Chaumette Vineyards and Winery

Staff are always rude. Long waiting time without apologies. Feel like a second class citizen each time u visit. This will be my last time here.

It is a very nice winery. We just stayed here for a couple nights at the Villas which were really cute, but a bit pricey. We had dinner in the cellar room, which was ADORABLE. Very cozy and comfy. The food was AMAZING. We had fried chicken, mashed potates, and green beans with bacon and a really nice sauce. Although the menu was very simply, it was real comfort food and it was just really well done. DELISH.
We attended a wedding at the Barn and it was magical! The event space is fabulous for weddings and formal affairs. It was a beautiful event space! Food was great! And the views of course are very pretty in this area!

Beautiful grounds! The food is good but a little pricey and just a little too gourmet for us. The views are awesome, the staff was friendly. We enjoyed tasting the wines but would’ve liked a palate cleanser in between. Great place for a get together with girlfriends. We enjoyed our visit.

My experience at Chaumette was all over the place.
First, the reservation process was very easy and I was able to make a reservation for 6 on the outside patio for lunch. I had forgotten to ask if dogs were allowed so I called back and they assured me that dogs were allowed outside. I then verified that our reservation was outside and it was confirmed. Imagine my surprise when I arrive with my dog and the hostess says my dog is not allowed in the restaurant part of the outside patio. She finally let us keep her there while we had our meal but said if someone complained that we’d have to move. This was after a few eye rolls and looks from her and my explanation that I had specifically called and asked about dogs. So as a note — pets only allowed outside in the gravel areas, NOT the restaurant patio.
I shook that off (everyone has a bad day, right?) and my sister and I headed inside for a tasting. Dick was our tasting server and he was amazing! He was full of information and details and really guided us through each of the reds. The wine was ok. I am admittedly not a huge Missouri wine fan except for the occasional standout Norton. The tasting area wasn’t crowded and we had a great time talking to Dick. We selected a bottle of Mosaic for the table and headed back for lunch.
On to the food, Chaumette offers some gluten free items but a few of them made me worry. For instance the server said the beef and barley soup is gluten free but barley, by definition, is not gluten free so we were concerned that contamination or some ingredients may be an issue. My husband is the gf one and he decided on the steak and frites. He ended up being fine but I always feel bad when I can tell he’s nervous about what he’s eating. I had the bison burger and it was unfortunately very dry. I ordered it medium but there was no pink. It was full on well done. Always a risk with bison but after rave food reviews, I thought it would be good. The rest of the table thought their food was decent so that was good.
I will likely be back but will probably just stick to the bring your own food areas.

I have been here a couple times now and I love this place!
NOTE that my GPS and iPhone maps app told me I «arrived» before the actual turn/​sign to turn. So just keep going there will be signs to turn! :)
Ste. Gen is full of wineries. I haven’t been to them all but I have been to my fair share, for sure.
Why does Chaumette stand out?
The Customer Service!!! Can I get an «AMEN»?! The tasting crew and the owner, Ryan, seem to always be pleasant, understanding, calm, funny, and very attentive! Even when the place is packed. They greet you as you come in, they let you choose your seat on the outer patio area for picnickers (YES you can BRING IN YOUR OWN FOOD/​waters in a cooler!!!) Or, you can be seated (with reservations (preferred)) on the inner covered patio area for the restaurant. They also have an inside restaurant area. But who wants to sit inside on a nice day at a winery? Not me.
Second Visit on 8÷17÷14:
After you are greeted, and set up your picnic extravaganza, (face it we always bring too much food) we headed back in for our wine tasting. ($ 5 for non wine club members — I will get to that later). They ask your preference of wines, sweet or dry and they base your tasting off of that. YAY! I don’t have to taste wines I won’t like! BUT… I did ask to sample one dry and he gladly washed out my glass and poured a sample. — no, I still did not like it. Oh well, I tried. There were quite a few that I liked! And we bought a couple of bottles.
We were able to sample their Port — FAB-​U-​LOUS! and they also showed us the difference in the flavors by giving us one dark chocolate M&M to eat and savor then taste again — WHOA — mind blowing.
We …egh hem… «I» brought up the wine club — bec I became a member on my first visit. And a friend seemed interested in joining. (I get a free bottle if she joins!)
But really its a decent deal! You get two bottles every other month for $ 35/​pick up or ~$ 40/​delivery. You can join the dry or sweet club. I am a «sweetie» of course.
But… here is BONUS you get by being a member:
Free wine tastings
One Friend gets a free wine tasting
Free use of the POOL. Yes I said pool. Its amazing.
Free use of the spa showers/​workout room/​amenities
20% all gift shop items
20% off all wine purchases outside of the membership bottles
SPA treatment discounts.
and access to rent one of their privately owned Villas for a night or two.
Other on-​site amenities:
The Barn — a venue used for weddings and parties. We were able to walk over and have a look as they were setting up for a party. Pretty awesome location and view!!! white lights strung everywhere, classic barn wood charm, plenty of seating. Plenty of fans (its a barn, no air conditioning) Parking is a bit far, but they do have a few spots for handicap needs.
(no this is not a commercial) I was just really impressed!
So bottom line? YOU GET A BANG FOR YOUR BUCK HERE!

