Say you like wineries but don’t really feel like driving to Augusta or Hermann. Perhaps you’ve got dinner plans at a Chesterfield restaurant but want to start the evening with a glass of wine somewhere else. Or maybe you just need to stock up on wine, beer or some quality liquor. Owners Jeff Bender, Tom Bush and Rich Sterkel are hoping that you’ll consider stopping at their new St. Louis Wine Market & Tasting Room slated to open this month in Chesterfield Valley.
Located in Clock Tower Plaza at 164 Chesterfield Commons East Drive, St. Louis Wine Market & Tasting Room boasts 4,000 square feet of space that is divided between a retail area and a tasting space. The store side will hold a huge selection of wine and beer, as well as high-end liquor like “hard-to-find single-barrel whiskeys, aged scotch, and boutique vodka and gin,” said Bender. The tasting room, meanwhile, will offer a comfy, lodge atmosphere – fireplace, wood floors, stone bar, 12-top custom oak table – where guests will be able to sit back and sip on a selection of nearly 20 wines by the glass and 40 bottled beers. St. Louis Wine Market & Tasting does not serve food, but guests are welcome to BYOF or order from the many nearby restaurants.
“The overall feel of the place is unbelievable,” said Bender, adding that the walls in the retail area are painted with Italianate vineyard scenes. “We really went all out. We wanted to make something that didn’t exist as far as retail and a wine tasting room in one spot.”
When bottles are uncorked at St. Louis Wine Market & Tasting Room Nov. 22, the venue will be open Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday by appointment.
This article appears in Nov 1-30, 2010.