J & J Winery

Always a treat to check out a local business in my hometown’s neck of the woods. I’ve been meaning to check out J & J Winery for years, so it was a well overdue visit this past weekend when I loaded up the family to check it out with me. Happy to see this spot in Richmond and hopeful for what’s next.
The business is located in a historic farm house on a large piece of property just outside the city. The tasting room is cozy with 4 to 5 tables and a bar. We opted for the cheese plate and wine and beer flights. The wines are inspired Greek Goddesses. Make a special note to try the oatmeal stout and bacon beer varieties — both were delicious. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I highly recommend giving it a try.
Room for improvement:
–entering the tasting room was a bit awkward as far as knowing where we were supposed to go/​lack of direction and greeting from the barkeeper
–cheese plate: I might be a cheese snob but I think they could offer a better variety of cheeses than cubed swiss and cheddar. (tip: Aldi’s sells very affordable brie/​goat cheese/​Havarti, etc.
-$ 10 for a wine flight is on the saltier end compared to other Indiana wineries like Oliver, Château Thomas and New Day Craft.

Food and beer (Pale, Oktoberfest, BBQ sandwich) were barely tolerable but not bad enough to send back. Service was close to non existent. Did not have wine. maybe that’s what keeps them in business?

My husband and I stumbled upon J & J Winery after visiting the Warm Glow Candle Outlet down the road.
We found this winery in early December (literally just drove by and said, «Hey! Let’s stop there!» We weren’t from the area, so we had no idea the shop/​restaurant was closed for the season. Hubs and I got out of our car because there were a couple of other vehicles in the parking lot. We got to the door of the shop when two men appeared from behind us asking us if we were there for wine… ya think? ;)
At this point we didn’t realize that they also (occasionally it seemed) served food. They were not serving food on this particular afternoon, but were raving about their brick oven pizzas and sitting on the patio while listening to live music during the summer months.
The men (J & J maybe?) were nice enough to stop what they were doing to open up the shop just for us. They let us try some wines… although I’m sure the bottles we sampled from had been open for months. Ick. If I remember correctly, all of their wines are named after Greek gods/​goddesses, so I suppose I was selecting wines to sample based on their names.
The shop itself was very dated and dark and kind of in overall disarray. I attribute this to the fact that the 2 men helping us were very ‘manly’ men and obviously didn’t have an eye for detail. There wasn’t anything ‘warm’ about the room we were in, nor did it say ‘come and stay awhile!’ Bummer.
Hubs and I left with 2 bottles of wine (despite not really caring for anything we sampled); mainly because I felt obligated to buy at least something since the owners were nice enough to entertain us for 45 minutes.
I can’t even remember what we bought – the apple wine and something else. Was about $ 28 for 2 bottles after tax.
Grounds were very pretty and appeared to be well maintained. Wish the interior matched the exterior.
We never did go back to the winery, but I’m not sure we would have even if we had been in the area again. There’s huge room for improvement here.

A great place for beer (Big Dawg) and wine, and have a pizza oven with a delicious variety of pizzas. I particularly like the Dirty Girl pale ale, but have had a great IPA as well. Fun place for the whole family, have 4 and 5 year olds who enjoyed the beautiful grounds and wifi!

Love the winery and the people. The location is always pristine, great landscaping, beautiful pond and surroundings. Really great events here with different themes and live music. Wood oven pizza is my favorite and always good.
Wine is great and the beer from Big Dawg Brewery is fantastic! New general manager is doing a great job with service staff and the new chef is always coming up with ways to combine the beer/​wine in his dishes for interesting combos and flavors.
J&J staff and owners have been working really hard in the last year and the place has improved a lot in all areas. Well worth a visit and a great getaway from the noise in town. All in all, this is the best thing on the East side hands-​down!

After a two year absence I decided to give J&J Winery another whirl. It was a perfect summer evening and dining outside sounded perfect for me and a friend. The initial impression was the same; tacky décor and poor management. There was no hostess to greet you, take the number of people in your party, and give you an estimate wait time. Instead 6 – 7 people were running around doing everyone’s job. «Have you been helped? Okay, I’ll get someone for you.» «Have you been helped? Okay, please check in at the bar.» When you get to the bar, aka tasting room, there were 4 people behind the counter and none addressed your presence. We waited and waited. Finally a guy asked if we had been helped (they have this part of food service down pat) and said they would get with us soon. More scurrying and more hustling by the staff.
Finally we are taken outside on the deck to our seats. We wait another 5 – 10 minutes for menus and water. The menus read «J & J Winery Winter Menu.» It is June 21^st. As we wait to place our order we are instructed by a very intoxicated woman who approaches our table and requests that we clap «REAL LOUD» for the entertainment. «They’re just soooooooooooo good!!» The entertainment is a guy and girl standing on a flatbed singing «Free Ride.»
We place our order. The house wines are $ 12.00+ per bottle or $ 6.50 a glass. We order a bottle of Muscat, a sweet dessert wine. It was not recognizable. The taste resembled more of a Chardonney sweetened with Sweet and Low. Horrible aftertaste! It was replaced and our salads finally arrived. Unfortunately we had no eating utensils, napkins and they forgot the salad dressing. The harried server brought plastic cups of the dressing which was made with rancid vegetable oil. Pizza was cold. And the girl «lost» the change from paying the bill.
This establishment is one of the poorest, mismanaged restuarants I have ever experienced. No one seems to know their responsiblities and follows through. The result is chaos and poor quality.