Attended a wedding and barn reception in early July 2014. It was magical with all the decorations in the barn. The views were gorgeous, although it was a little bit hot at times. There were big fans in the barn. The food was very good.
We spent the night in a room, which was very pretty. There was only one thing I didn’t like were all the flies that were in our room. We kept killing them from the time we arrived to the time we left, like about 17. Everything looked nice and clean but you never know where a fly has been and that was a big turn off for me, especially with the price of $ 200 per night, that we’ve never done before. I’m wondering if they open the doors when cleaning?
There were lots of little luxury things that stood out, like the thick, rich towels and wash clothes, the shampoo and soap items and the décor of the room.

Bill at the tasting bar is fantastic! Knowledgeable, friendly and not a wine snob. The setting is beautiful and more intimate than at Crown Valley down the road. The restaurant is lovely — we will be back for dinner. We tried just some appetizer plates this visit as we weren’t super hungry. Portions were just right and the mix of selections on the cheese/​charcruterie board was perfect. I also asked for some grilled veggies on the side, and even though this wasn’t a menu item, the request was met without issue. Wine selections are small as this is not a superpower winery by any means, but the selections were nice and we came home with several bottles.

The winery is absolutely stunning. It’s a simply gorgeous view that you have to see whenever you in St Genevieve — both the drive here and the around the vineyard. I highly recommend making them a stop on your trip. Also, another thing I did like about Chaumette is that they do free tastings (while most of the other wineries/​vineyards nearby charge you to taste their wine). I guess I really like this because you at least get to know what your are tasting before you buy it. The wines tend to be a little drier here than some of the neighboring wineries too. So, I would take that into consideration when ordering.

Chaumette isn’t too far from Crown Valley and is easy to find. It wasn’t super crowded when I went on the Saturday after Christmas. I guess lots of people think wineries are for visiting in nice weather. This is not the case at all. I have more fun at wineries in cool fall or cold winter than any other time.
When we arrived, the first thing I noticed was a quaint chapel a short distance from the winery. The chapel is still in use for weddings and services. It’s certainly worth walking up the hill to check it out.
At the winery, I got my passport stamped, tried a couple of wines but didn’t buy any, and was on my merry way. I’dl ike to come here again, but based on the reviews, I think I’ll wait until it’s really cold again so it might be slow. I received good service, though, and have no complaints. The bathroom was gorgeous and seemed especially clean! Lots of winery bathrooms aren’t just unimpressive, but on the gross side. Chaumette seems to be a classy place.

