Chateau La VIn

Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit Château La Vin for the first time. I live about 20 miles away in west Saint Louis county and had been asked several times in the past to visit with a friend. I’m so glad I finally did!!! There is no place like this anywhere close to where I live and I wish there was!
The ambiance is warm and cozy. I went on a Friday night and the live acoustic music was perfectly suited for the environment. Though I didn’t sit out in the wine garden, I did go out and look and could see myself and my friends having a great time sitting outside with our wine. Speaking of the wine, there is a great variety by the glass and by the bottle. The wine is also reasonably priced. I met the owner, Bob, and he is so intelligent about the wine he serves and shares this knowledge in a passionate manner. It is also worth a mention that if you do not like wine there is a variety of beer and alcohol that is served. While there is no kitchen, I think it’s great that outside food can be brought in. I also met Stephanie who works with Bob and she was great as well.
So if you’re looking for a place to sit back and relax, listen to some good music and possibly learn a little something about wine then this is the perfect place for you to visit. It was well worth the 20 mile drive. Honestly, there is no place like Château La Vin in the greater St. Louis area which makes this place a gem and I will definitely be visiting again!

Great little wine bar with an excellent patio for enjoying live music. Came to see Casey Reeves play music here and really enjoyed it. Nice wine selection, plenty of beer and spirits as well. No food, but a casual Italian place shares the patio, several other solid food options within walking distance. Bob has a nice place in a fun part of this small town’s downtown. Keep up the good work!

Wonderful little place. Put 5 people in and it’s a wonderful cramped little place. I loved the band that was playing that night… The Eric Pruett Band, I think.

Great place for a glass of wine. Large selection of wine at all price points. There is Heineken on tap and a selection of beer and spirits. You can order food from any of the restaurants and bring it in to enjoy with you wine.

I have been a fan of Château La Vin for a few years. It has been fun to watch the place evolve. At first it was more of a wine store with only a few tables. Now it has been transformed into a wine bar. He offers cheese and crackers and people order from the local restaurants and some of them even deliver. He had two guys playing music. He offers so many different wines and is willing to share his knowledge. My friend is a beer drinker and he has a nice variety for them as well. He does have a few tables out in front. This is a great place…

Bob the owner is such a nice guy, that reason alone this place gets 5 stars!
What a cute little wine shop!!! He sends out daily emails letting his customers know the events for that evening… and he does live Jazz nights, wine dinners, etc. Its such a perfect place to stop and unwind after dinner and enjoy a nightcap. The prices are extremely reasonable and have everything from $ 7 upto $ 50+. There is definitely something for everyone!!! There is even select beers he has on tap, so if you drink wine and your better half doesnt, no worries, he has something for everyone. If you’re out and about take a trip over to Columbia and visit! We will defnitely be back!

I agree with Tom J… this is a pretty cool little wine bar. It opened in Oct. 2011 and the owner is very friendly. He left the corporate life to follow his dream. He has a nice selection of wines for under 10 bucks and some really nice wines for a lot more. There is also a small selection of domestic and foreign beers.
They sample wines every day and have a larger wine tasting every Friday from 5pm to 10pm. They do have a small selection of cheese and crackers, but the owner told me you can bring food in anytime. That’s a nice offer. You can also sign up to receive updates on events and other specials via email.
As of this writing, the owner is currently building an outdoor patio that will cap off a fun venue for wine drinkers. Can’t wait to go back.

We stumbled upon this very cute little wine bar and shop after a brief walk through Reifschneider’s Grill and Grape (too crowded, too noisy). We were looking for a quiet place to have a couple glasses of wine and a snack. This was perfect — brick walls, a few pub tables and a nice little shop. They’ve been open about 5 months and are located between a couple of restaurants; Joe Boccardi’s and Who Dat’s. Downtown Columbia has always been a charming place and in terms of its look and feel, hasn’t really changed in years. There have been a couple of nicer restaurants added in the last 5 – 10 years, though, and It’s becoming a cool little destination.
We were pleasantly surprised to find they were doing a tasting on a Saturday night. We tried three and they were all new to us and quite good. We bought a bottle of one of the reds and a cheese plate (from the cooler — prepared in advance by a local chef).
There’s not much of a food selection here, just these cheese plates and a couple different crackers. I could see this as an area for improvement. Per the very friendly owner, they will be having a couple of wine pairing dinners coming up in a couple of weeks featuring the same chef who made the cheese plates (which was good, by the way). They offer several wines by the glass. If you’re not sure what you’re after, this is a great spot to learn and taste a couple of different options.
It’s a nice little spot to stop for a glass of wine, definitely. They also have a decent selection of wines in the shop, although I don’t pretend to be an expert. Prices ranged from $ 7 on up. The selection is kind of small, but I’m sure that’s because the store is new and he needs to sort out the customer demand. Anyway, being a cheapass, I was happy to see the $ 7 bottle was Alias, which our regular wine shop had sold out of, so I grabbed one for later.

New Wine Store in Columbia, IL. Great location, neat space, still building inventory, but prices are reasonable. I think the plan is to offer cheese plates, but they do not mind you bringing food in from area restaurants and enjoying a good bottle of wine with your meal. Looking forward to many visits and exploring new wines!