All Places in Ste. Genevieve County

Chateau Sainte Genevieve – Grape-Growing Passion on the Missouri Terroir Just outside Ste. Genevieve, where rolling hills meet fertile bottomlands and the tradition of viticulture stretches back to the town’s French colonial roots, Chateau Sainte Genevieve stands as a testament to what happens when genuine passion for winemaking combines with relentless pursuit of quality. This isn’t a winery where grapes arrive from distant vineyards to be processed in industrial facilities. Here, every wine is crafted and bottled on-site, right alongside several acres of estate vineyards—a true estate winery where you can literally see the vines that produced the wine in your glass. Grape-Growers and Winemakers at Heart Walk into Chateau Sainte Genevieve and you’ll quickly understand what sets this winery apart: authenticity. The people making your wine aren’t following corporate formulas or chasing trends—they’re grape-growers and winemakers at heart, with mud on their boots and juice stains on their clothes. This isn’t marketing language; it’s reality. These are people who get their hands dirty in the vineyard, who monitor weather patterns and soil conditions, who make countless small decisions throughout the growing season that ultimately determine wine quality. This hands-on, from-the-ground-up approach to winemaking creates wines with genuine character and Read more…

Green Tree Tavern – Missouri’s Oldest Standing Building and a Window Into Frontier History Standing across from the famed locus of Jour de Fête in Sainte Geneviève, the Green Tree Tavern represents more than just historic architecture—it’s a living chronicle of American frontier life, cultural convergence, and the diverse lives that shaped the westward expansion. As the oldest verified building in Missouri, scientifically dated to 1790 through dendrochronology, this French colonial structure has served as family home, gathering place, inn, tobacco shop, and the meeting hall for the first Masonic Lodge west of the Mississippi River. Now part of Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park, Green Tree Tavern offers visitors a tangible connection to the complex, layered history of America’s heartland. A Building That Tells Multiple Stories What makes Green Tree Tavern exceptional isn’t just its age—it’s the remarkable diversity of human experiences that unfolded within its walls. Built by Nicolas Janis, a French Canadian immigrant from Kaskaskia, Illinois, the structure became home to his family and the fifteen people they enslaved. This uncomfortable truth sits at the foundation of Green Tree Tavern’s story, reminding us that Missouri’s early settlement depended on the forced labor of enslaved African Americans whose experiences Read more…