Bringing Children Into the Winery

Should children be allowed in wineries? Is it tacky to bring your child along for wine tastings? Should Indiana wineries make themselves more "family friendly?"

When I addressed reader mail a few days ago, I didn't address these questions, wanting to leave it for a separate post. It is actually something I have been thinking about for several months, after seeing some parents bring their children to a local winery. I must admit, I was shocked to see children in the winery.

I'll try to address this question on the merits and not the fact the children I saw acted like heathens while their parents sipped their wine in oblivion. I always think of my mom in situations like this. She's the one who says, loud enough for everyone to hear, "I am so glad you never acted like that in public. Well, you did once, but all it took was a good whipping and that solved that." Oh, how times have changed.

I don't believe in sheltering kids from the existence of alcohol. There's nothing wrong with drinking. In my experience, early, consistent exposure to the presence of alcohol makes children less likely to abuse it later. Part of reducing temptation is to reduce the forbidden allure, if you will. I didn't taste hard liquor for years after my uncle saw my curious looks and had me take a big swig of whiskey when I was 14.

Wineries can also be a fun and educational experience for kids, especially ones drawn to science. While a winery is not a bar, there is drinking going on, and I do find something distasteful about making your child your drinking buddy.

There is also the question of whether bring your children is fair to others? Let's face it, a lot parents these days don't own up to the misbehavior of their children. There also seems to be a sense of entitlement that others must tolerate the misbehavior of children in public, under the guise of "kids will be kids." (These people have never met my mother.)

I also like to think that people who go wineries have a little more sophistication and class so as to not act like a clod, and not acting like a clod includes making sure your kids don't act like heathens. But as parents sip more and more wine, it is also harder to keep a careful watch on the kids.

I suppose another question becomes if wineries can afford to ban kids. Would it become such a distraction as to cause the winery to lose business? Or would people enjoy the assurance of a "kids-free zone?"

I do think it is imperative for staff to quickly and firmly tell parents of offending children to calm their child or please leave. There should be no excuses or worries about offending someone or losing sales. I, for one, have left businesses that won't control their environment and know others who do the same.

Finally, I have to question just how fun it would be for a kid to spend all day going to wineries. How many hours can you spend watching your parents sip wine? No wonder kids would act up in a situation like that-there's little else to do.

In case you haven't noticed, I am trying to walk the middle ground here, though I do lean against bringing your kids to the winery. However, I am also against a blanket ban.

As for being tacky, I think it is fair to say most find it disconcerting. I wouldn't say tacky, though.

As for making wineries more "family friendly," what the hell does that mean? Making a Champagne Slip-n-Slide? I fail to understand the point of the question. It's not like they are doing lap dances on the bar (though that might change if the HoseMaster of Wine got his way). Plus, from my experience, making things more family friendly tends to make them more popular, but less fun. See Times Square and Las Vegas for examples. But that's just me.

Thoughts?