WinoNotion is Barbara and Scott's answer to a simple question: why isn't there one honest, independent place to find out what a winery is actually like?
WinoNotion was born out of frustration. After visiting dozens of wineries across California and Oregon, our founders kept running into the same problem: there was no trustworthy place to find out what a winery was actually like. Yelp gave them generic reviews. TripAdvisor buried the wine under hotel recommendations. The winery's own website was a brochure, not a review.
"We wanted to know: Is the wine actually good? Is it worth the tasting fee? Can I bring my dog? Is it worth driving an hour for? Nobody was answering these questions honestly."
So we built it. WinoNotion is the platform we always wanted to exist — one that combines editorial expertise with community voice, covers the whole experience not just the bottle, and never takes money from wineries in exchange for favorable reviews.
What We Stand For
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100% Independent
We never accept payment from wineries to influence our reviews. Our editorial scores are ours alone. Wineries can pay to manage their listing — they cannot pay to improve their score.
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Useful, Not Pretentious
We write for people who love wine, not people who want to sound impressive about wine. No jargon, no gatekeeping — just honest information that helps you have a better time.
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Community First
Our editorial team sets the standard, but the community makes the platform. Real visits, real experiences, real opinions from people who were actually there.
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Wine Country for Everyone
Wine tourism should be accessible and fun — for couples, families, dog owners, first-timers, and seasoned collectors. We cover all of it without snobbery.
Meet the People Behind WinoNotion
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Barbara
Co-Founder
The wine lover who started it all. Barbara's passion for discovering genuine wine country experiences — and frustration with finding honest reviews — is why WinoNotion exists.
S
Scott
Co-Founder
The builder. Scott turns the ideas into reality — from the winery database to the tools that help wine lovers plan better trips. Driven by the belief that good information makes every visit better.
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Leeor
Chief Wine Dog & Head of Dog-Friendly Research
The most important member of the team. Leeor personally vets every dog-friendly winery rating and is the reason our 🐾 badge means something. Tail wags guaranteed.
Get in Touch
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