I’ve been here three times but the last time will probably be the last time.
The winery aspect is pretty decent, I’m generally not a fan of Missouri wine as like most mid-​west wines they tend to be overly sweet. It’s a great place to try a few wines, buy a bottle and sit on the patio and enjoy the, dare I say spectacular, view.
The food on the other hand is very over-​priced for how poorly the food preparation is executed. We’ve ate there twice, once for lunch and another for dinner. It’s like you get a hold of Niche’s recipes but have them prepared by high school students. I get the feel from my experiences and other reviews they have a problem with turnover with their staff.
On the last visit, we ordered two appetizers and two entrees. The soup was fantastic $ 10, the tomatoes salad was 3 thin slices of tomatoes in a vinaigrette sauce. Tasted great, but it was 1 tiny bites or 1 big one for $ 10. We tried to share but felt a little silly splitting it.
I ordered the strip with squash and that’s where the real problem was. The squash consisted of 3 quarter sized dried squash ‘chips’. I don’t think they were supposed to be that hard and dried out as it had the texture of eating a checker. The steak, looked good, thick cut. I ordered it medium but it came out dry and cooked solid all the way through, well-​done. There was no pink anywhere, given that it was so thick, it was quite surprising. Looking at the dried squash chips, I had a feeling they cooked it oh like 20 mins more than they should of.
Waiter apologized for the steak and agreed it was well-​done. They cooked a new steak and as he sat it down, said hopefully after resting it will be a nice medium. I waited 5 – 6 mins which is odd to ask a customer to do but I was super hungry and wanted a good steak. First cut, it was raw, completely cold in the middle. I talked to the waiter and put my finger in the steak and said this is completely cold in the middle and raw. Again he agreed, apologized but then walked away and said the cook will have to practice more. I looked closer at the steak and it wasn’t even red, the meat was old.
So total bill, not including the wine as we paid inside, was $ 87. We left super hungry just like we arrived. I was rather surprised after admitting it wasn’t cooked right the second time, they did not offer a different dish or to finish cooking it.
I went home and threw it on the grill, took almost 10 mins of additional cooking to get it to medium.

I know a lot of ladies from Memphis who go here for bachlerotte trips, not really sure what the excitement is about as there are better places to go for the money. It’sd important to note that on the day I visited the winery was hosting two weddings.
I went over labor day weekend 2012 and spent an entire day at chaumette. First we had lunch, which was good but very overpriced. There are better places to eat in Ste Genevieve in my opinion. The restaurant is in the tasting room and has a french country vibe going, it’s ok. Service was meh, it was obvious that the majority of the staff was busy setting up for a wedding reception that evening. Had I eaten on the patio I probably would have enjoyed the experience a little more.
Next it was off to the Spa. The spa is apparently where the bridal party gets ready before weddings. So needless to say it was SUPER awkward to be sent in to get undressed in the changing room among a bride, her maids, mother and female relatives, the have private stall areas but still — I go in and the bridal party and their crap is EVERYWHERE, they clearly thought they had this area for their exclusive use. Equally as awkard for my bf on the guys side so this isn’t a fussy girl thing. The spa does have a very nice and very large waiting room with spa water, lots of comfortable furnature and magazines. This would have been a great area to relax with my complementary glass of wine if I had gotten one but the spa was out of alomost everthing expect for two reds — reds give me migraines. I thoguht it was really bad taste that a winery spa couldn’t make the effort to go get a bottle of wine from their own freaking tasting room — nor did they give me a voucher to get my free glass at the restaurant. Also, right outside this room is a wrap around balcony where naturally the bridal party was taking their pics, again weird for me to sit there like a evesdropper on their giggling and excitement. I’ve never been to a spa whose quiet room was not literally in a quiet, private area free of outside disruptions. My wine wrap was nice and relaxing but again overpriced.
Finally, we headed back to the tasting room. I like the traditionally sweetier wines missouri offers and Chaumette tries really hard to go for the more typical wine crowd and offers lots of drys. Like onther wineries the tasting is for a fee but costs more and includes less tastings that the other wineries. One thing I will give snaps on is that the people staffing the tasting bar are much more engaged and not just acting as bartenders — they are talking to you and pointing you towards the wines you are most likley to like (and thus buy, good job on sales Chaumette). I would have purchased more than one tasting but the tasting room was about to be host to one of the two weddings and I was eager to move on from that awkwardness so we quickly selected out wines and left.
In general I think this place is just overated, the most expensive winery and yet nothing wowwed me. They are clearly into the wediing business, which is totally fine but focus on that and don’t bring in other people to pay full price and get sub par service. I sepnt $ 500 in one day at this place between food, spa services and wine and at no point did I feel at all that my business was appreciated, instead I spend most of the day feeling like a weird wedding crasher. minus the free food and booze.

