The Dog and Oyster Vineyard

Great wines in a very pretty location but get there early if you want oysters. They start wrapping up oyster service before 4.

I actually stumbled upon Dog & Oyster while driving through the area — it’s hard to miss the 30′ corkscrews flanking the entrance. It was a beautiful day to be out so I stopped in for a tasting. The screened-​in porch is a beautiful place to sit for the tasting (done on the hour and half hour most days) and there are some outdoor tables for wines by the glass, general lounging, and oysters on the days they serve them (Thursday-​Sunday). Oyster shells litter the area and sharpies are available on the tables so you can write your own message on a shell and place it on a table, in a barrel, whatever suits your fancy. Oh, and the vineyard is full of dogs (seven, all rescues from shelters) to keep away deer and other animals. Logically, the vineyard is dog-​friendly, so bring your own four-​legged friend (on a leash, of course).
Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Though I am not a fan of oysters, my tasting companions got some raw on the half shell and said they were delicious. Wine is decent, not spectacular IMO, though they have one several awards. All the wines were designed to pair with oysters.
Still, a nice place to come and have a sip and a definite go-​to for oysters.

Went to 3 wineries in area. Athena, Goodluck and Dog and Oyster. Wines were comparable and others had more wine. But I liked their whites more. However sitting for tasting and having the availability of food (oysters) made it way more pleasurable. Encouraged to walk through vineyards. Our server was nice and talked to us, not at us about wines, but Got a little distracted sometimes. Gave them 4 stars because they only had 5 wines. If I to pick one to to go back to I would pick dog and oyster.

Great place to down a bottle of wine. Occasionally they have local oysters for sale as a snack by a local vendor cooked to order or raw. Excellent for a date or a destination trip.

I’ve come to the conclusion that all vineyards with pretty views and scenery are just over compensating for average wine. Every time my boyfriend and I drive up to a pretty vineyard we always end up with mediocre wines. Dog and Oyster serve pretty basic wines, none of them really will blow your socks off. They all taste like something you’d get at a happy hour, not a $ 20 – 30 bottle. The service was pretty good, our pourer did a great job explaining all of the wines. The pours were pretty tiny compared to your average tasting. I’m happy I went, because I got to play with some cute dogs and see some great scenery, but I don’t have any desire to hear back.

This winery is one of my favorites and I live a short drive to Napa, Ca. We visit the area every summer and during one of our visits we decided to see what Va has to offer with its wineries.
First off I love dogs and love the rescues that roam the vineyards, the atmosphere is super relaxed. I enjoyed chatting with the owner, he was welcoming and warm.
The wine was good the atmosphere is great and I just love the grounds. This is my all time favorite spot in VA and will continue to visit every summer.

A rainy day called for some off the water activity durning our visit to Urbanna so we made the drive over to The Dog and Oyster Vineyard. The name interested us and upon arrival we discoved the name sake rescue dogs guarding the grapes. Our tasting was poured at a communal farm table which added to the enjoyment of our visit. The Pearl Vidal Blanc was the perfect counter point to the spicy oyster tacos. They shucked the oysters on the half shell right in front of us minutes before serving. Lovely wines and very welcoming staff. Highly recommend.

Very interesting concept – making wines to pair with oysters. Unfortunately no oysters on weekdays, but enjoyed the wine anyway. Nice places to sit outside.

Love this winery! The owner Mark and his son Hunter were so welcoming, we ended up staying passed closing! They really know their wines and appreciate every guest that walks in. Very different from any other winery we visited this past weekend. So glad we were able to taste such delicious wines and chat with the owner over a bottle of red!

Great winery! Truly a local/​family experience in a casual environment. The oysters are fresh and the atmosphere will make you want to stay for bottle or two and watch the winery dogs.

Beautiful location however service and lack of attention. The owner was our server who ended up forgetting about us. Received three tasting in over thirty minutes. Another server came over and apologized and served us our third tasting. Still had to pay and no apology from owner.
Again nice location, decent wine but horrible people skills here.

I visited the Dog and Oyster with my wife. We found a seat at one of 3 available tables and then the staff found us. sort of. My wife and I have been going to different wineries all summer here in VA and this was the first time we were essentially ignored by the staff. The young man ‘helping’ us obviously wanted to be elsewhere. All of the information we learned about the winery and the wines we learned while another person connected with ownership was speaking to others. Customer service wasn’t extended to us. While the wines were nice, the price points of $ 25– $ 40 per bottle were, in my opinion, not in line with the overall quality of the offerings. All in all, even though this winery is close to our summer place, we have no intention of visiting again.

