderful experience. read more

Dont bother. If you like good people that know how to treat people right, then go down the road to another place. The wines here, while ranting and raveing on this site, are OK....really nothing special. read more

I had a great idea for my family-rent a limo so you won't have to drink and drive. Was told by this winery - LIMOS AREN'T ALLOWED, STAY AWAY. If this rule is to prevent party people, a large suv can hold 8. We were a party of 7. Linden would rather encourage you to drink and drive. Very considerate of them. And one limo takes up less parking than 7 cars. Ridiculous! read more

As soon as my family and I walked in we were turned away due to a having a larger group. The hostess was extremely rude and did not provide us with any alternate options. read more

The wine was just okay. Had their Rose' a couple years back that was amazing, but we did not like this years. The views are worth the visit.

If you want amazing wine without limos and loud people this is your place. We are case club members and have for been for some time-I consider my husband and myself "groupies" if Linden is having an event we can attend we are there. We have learned so much about wine making over the years. Jim and Shari produce some of the best wine in the US not just VA. They are totally unassuming and treat all equally--but treat their wine with love. I only wish we had more time to visit and sit on the porch and enjoy the view and wine. Linden and the porch were my go to place after surgery several years ago-it's just peaceful and the wine is superb. read more

Always a good place - nice views and, of course, wine! Sometimes they can be a little snooty to non-members, but... Good time though.

Went last year at Thanksgiving time and really enjoyed it. However coming home realized that we should not have been driving. Had a great idea. Our party of 7 people decided to rent a limo. Guess what, even though we had members of the winery in our party we were told limos are not allowed and don't come. Don't worry, I will not be back. read more

Beautiful property and quality wines (particularly for VA!). Many of the people working there were quite cold and not very hospitable though. It makes for an unpleasant experience. Makes you want to spend your money/time elsewhere. A pity. read more

This is my favorite winery in Virginia, and I've been to 40 of them. The wine is great, the prices are reasonable, and the setting is gorgeous. If you disagree, you are dumb. Sorry; but you are. read more

This winery is definitely more for the person who is truly interested in wine and not just for a run of the mill move in and out swiftly kind of wine tour. Both Jim Law and Shari Avenius make amazing wines here, comparable to ones in California. Yes, there is the whole case club membership thing, but it it worth getting involved in. I've been coming here since 2005, and must say I always feel welcome as much of the staff remembers myself and my friend when we come, and it's only lately once a year or so. I remember the days before the restrictions were in place, and yes, as a younger 23 year old going to explore wine I might have been a slightly rowdy person, however over the years have learned to truly appreciate wine. If you want lots of wine in one place, that's what wine festivals are for. I still have many Linden wines at home aging and cannot wait to see how they taste. I recommend the Claret and Avenius Red! read more

This vineyard is very ordinary and offered nothing special. The wines are ok and very over priced. We did a tour and if I have to hear, "the men" one more, I would have just gotten in my car and travel 5 mins to the next place. read more

We took a ride out Fauquier County to stop by a couple of wineries today since the weather was so nice. We had been to Linden once before and enjoyed their wines and tasting room so we decided to stop in again. It was fairly empty when we arrived and we were able to do a tasting right away. As we remembered, we liked their wine and wanted to buy a bottle to have there. When we expressed interest in purchasing a bottle, we were asked if we were case club members. Since we are not members of Linden, we were told we could not stay and have any wine there. The previous time we were at winery was on a weekday during the off season so we were able to sit on their deck with a bottle and did not realize the exclusivity of Linden. Apparently on any weekend and Fridays during the summer, only case club members can sit and stay. Linden offers no other option for non-members. Other wineries we have visited have member-only areas and other exclusive benefits for their wine clubs, but there has always been an option to purchase and sit for a glass or two for non-members. In my opinion, it is bad for business to have such restrictions. I can appreciate member-only perks and keeping large crowds away, but to force non-members to either buy into the club or leave seems like it would alienate more people than it would attract. There are others wineries out in Fauquier County that are more hospitable than Linden so I would recommend staying away...unless you are a member. read more

Meh, only for staff comportment. Linden has very good wine, so we took some of our out of town friends there for a tasting. Serving us seemed like an afterthought to our host in an "oh...you guys " sort of way. Very off putting. The cellar tasting was sort of pretentious and our host quite humorless. First time we ever left Linden without buying a case. read more

We will never return to this winery. We came in as we've done since this winery first opened, expecting a tasting to include their chardonnays. We were told these are not included. Then we got glasses of the only chardonnay they had, but were told we can't go on the deck or sit down, or even buy food unless we are a case club member. This is ridiculous snobbery, I realize that the party buses have sort of "wrecked" the quiet Virginia winery experience, but do we really need a minimum bar to entry for this winery? We are not spending $350 plus to belong to their club, nor are we ever coming back. By the way, the chardonnay was not nearly the best Virginia chardonnay we've had. And we've been touring Virginia wineries since the early 1990s. Plus, they were charging $40 per bottle! Rather than patronize Linden, I'll buy a really good CA chardonnay for $15 to drink at home. Get real, Linden. Your attitude and prices are truly out of sync with reality. And there are lots of better wineries to visit (both in quality of wine and in atmosphere). Which we will visit, again and again. read more