My husband and I were married in September at the barn at Chaumette. While in our guests’ eyes the ceremony and reception went off without a hitch, our interactions with Chaumette’s staff during the planning and setup process was a nightmare.
I am very detail-​oriented, so when we first contacted Chaumette nine months before our wedding date, I made sure to speak with one of the owners of Chaumette (who apparently took over responsibility for the weddings at Chaumette when the prior wedding coordinator left) and a young man we were told was director of barn operations (or a similar title) of all of the things I was hoping to do at the wedding, and worked many of the details into our executed contract. I was assured that every detail I mentioned would be completely fine.
On the day of the wedding it became blatantly obvious how bad the lack of communication between Chaumette’s staff is. For example, a man named Keith, who apparently is «weddings director» at Chaumette, although we had never spoken to him in the process of planning our wedding at Chaumette, all of a sudden appeared. He began to tell us that we could not do things that we had previously discussed with both the owner of Chaumette, and the multiple wedding coordinators we had been told to work with. It was clear the «weddings director» had no clue what the plan was for our wedding, since he had not been involved in any part of the planning process. Of course when we pointed out that those things were specifically included in our contract he became overtly rude and difficult to work with for the duration of the event. On top of some more minor things that made our wedding day difficult and unnecessarily stressful, Chaumette allowed another wedding, set to occur the day after ours, to use our location to rehearse WHILE we were trying to set up for our own wedding that evening.
The dinner was a bit cold, but good, however, guests complained that some of the pork burgers we had paid Chaumette $ 396 to prepare as a surprise late night snack for our guests were literally bloody and setup nowhere near where guests would know to grab one when they left (essentially a waste of money). Also, we pre-​paid 20% gratuity on the ~$ 6,755 bill for food and drinks during the reception, however, there was only one bartender on staff while the line for drinks was out the door (she informed us they were «short staffed»), AND the bartender had her own jar out asking for tips on top of the ~$ 1,351 we had already paid in gratuity for the staff. They also announced last call 15 minutes early, and when there was half an hour left at our reception, the owner and other Chaumette staff literally stood there with their arms crossed frowning at all of our guests which was extremely awkward and uncomfortable.
While the venue is undoubtedly beautiful, my advice to any couple planning a wedding at the barn at Chaumette is to insist on putting EVERYTHING in writing (in detail) and hiring your own day-​of coordinator to handle all of the issues that are bound to come up with Chaumette on your wedding day. I get the sense that there’s an underlying problem with ownership/​management which makes it difficult to keep a consistent staff, but hopefully they will get the kinks worked out so the beautiful venue does not go to waste.

Was recently part of a wedding at the winery and thought the staff was incredibly friendly and accommodating. It was a busy weekend but everyone was so nice regardless of the hustle and bustle. Was also a beautiful location for the wedding. Food and decorations were very well done and everything was pristine the very next morning. You wouldn’t have known there was a party the night before.

