Everything said, i feel that proper education for both the adults and their children is more important then cutting them off totally.

(1) Behaviour. This is a business decision. Obviously, no one should attend tours who does not have enough of an attention span to respect the tour and its participants. However, I’ve seen fifth-tour-of-the-day adults cause as much of a scene as young children! Why not a general “quiet, please” policy on tours? Similarly to libraries (though of course, more conversational) where all must conduct themselves according to the rules of the space.

(2) Influence. This is a social decision. It must be admitted that bringing children along to ‘castles’ and caves, where grape juice is magically turned into a beverage that makes adults silly, will influence young minds. But since nothing else mandates that parents/schools thoroughly educate young kids on the pros and cons of alcohol consumption, this is a problem of wider girth than wineries. I err on the side that tours provide opportunities to raise such discussions, thus doing more good than harm. Ultimately, our culture is divided in its approach to whether this issue belongs in the law or the family — with age requirements at alcohol-related web sites, but none at convenience/liquor stores that feature massive, colourful poster ads.

If kids are allowed all the time in adult spaces, no exceptions, then I want a license to go into any daycare center to use the restroom, fix myself a snack of cookies and juice, and take a nap.

I am standing at my desk, applauding, in between belly laughs. Thank you for this, Jen. Bravo!

Note the difference, folks.

What everyone else said RE if the kids are squirmy and screamy they don’t belong there.

And YES to whomever pointed out that in Brooklyn, every damn watering hole in town is now a stroller derby. This unsettling trend is also spreading to Queens; luckilly, that boro still has enough dive bars where no sane person would even think of bringing a child that I can still find a child-free drink.

If kids are allowed all the time in adult spaces, no exceptions, then I want a license to go into any daycare center to use the restroom, fix myself a snack of cookies and juice, and take a nap.

For instance, when my parents came to visit a few months ago we thought it would be fun to take a tour of the Sattui Castle. But when we called to make an appointment we found out that the shortest tour was 90 minutes, and we felt that that would be asking too much of our then 7-month old, and not fair to the other guests if and when she got fussy. So we chose to skip it.

On the other hand, we were hanging out in the Healdsburg plaza over the weekend and, on a whim, decided to pop into one of the gazillion tasting rooms that have taken over downtown. My husband and I enjoyed a few wines that we haven’t tried in a while while our daughter (now 10 months, held by daddy) waved and threw kisses to everyone at the bar. Then she stood for the first time on her own right there on the cork floor and everyone within range cheered for her. It felt like family. That’s the kind of experience I hope my daughter will be able to grow up with.

I guess that makes me the spoiled one…or lucky anyway. It’s always going to come down to the individuals involved and in particular how well the parents interact with thier kids.