Everything that I experienced at the place is pretty well described in the "filtered" reviews - please read them as they actually seem pretty honest and exact. Extremely rude and inattentive staff (in addition, would be nice if the ladies at the counter used about a third of the make-up), lack of attention, need to be a "case member" to sit on the deck, etc. It probably is a good way to add some "elite" status to your winery and be able to charge super-premiums for average wines, and thus work a lot less. Well, then you would have to live with all the negative reviews. Given that there are numerous as good wineries with even better views in the area - unless you are a snob, who loves to be a part of a group of people who like to buy a case of average over-priced wine every year and then not share a deck with the general crowd - then skip Linden and visit one of the numerous wineries in the region (there 6-7 in a 10 mile radius). read more

Yesterday, a friend of mine and I wanted to get out of town, see the Autumn mountains, and enjoy a glass of wine on a lovely Fall afternoon. The views at Linden are very peaceful and scenic (why I give it 2 stars) but the view is eclipsed by HORRIBLE service and highly incompetent restaurant management. I arrived before my friend, so wanted to get a table and some light fare going before she arrived. If I were white and male, I would have gotten seated--i noted a group of white men who came after me were offered seats, but despite several tables being empty, I was repeatedly told "you have to be a member to sit." That discrimination and piss poor service does not apply to whites and to men. I've been here one other time before with a group of predominantly white people, mostly male group who were not members, and we did get seated. The wine is not incredible, nor worth the drive or the racist service. The atmosphere is truly fraudulently pretentious--papering over a mediocre product and terrible service. For if they actually had competent restaurant management, they would have a clue how to manage member vs non member seating. Linden Cellars are charlatans with pretense, laughing as they take your money with such horrible service and substandard product. We went to Fox Meadow Cellars, about 4 miles away, and had great wine, MUCH better views, and absolutely wonderful service! Please don't waste your time or money patronizing such antiquated morons. read more

We have been going to Linden for 19 years, and it was historically our favorite Virginia winery. It had the best view for enjoying a glass of half way decent wine, in comparison to other wineries in the area. We have brought many friends and family here over the years, and done tastings. As avid hikers, we have stopped in for a tasting and a glass of wine after a day hike on the Appalachian Trail. We have come with our kids, other people's kids and pets in the past, and even brought picnic baskets to spread out on the lawn while enjoying a bottle of their mediocre wine. It was historically a nice experience. We have not been there for a couple of years until today. We did a day hike with our kids who are 10 and 12, and tried to stop in for a tasting and a glass of wine. We figured we would relax on the deck after a long hike with a glass of something and reflect on the day's hike. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we saw that things had changed since last we were there. There seemed to be less tolerance for customers who were not dressed to the nines, so our hiking ensemble was looked down upon. Oh, and heavens! We had dirt on our legs and boots! We told our kids to sit on the patio to wait for us where we could see them from the counter so they could relax their legs after the day hike. They were tired. We were promptly told by a wait staff that our kids were not welcome to sit on the furniture unless they were case members (???). We had already started a tasting, so we were obligated to pay, and finish. We were then repeatedly blown off and ignored by 5 wait staff who would pour a smidge of wine and mumble something about the variety and then leave us until some other wait staff showed up to pick up where the previous one left off. It was embarrassing and humiliating. We were clearly not wanted. One wait staff female with arms covered in tattoos whom we have seen before (she has been there at least 10 years) tried to justify that Linden is trying to be more selective on who they let sit for extended periods of time on their property because the owner lives on the property or some blah, blah, blah justification for their collective rudeness. She said the owner is introverted and quiet and doesn't want a lot of people roaming the grounds, so they instituted rules to keep just anybody from coming in and hanging around. So, needless to say, we will never return. These people have obviously lost touch with the reality that their wine is mediocre at best, and decent working folk who live in northern Virginia have a plethora of other places to go to sample other mediocre wine in the area that will offer a more pleasant experience--and, if people want to drink really good wines, they can drive to their local Total Wine and pick up something much better from Napa or Europe for the 20-26 dollars that Linden charges for a bottle. read more

Linden - promising wine, but otherwise unpleasant snobbery. My girlfriend recommended this place - she had been there many times in the last 5 years and recommended it to many people. (She says now that the customer service there has gone from good to dismal... read on...) We had one pleasant visit (hence the two stars), but the next visit was a hospitality nightmare. We were informed we couldn't sit on the deck unless we were wine-club members. After a brief discussion, we decided to join. Then they mentioned we needed to buy a case of wine to join the wine-club. I was holding out my credit card to buy a case when they then told us we couldn't eat anything but their provided food on the deck. (They looked out the window and saw my girlfriend pulling a few olives from a plastic bag!) It's a popular winery people, so expect to be treated as if they don't need or want your business. Like a cattle-car production, prepare to be rushed through an assembly line of quick tastings. And mind their rules and regulations- it will remind you of a Soviet-era, centrally-controlled state. I give this place a "Princess Complex" score of 8 (1 = down-to-earth, 10 = a pissed-off Tyra Banks, or imagine the French restaurant from Ferris Bueller) read more

When Linden was a small winery, I absolutely loved it. It was a pleasant family-owned business. However, Linden has grown in size and popularity...but sadly, their business model has not adjusted accordingly. Currently, I would NOT recommend going to Linden where the service is terrible and the wine only mediocre. First of all, the staff were RUDE and SNOOTY on my last trip! I wanted to snack on some olives on the deck while sipping some wine. They told me in a haughty voice that the deck was only available to select members who purchase at least one case a year. I was happy to buy a case and purchase some bread and salami from their bakery. However, they told me that I was not allowed to bring my small container of olives. No exceptions. Not even for regular visitors who buy a case a year. WHAT THE HELL?! They had just lost my business....I hope you decide NOT to support a snooty winery that has such stringent rules! read more