Aerie’s Riverview Winery & Cottages

Stick to the semi dry whites. The reds are sub par if they are local grapes.
The ambiance is great and service is wonderful too. The outside deck has a great view of the Illinois Mississippi confluence. There was a decent selection of food on the menu and specials too.

I suppose it doesn’t take much to please a group of patrons who are already in good moods, enjoying lovely weather, with an entire afternoon to while away, but Aerie’s Winery suited us perfectly.
We walked up the hill because someone told us it was too difficult, and we love too prove people wrong, but we took the shuttle back to the shops. The driver answered our questions and offered recommendations for restaurants and drinking establishments.
Our server, Tyler, was incredibly hospitable and entertaining. He and the sweetheart bussing our table poured from the ice water pitcher every fifteen minutes or so. (I’m insatiably thirsty and never had an empty water glass.) It did seem as though his wine knowledge was more text-​based than experience-​based, but he tried hard to find wines that suited our descriptions.
We ordered numerous small plates and shared. Each of them (green beans, tuna, fireball, brie) was delectable, and the bill was reasonable (for anyone who doesn’t frequent chain restaurants).
The wine labels for Aerie’s bottles are a good warning based on their appearance, which is my way of implying they are poorly designed and seem cheap. Otherwise, fantastic place. Breezy and beautiful decks, sturdy tables and chairs, and a shuttle to take you back to your car, your rental cottage, or even another establishment.

WARNING DO NOT HAVE YOUR WEDDING HERE AND DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR BUSINESS! If I could give negative stars I would! Worst wedding coordinator EVER! (Angie Furlow) she was extremely rude to us through out the entire process of planning my wedding. We did not originally sign the contract with her, the lady we did sign the contract with quit so then we were stuck with Angie! She would add surprise charges to our bill when we were already to far into the planning to cancel. We set up the hall the night before and told her we needed more tables because there were only enough seats for 165 and I had 220 rsvp. She said no you don’t not everybody is going to show up. Needless to say I had people standing and not able to eat because there was no where for them to sit down and eat. During the ceremony my ushers asked if they could bring out more chairs (that were already sitting on the side of the building) because I had people standing in the back at my ceremony and she said no they can stand! She was EXTREMELY rude to my caterer. She made them clean and wash dishes that they were not responsible for and said if they didn’t then she wouldn’t give them there $ 300 deposit back. She told us we could pick our décor up the next day and then said no we couldn’t and then changed her mind again after we were already cleaning up that night. She made my DJ use her sound equipment which was horrible the mic kept going out and you could hear anything. She was impossible to get ahold of and never returned calls or emails. She was very unprofessional and unprepared when we would come to the winery to have meetings with her. I could go on and on about her but I’ll move on to the owner of the winery. (JEFF LORTON) Since they make you end your reception at 11am they said we could use there shuttle to go to the Piasa Pub because it was also owned by the same guy. So we took about 50 people to there bar. Then all of the sudden the owner (JEFF LORTON) shows up with the wedding coordinator (ANGIE FURLOW) and points to my mom and yells across the bar «that B*tch didn’t pay her bar bill!» They had all of our debit and credit cards on file and just started running random cards without permission. Not running my moms card and running somebody else’s the card was denied. So my mom said you ran the wrong card that wasn’t my card let’s go back up to the hall and I will show you the right card. It was a $ 1000 bar tab that my mom adding during the ceremony. Mind you we were all staying in the hotel and cabins and we still had all of our stuff in the reception hall. Also my mom had already spent WELL OVER $ 7000 and they made this scene in front of my family and friends over a bar bill that we added the night of. So instead of waiting till the morning and settling the rest of the bill with my mom the Jeff and Angie caused a HUGE scene yelling and cussing at my family and friends at midnight on my wedding night. I was mortified! I could go on and on! WARNING DO NOT HAVE YOUR WEDDING HERE AND DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR BUSINESS! Horrible horrible people!

The view is worth the trip. Shuttle service from «downtown Grafton» is available every 15 – 30 minutes to ferry folks up to the winery (don’t even think about trying to walk it) and parking at the top of the bluff can be limited during nice weather.
The building and grounds are nice, well cared for. Restrooms could use a bit more attention during busy days, but I guess that’s typical at most bar/​restaurant combo places.
Service was so-​so. The younger people working the bar areas were nice and helpful. Some of the (presumably) management staff were not. One in fact was quite rude to us over a bar tab and when I overheard her speaking to the staff in the kitchen, she was unprofessional at best.
They encourage patrons to start a tab, which is fine. But your tab is with THAT server and doesn’t transfer if you move from area to area (i.e. Server to server). So be aware that you may get accused of «walking out» on a tab if you move from upper to lower or inside to outside areas. Seems like they could solve this issue with a different order system. Or maybe just address the attitude problem with the blonde headed manager.
The food we had was good. Ironically, I didn’t try any of their wines, but others said they were good.
We will go back because the view and the atmosphere are worth it.