On a recent trip to Missouri my sister and I decided to take a drive from Farmington to St. Genevieve, and stop at the wineries along the way.
Chaumette was by far the most impressive of the ones we stopped at. Their show room and tables overlooking their vineyard were very elegant. We did not eat anything there, but just did some wine tasting.
Because Missouri’s climate is the way it is, grapes tend to be sweeter than in California where I live, so even the dry and semi dry wines are sweeter than what I am used to, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many of the semi dry white wines were very refreshing and don’t have the same bite that you get with your typical chardonnay or rosé.
Over all I enjoyed my experience, and next time I’m passing through I would like to stay and have something to eat as well!

Nice little winery in St. Genevieve, MO. The grounds are beautiful — rows of grapevines with rose bushes at the end, small villas for overnight stays, a converted barn for private events and great views of rolling hills in the distance. The tasting/​dining room was really nice, and they have a bunch of outdoor tables where you can look out over the vineyard and enjoy a glass of wine. Other Unilocalers have been dis-​ing on the staff, but I thought they were pretty good — our waiter was awesome, and the Sommelier who did the wine tasting was knowledgeable and pleasant. We stayed for dinner and the food was very good. For an appetizer, we had a (locally made) goat cheese platter, served with crostini, which was good, but a little pricey for the amount of cheese ($ 20 for 4 small samples of cheese). For an entrée, I had a special of the day which was short ribs in a tomato sauce, served with au gratin potatoes — everything was delicious. The chef even came out to introduce himself and ask if everything was alright (maybe they’re trying to work on their quality of service).
Onto the wine. I was pretty disappointed overall — by itself, the wine gets a ³⁄₅. We tried the tasting (6 samples for $ 5), but barely could find 6 on the wine listing that I wanted to try. I’m not a fan of sweet wines, which cut out about half of their wine list. They were out of both the Norton and the Chardonel Reserve, which was pretty annoying, because they looked like 2 of their best on the menu. I started with the unoaked Chardonel which turned out to be the only one I liked — nice, refreshing dry white wine to drink in the summer. The Vignoles was next which was pretty good. Skipping the sweet white, next up was the Chambourcin (dry red), which was too spicy for me (kind of like a Shiraz, but a little more acidic). The Mosaic (semi-​sweet red) tasted like bad grape juice, very much living up to the Missouri wine stereotypes. The dry Rose’ was still too sweet for me, but I can see people enjoying it in the summer. I would probably go back, but it wouldn’t be because of the wine.
Pros: great food, great atmosphere, great views
Cons: the wines fell short (expect the Unoaked Chardonel)

This is a review of the Mother’s Day Brunch at Chaumette.
TL;DR: I would give the food and service 2 stars but added one star because if you’re just there for wine with friends on a normal weekend day, you’ll probably have a fantastic day. The scenery is simply gorgeous. I will not return for the Mother’s Day Brunch; there are some kinks to work out with their service.
ATMOSPHERE: The Tasting Room /​Dining room is very NICE and very clean. They definitely try to channel French countryside in their décor. The scenery is fantastic. And you can walk around the maintained grounds (we walked up the hill to the little chapel and took some great pictures). The tables were set with nice linens. The china is also nice. Basically, the dining rooms were set as though there was a wedding which made the brunch feel elegant.
FOOD & WINE:
We specifically arrived early for our seating time so we could taste some wine and enjoy the scenery. The wine was very good and they offered special wine cocktails. However, it was surprising that they were out of several wines by the time we got there (11:30).
Chaumette excelled at the breakfast portion of the buffet. The farm fresh eggs, bacon, sausage, quiche lorraine and bread pudding were to die for. It’s hard to mess up breakfast though; it was truly the local farm produce they used that stole the show. As for the lunch portion, I only tried the side dishes; the green beans, warm creamy potato salad, and three-​cream mashed potatoes which were all delicious. From the dessert table, I tried several of their little bites and was only really satisfied with the tiramisu. Oh well.
My mom wanted to try the lobster they had on ice at the front of the buffet — when we got back to the table and she cut into it, it was FROZEN. Gross. That was a disappointment for her.
SERVICE: (a few notes here)
— Even though we had reserved a seating time, they were running a bit behind because it was a very windy day rendering a huge section of their tables unusable. They did a nice job of explaining this to guests. I appreciated that they cared enough about the comfort of their guests to not seat them in the chilly wind on the side of the building.
— While we were waiting to be seated, the man at the check-​in table asked us an insane number of times how many people were in our party (just 3!)…he may need to work on his memory. The young lady at the check-​in table was very nice.
— Both times I went to the buffet, the meat chaffing dishes were empty and people in line were vocalizing their disappointment.
— Once seated, we were told our server would be right with us. 7 minutes passed before we caught someone and informed that our waitress had yet to appear. I know they were busy but it’s reservation only so they should know exactly how many servers are needed.
— Shortly thereafter we were greeted by a smiling waitress with water. There was a hair in my sister’s water glass which was promptly remedied. We never received the bread and butter she said she’d bring (which is really ok because the buffet has plenty of food — just don’t say you’ll bring it and then don’t).
— A glass of sparkling wine was supposed to be included for mothers — this we had to ask for rather than it being offered. Maybe they’re trying to keep costs down by hoping people would forget what’s included in the price of the brunch?