Nice view, good sitting area outside. We brought our dogs. They have 3 dogs or so in the field protecting the grapes from deer. More in the other grape field. One dog barked the entire time, kind of distracting. Another was digging a trench, don’t know how that is better than deer. Did not take any wine home with us, nothing really stood out and the prices were not worth it. I’ll pay top dollar if the wine has something unique about it. Most tasted a bit watered down. If they had live music or some event going on we wouldn’t mind coming back and maybe purchasing a glass or bottle to have there. Fairly new from what I gather but they could work on a few things.

I visited The Dog and Oyster Vineyard with friends today. The venue is lovely, and I was impressed with the quality of the wine. Bottles ranged from the low to mid $ 20s, and while I thought it was a trifle bit high for the quality, we were willing to pay.
Both pourers were indifferent at best. Commentary pretty much consisted of, «This is a Rose’». When someone asked about the oysters, they were dismissively told to «go talk to the guy outside, he handles that».
Unfortunately, they have an *extremely* strict policy about no eating in the tasting room. Unfortunately, the three, count ‘em, three tables in the outdoor sitting area were full with people who were still enjoying their wine and oysters. The tasting room was filled with roughly eight people and being a holiday weekend, it was busy.
Due to their inflexibility and limited seating, we elected to leave and spend our discretionary income elsewhere. As we were paying our tab ($ 6 per tasting, and the male pourer was rather stingy with the wine) a friend who had brought his dog with him saw a large bowl of Milkbones on the floor. As he was reaching for one, the cashier loudly announced that they were only for the «vineyard dogs», three yappy beagles that patrolled the grounds, ostensibly to deter deer. Really? Quibbling over a .02 Milkbone? They didn’t seem to realize that the four of use would have paid for at least two bottles of wine and heaven only knows how many dozens of oysters this afternoon if we had been shown the slightest bit of flexibility and customer service.
I still do not know why that a venue that only allows the consumption of food outdoors only has three outside tables. It is Labor Day weekend; you’d think that they would have figured out in back in May that three tables wouldn’t cut it on a busy day.
I understand that business must set parameters and have rules. What I do not understand is their lack of customer service and short sightedness.

Nice place but unimpressed by the wine. Not terrible but ordinary. Indifferent service.

Nice little vineyard. It’s new, so there are only 5 wines to try, but many of them have done well in the San Francisco wine competition. It’s a beautiful area and you can also get oysters/​hot dogs from the guy manning the grill, if you’re into it.

My husband and I took a trip along the wine trail last fall. This winery was the one that stood out the most to me, all these months later. I loved how quaint the place was, and the outside patio tasting room had a great feel. The property was interesting and it had a neat back story with the name. I liked their wines as well, and the pour-​ers were super friendly and helpful.

Because I didn’t have to use the bathroom (porta-​potty), I will gladly give this place 5 stars. It was very cute and eclectic, with a cute gift shop. The wines were nice and the tasting was very inexpensive. My only real concern was for the dogs… They pride themselves with rescuing the pups on the property, but they appeared to live outdoors only for the purpose of protecting the crops from deer. I didn’t see a dog house or any place for them to escape from the hot sun. Since the name is «Dog & Oyster,» I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and hope they have provided the dogs with a comfortable place to go to get out of the sun/​rain/​etc.

This is a newly acquired vineyard purchased from an older one. The owner purchased this from Ingleside wines which means the vines are much older and didn’t have to go through the maturation process. I wasn’t expecting much from here but was pleasantly surprised with the quality. They are still offering the previous winery wines as well as their own. Unfortunately we came two weeks early before they start offering some of their whites and a red. The tasting room is small with rustic tables and chairs, communal seating. We enjoyed talking to the couple across from us. Their Chardonnay and Merlot are a must-​buy. Tasting is $ 5 and well worth the trip. You can’t miss the large cork screws out front. Go with friends. Make sure to use the bathroom elsewhere — it’s a port-​o-​john and even though they try to make it nice, it’s still not pleasant. I say they need an upgrade for that.