I am an easy-​to-​please Ohioan and I loved this place. We were in St. Louis and my friends were like «let’s go to a winery an hour away.» I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful property overlooking the river! Now don’t get me wrong… I know it won’t appeal to everyone, but it worked for us. We had like a million people and we sat in different places. Once we had a snack we paid and moved around and it was no biggie. We purchased our glasses of wine from the other entrance after our unimpressive pizza we just chilled and nobody bothered us or made us feel like we should be leaving. Yeah the wait staff was super busy, but I kinda like a low-​key kinda place sometimes and the view was so amazing. We sat inside and it was comfy and relaxing. The wine samples are $ 1 and tiny and I’m cheap so I just got one and a glass. They also had a fire going outside in another area which we missed! Then the sunset was pretty.
So maybe eat ahead of time and then head out here for an amazing view, an unimpressive snack that fills a need, and some wine that… well I’m no expert. And the drive up from St. Louis was pretty along the river. But my friends GPS took them up the other side of the river and they had to take a ferry for $ 8 (no biggie) so be warned.

I wanted to like this place. We waited 20 minutes for our server to come over while he was shooting the breeze with other servers and clearing tables people were still sitting at. He knew we were there because I asked him to make sure the table was open before we sat down. After that 20 minutes during which he looked at our table multiple times, he finally came over and joked to us about how he had made us wait. Seriously?! At that point we ordered but then walked out. Adam was our server and he was beyond rude. I used to be a server myself and know it is difficult but his behavior was no excuse. I’m guessing it also had something to do with the fact that we all looked young. When I go to a winery I buy four or more bottles typically if a taste impresses me. You lose dude, I would have tipped you on it too.

Beautiful views abound here. Several large seating areas. Decent mix of California and Illinois local wine. Food was at best average. Sandwiches and chips were just blah.

They only thing that I can say that I enjoyed about the place was the view. The wine is overpriced, the drive up the hill is horrible and the food was average. Sorry…

Came all the way from central Illinois after my mother’s funeral to be here once again with my children. We were among their first customers, and have many happy memories here. There was some man sitting at the bar eating right in front and was very disrespectful in telling us we couldn’t come in because we had children under age.
So we sort of walked out to the deck anyway just to see it and saw other children.
Then they tried to run us off because of my special needs son’s service dog. Apparently they are very concerned about their insurance but not so concerned about ADA OR their loyal customers who got them started.
I can’t say I have ever been so disappointed in someone’s rudeness. We brought our family here from Chesterfield, MO for years when no one else came here. We told hundreds of friends to come and even brought friends many times to help them build. Now I guess that doesn’t matter. Sad testimony to loyalty.

There were pretty views and it was a great atmosphere. We had a Malbec which was good, but the food was lacking. There aren’t a lot of options besides (personal sized) pizza so we decided to split a pizza and cheese plate. The cheese plate was completely disappointing. It was a few ritz crackers, grapes, a slice of ham (salami was advertised), and what looked like some crumbles of cheese found in the back. They charge $ 13 for what looked like scraps from the kitchen. Another couple we were with got the artichoke dip and really enjoyed it, so there are definitely better options… I would advise people to not waste their money on the cheese plate.

Aerie’s Winery has a wonderful view, good wine, and live music. However, the service wasn’t the best and the food prices were high and didn’t match the quality of the food. My friend and I sat for a long time before our waitress came to get our drink orders. Our food also took a long time to arrive and we just ordered a burger and a chicken sandwich. The burger that I ordered was good but was small and wasn’t worth the $ 9 price. The sandwiches all come with ruffles potato chips, nothing fancy. If you want to replace the side dish, the only option is pasta salad for $ 2 more! I thought that was a rip-​off. I will say that the staff were all nice in spite of the slow service. Everyone was friendly.

The menu is limited, poorly prepared and over cooked. Also the owner is the rudest person I have had the displeasure of talking to.

Nice views but menu is very limited… pizzas and sandwiches only… really!!! Up your menu with entrees such as steaks, seafood and a bbq pit and you would hit a home run! Great place for partying with plenty of outdoor areas and a fire pit however… just missing the full menu

The good: The view is AMAZING. For Illinois/​Missouri, I can’t imagine it gets much better. We went on a warm winter day, but there was a lot of ice floating on the river from the recent frigid weather… it was an awesome sight. We had the winery’s brand of wine (they carry many different wines from other places) — Bluff Top White — which is a sweet wine and was very good. I also had a Guinness draft which was very good.
The bad: My wife and I are NOT picky eaters and we’ve been to dozens of wineries all over. The food here was too little for the price we paid, and was just kind of «meh» on the taste side… it didn’t taste bad, but it wasn’t tasty. Our waiter was ok at first, but then pretty much ignored us. Our appetizer never showed, until our food arrived and we asked about it. We had them go ahead and bring it out anyway and we ate it with our meal. It was the bread and oil, and it was, again, just «meh». It was a 45 minute or so wait for our food (salad, sandwich, and burgers). My inlaws said the burgers were good, but not great. My club sandwich was tiny and I could make better at home. My wife’s $ 10 salad (grilled chicken caesar) would barely make a side salad in other places. I had to ask twice to have my ice tea refilled, and when my waiter AGAIN said «Sure» and kept going to whatever he was doing, another waiter saw my disgusted look and jumped in and refilled it for me.
So: Go for the amazing view and the good wine and beer, but don’t expect much from the food. We WILL go back, but I think we’ll eat somewhere else beforehand.