So happy Richmond has this nice winery! I’ve really enjoyed all the food & wine I’ve tried here. It’s a nice location & has beautiful grounds for events. There is a pond and a nice outdoor seating area along with a deck. They often get local musicians to play too. Friendly staff & great wine tastings. There is also a nice gift shop.

Function, work, 1 each. Food is very good and so is my ice tea…

This is a great place to go and sit out on the patio during the summer. If you like good, dry red wine, don’t get your hopes up! You’ll find a decent chardonnay and if you like sweet wines quite a few of those. As others have said, the back patio is crammed with umbrellas, patio furniture, and coolers (can’t they put this stuff in storage somewhere on the property?).
We only got an appetizer here. We ordered the bake brie but thought it tasted like it had gone bad, and they quickly replaced it with the spinach and artichoke dip.
The prices are reasonable and the staff is friendly. I’d recommend a reservation for larger groups on the weekend.

First the good:
Pizza: Any of the offerings are very tasty.
Apple wine: Especially in the fall when it’s served warm.
Wine slushies: Especially the Moscato. I’d like them even better if they were served in a 44-​oz Slurpee cup.
The view: But only if you’re sitting outside on the patio overlooking the pond.
Now the bad:
The tasting room: The two times I’ve been there, the bartender’s appearance and attitude seems better suited for the Moose Lodge.
The tasting cups: They’re plastic thimbles, basically. You feel more pampered at church with the little communion cups.
The décor: They need to hire a decorator, quick, ’cause… damn.
And of course, the ugly:
The repairs (or lack thereof): Several things (doors, mainly) are in need of a handyman, one who works after hours. The last time we went, there were a couple guys who were pressure-​washing some crates in the parking lot the entire time we were sitting outside. It was kind of loud and distracting and took away from the vibe a winery usually strives to achieve.
Storage (or lack thereof): J&J seems to have no problem displaying all their extras — chairs, napkins, tablecloths, etc — for all the world to see.
So basically, J&J has all the ambiance of your mother’s mouthy cousin Lulu’s overstuffed trailer, but because Lulu is a good cook and lives on a nice piece of land, sometimes you can overlook the flaws. Can I just get my pizza and Moscato slushie to go?

Having just moved here from Southern California wine country (Temecula) I am definitely biased and probably a little spoiled. The wine made here is not that great. The outside lake atmosphere is lovely and the food is 3/​5, but for a winery, I would expect the wine to be a standout, and quite simply it is not.
Patio and patio furniture need work. I like looking at the lake, but the restaurant patio looks kind of cheap and thrown together. I have never dined indoors so I cannot comment on that. Would I come back here? Yes for the atmosphere, I like idea of dining al fresco, but not for the wines. The wines are lacking in deliciousness and if you’re gonna be a winery, ya gotta have some decent wines, right?
I guess for Richmond which barely has anything to begin with, this place is OK, hence only two stars.

As reported in another reviw, this is a small winery, in a quaint setting next to a relaxing pond with fountains. Mostly outdoor seating and a tasting room where the person offering the wines is knowledgable and friendly. My favorites were the Apple wine (white) and the Eros Fredonia (red).
The food experience, unfortunately, was the exact opposite. Although the waitress was friendly and cheerful, she either did not care if our dining experience was a good one or was completely inexperienced. We ordered wine and and an appetizer and they came quickly. We ordered dinner (a pulled pork sandwich, a club sandwich and a pizza) when the appetizer was delivered and then waited at least 30 — 35 minutes for the dinner, after we finished our appetizer. Enough time for my wife and I to consume the whole bottle of wine.
I inquired 3 times, as the waitress rushed by, as to where our meal was and she would answer over her shoulder that it «was on the way». She either did not have the experience to sense my increasing annoyance with the time it was taking or just didn’t care. When the dinner arrived, my sandwich was luke warm with nothing to spread the side of mayo that I requested with it. The pizza was hot and my wife said her sandwich was «OK». I think the sandwiches were completed long before the pizza was and they sat.
Lots of potential here but I find myself not looking to go back. No one seemed to care I was there.

This is one of the rare gems in this area. While the winery is small, it is quite pretty and has a decent menu. It isn’t Napa, but it is about the best you can get in around here.

I have to admit that I am somewhat biased in this review because I am so surprised (and happy) that my hometown has a winery. That being said I was surprisingly impressed with J & J. Don’t get me wrong, they are pretty much the typical winery you will see in Indiana. They have 12 different styles of wine (all grapes being shipped in from outside of the area) and a small pizza and sandwich menu. The tasting room is small but warm and comfortable. Tasting is free and the staff is very knowledgeable about the wines they serve. My favorite was the Riesling. I also recommend the Apple Wine. Wine in also served by the glass so you can pick you favorite and sit outside and enjoy the beautiful scenery. I have not been able to sample any of the food so I cannot speak to the quality in this area. Overall I was very pleased with my visits to J & J. Although there is nothing special or outstanding here it is a great addition to the community. I also hear that they are looking into starting a brewery as well. Can’t wait for that!!!