Military Life News

Military Life News, Commissary Rewards and Military Discounts

30 Military-Friendly Wineries and Breweries You’ll Want to Sample

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May is National Wine Month. What better way to celebrate National Wine Month than with a tasting at a military-friendly winery?

There are more than 8,700 wineries in the United States. Many wineries offer military discounts on tastings or free tastings to veterans and military spouses. Here is a list of military-friendly wineries in Napa and Sonoma.

15 Napa Wineries that Offer a Military Discount

Start your wine tour at the oldest winery in Napa Valley, Charles Krug. It also happens to be the first tasting room in California. At Charles Krug you can enjoy a five glass wine tasting. It’s usually $20, but the fee is waived for active duty service members.

Robert Mondavi has made Napa Valley what it is today. Enjoy a military discount and great wines at Robert Mondavi.

Hall Winery generally has a $40 tasting fee, but it is free for service members. Service members can enjoy a free glass of wine as well.

Domaine Carneros has a military discount on tastings as well as 10% off merchandise.

V. Sattui Winery has delicious wines as well as a military discount.

Grgich Hills Estate offers free wine tastings to service members.

Domaine Chandon has a 20% military discount.

Mumm Napa not only offers service members a free tour and wine tasting, but they also have a military discount of 30% off purchases.

Rombauer Vineyards offers free wine tastings to service members.

Raymond Vineyards offers a 10% military discount.

Peju offers free wine tastings for service members.

Beaulieu Vineyard provides free wine tastings to military service members.

Beringer Vineyards has a program where service members can enjoy a free glass of wine.

Cakebread offers free wine tastings to service members.

Monticello Vineyards may be a small family-owned and -operated winery, but they really know what they are doing. Enjoy a free wine tasting with their friendly staff.

7 Sonoma County Wineries That Have a Military Discount

There are more than 425 wineries in Sonoma. Here are seven military-friendly ones not to be missed.

Murphey Goode offers free wine tastings to veterans. I love that they support Operation Homefront, which is a nonprofit charity that gives assistance to service members. Murphey Goode donates 50 cents from each bottle of their Homefront Red Blend to the organization. While that doesn’t sound like a lot per bottle, it has generated over $300,000 a year.

At Francis Ford Coppola Winery you’ll enjoy a free wine tasting as well as a 10% military discount.

Adastra offers free wine tasting to military couples.

Alexander Valley Vineyards provides a free reserve tasting for service members.

Highway 12 Vineyards and Winery provides free wine tastings.

One last winery to mention in California is Tackitt Family Vineyards in Paso Robles. It is dear to my heart. They produce a collection of wines labeled EOD Cellars. The owner is a Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) veteran. My husband is an EOD Tech. A portion of the profits from these wines goes to the EOD Warrior Foundation, which supports wounded EOD techs.

8 Military-Friendly Breweries Owned by Veterans

There are also veteran-owned breweries. The eight below are ones not to be missed if you are in their area.

Honor Brewing Company is operated by an Army veteran, a Gold Star son and one other partner. Their tasting room opens this year.

Heritage Brewing Company has its own nonprofit that supports veterans. A portion of their proceeds go toward it.

Full Tilt Brewing in Baltimore, Md., is run by a veteran and a former DoD worker.

Young Veterans Brewing Company, owned by two Army veterans, is in Virginia Beach. You can visit their taproom and take a tour there.

Veterans United Craft Brewery in Jacksonville, Fl., is owned by a former Naval flight officer.

Railhouse Brewery is owned by Army, Navy and Air Force veterans. You can visit their taproom in North Carolina.

Red Leg Brewing Company in Colorado Springs has a wonderful taproom.

Fair Winds Brewing Company is one of the top 50 fastest growing breweries in America. You can visit their taproom in Fairfax, Va.

With all of these military-friendly wineries and breweries, you’re sure to have a good time supporting veterans and businesses that support our military community.

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Are Military Discounts for Service Members or Spouses?

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I always get excited to be able to use a military discount. Most places that do them offer about 10% off but there are a few that offer more. Sometimes bigger places like amusement parks will have free days or 50% off of tickets for those in the military.

Sometimes all you need is a military ID, it doesn’t matter if you are a military spouse or not. Other times the military discount is only for the service member.

Are Military Discounts for Service Members, Military Spouses or Both?

We should thank businesses for having a military discount instead of getting upset at them for not offering the military discount to the military spouse too.

Most of the time I only ask for a military discount if I have heard that there is one at the location that I am in. Every once in a while I might just ask on a whim. Sometimes I feel a little odd about asking even though I know there is really no harm in asking for a military discount. Some people think asking is being greedy but I see it as a way to save money.

When I turn 55 I will start asking about a senior discount and I don’t see anything wrong with that either.

You would never demand a discount but asking for one politely shouldn’t be an issue.

The service member is benefiting from the money that is saved, whether they are using the discount themselves or not. And isn’t that the point of the discount? To give back to those who serve?

By giving the discount to the spouse too, the business is helping the service member save their money. Offering a military discount is a way to support military families and can make a spouse choose one restaurant over another because they offer the discount.

When I hear that a business only gives a discount to the person who has signed up to join the military, I don’t get mad at that policy, but in some cases it can be frustrating.

For example, if a company is giving out the discount and your spouse is deployed. There is no way for them to use the discount.

In those cases a military discount would be great if the spouse got the discount since the service member could not, especially if the reason is that they are deployed or away for any type of military training. A discount is a great way for a business to say thank you for your service and what better way to do that then to help save them money during a deployment.

I also can understand that offering a military discount can be hard to do if you have a business and having the military discount be only for the service member could be the only way they can even offer the discount in the first place. Since not every business offers them, complaining to the business about the details of their discount would be rude.

We should be thanking them for having one in the first place instead of getting upset at them for not giving the military discount to the spouse too.

I think asking for a discount is perfectly OK for a military spouse to do. Claiming a discount is a way to save a little money and we all know that military paychecks could be higher. The company might say no or they might have limitations on the discount so that it can not be used by the spouse.

Either way asking does not hurt and once you find out about a discount you will know to use it every time you go to that location.

Do you feel uncomfortable asking for a military discount? Why or why not?