This was my first official vineyard visit, and my real first experience sampling wine and learning the difference in the kinds. The day was hot however it didn’t deter from my experience, and the delightfully wonderful view laid out before me.
The wines we had were very tasty, and we purchased 3 bottles, we all decided to sit down and have lunch and despite the extremely too long of a wait for our food, it was very tasty and memorable.
The girl working the counter and helping us with the tasting, was very friendly, and knew her wines and the all the information that comes with it. and the 3 bottles of wine we purchased are all incredibly delicious. I really enjoyed my first tasting and look forward to yet another delightful visit.

The wines at Chaumette break the Missouri stereotype of being sickly sweet. As a fan of big reds, I was impressed by their Chambourcin and could happily sip on the Chardonel! Similar prices to other wineries, with $ 5 tastings and you get to keep your glass.
We came back later that evening for dinner and recieved great food and a beautiful sunset over the hills from our balcony table, however the service was slow. We waited over an hour for our meals. When they came they were delicious. The Indian chef whipped up a fresh goat curry, and the duck breast was really tender.
Overall the six of us had a fun and interesting culinary experience at Chaumette.

If you read Chaumette’s reviews, you will quickly notice a theme: The food and scenery are fantastic, but the service is lacking.
I couldn’t agree more. Some girlfriends and I took a day trip to Ste Genevieve and were looking forward to having a meal at Chaumette. I don’t want to get into the nitty gritty of it all, but what it boils down to is that the staff inside the Tasting Room/​Grapevine Grill were rude, hostile and argumentative. I couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve seen food service staff act so rudely… actually, I think it was at the Chesterfield McDonalds last year. So there you have it: the staff at Chaumette has the charm and grace of surly teenaged fast food employees.
It is an absolute shame that a winery and restaurant with food and views this spectacular is staffed by people who are uncivil and boorish. Be warned that you are risking great disappointment if you travel out here expecting the service to match the views and food.

Chaumette Winery in Ste. Genevieve County is a cool destination winery with two restaurants (one is poolside with spa menu), a spa (with couples massages), a wedding chapel, wine tasting room, lodges for rent, beautiful views, etc. and only 1.25 hour drive from St. Louis
I recently visited on a weekday for lunch and it was delicious! I had the Coq au Vin and it was so fresh and tasty. My friend had a Croque Monsieur sandwich with homemade chips and we shared a grilled asparagus salad. It was all delish and we followed with peach bread pudding and a dessert wine from the vineyard, all while looking at a beautiful valley and spectacular view. While we were eating, the chef came out to snip fresh herbs from the herb garden that surrounded the restaurant.
We toured the facility, including the spa, and followed with a tasting in the tasting room. Very nice! This is definitely a destination winery!