On a clear day, rise and look around you
On a clear day, how it will astound you
That a glow from your wine, outshines every star
You’ll feel part of
Ev’ry hillside, river, and shore
And on a clear day, on that clear day
You can wine forever, oh
And on that clear day on that clear clear day
You can wine forever and ever and ever and evermore
A trip to Grafton is not complete without a visit to Aerie’s. It’s a steep climb, so make sure your car can handle it. On my recent visit they were preparing to pave the old gravel roads, which is going to make it much easier to drive.
The view from the deck of Aerie’s is breathtaking. Their guardrails of thin wires, so your view is not blocked by heavy fencing. Not being a fan of heights, I get a little tingling in parts of my anatomy when I get close to the edge. So I set of the far side of the table and enjoy the picturesque horizon.
Keep in mind, you come to Aerie’s for the ambiance not the quality wine, food or service. The wine is average at best and overpriced. We skipped the local wine and enjoyed Kreusch Riesling from Germany, which was crisp and refreshing. The appetizer we wanted was sold out. How can a winery be sold out of a cheese plate?
That is uncalled for in my book. I do not care how busy your weekend was, that is a staple offering for a winery.
We ended up choosing Formaggio di Caro as our appetizer. It was boring! They describe it as; goat cheese, italian sausage, tomato sauce with warm pita bread. It was barely melted goat cheese sitting in the middle of pizza sauce with chucks of sausage like you’d see on a pizza. Our waitress said it was her favorite. I’ll never trust her again.
The two severs working the deck fought over who was going to be taking care of us. I wish the young man would have won, but the young girl who ended up serving us was a pushy little bitch and told him to go away. You’d think after fighting for us, she’d have given better service. She barely checked back with us and popped attitude every time she did visit the table.
Will I return? Yes, the view out weighs the negatives.

My favorite winery! I’ve been going here for almost 8 years. The best view around. The food and service are great!
We come here for July 4^th fireworks and for eagle watching and lazy days on the bike.
Tons of improvements this year. New villas, new cottages, paved road, grapevines, zip line.
Did I mention the view? Get the funny named burger, outstanding! Ima pig!

A friend and I took a day trip exploring the St. Louis 250 Birthday cakes on the East Side and stopped at Aeries because of the ‘cake’ but were treated to a nice mid-​day break. Fabulous views of the Mississippi River /​Illinois River, super nice staff and a menu to fit your munchie needs from something light to something hearty.
The wine list is decent – from all over the place, including some local wines. I wouldn’t call this a ‘winery’ but more of a wine bar. You can order wine by the glass or the bottle at fair prices – and there’s enough variety to suit everyone’s taste.
We chose a glass of wine and a Fireball. The Fireball is a cream cheese ball with candied jalapenos rolled in pecans and served with crackers. Our bill was right around $ 20 bucks.
Note, they prefer if paying by card a $ 15 minimum. Also if you are in Grafton and don’t want the challenge of the trek up the bluff (or down), there are shuttle buses that will bring you to the top.
Oh, and did I mention fabulous views and great wait staff!!!

I loved the wine and your view is magnificent. There was a cool breeze blowing when we were there and it was just perfect for sitting outside.

5 stars to the winery and 3.75 stars to the cottages.
The winery food is excellent, the customer service leaves nothing to be desired, and the atmosphere/​view is great. I’ve visted Aerie’s Winery many times with friends. They are currently working on completing some very nice renovations to the building which improve the view and the improvements seem to allow for more seating as well. There is a wine club that meets once a month that is only a $ 10 annual fee that I’m seriously considering joining.
The cottages are nice and simple, but have everything you need. There was a huge hot tub in our cottage that was very comfortable. I do wish they had a better water heater. It took a long time to get the tub full and hot enough to enjoy. A fireplace would have also been nice. I have stayed at Tara Point in their cabins before, and would recommend them over Aerie’s Cottages (better design, view, and fireplaces), but I think Aerie’s is a little less expensive.

I think the best thing about this place (the restaurant/​winery, anyway) is the view. I came up here after riding in the Tour de Cure for a snack and a glass of wine. There are two porches facing the river and a patio more towards the back. Because we had our dog with us we were told we could only sit in the back on the patio. OK…
I opened the wine list and thought it was odd that they only had one wine with their name on it (it is a «winery» after all). I also overheard someone ask for a glass of water and they were told they only sold bottles of water for a dollar. Huh? That’s just not right. Is the water not drinkable? Do I want to eat here?
I ordered a salad and drank my wine and moved on. The salad was very «meh» and the wine was maybe slightly better. My husband had some kind of burger, pork, I think. He said it was good. I guess if I was in the area and wanted to look at the view it’s ok, but I’m not overly anxious to go back if I find myself in the area again.

Oh, Aerie’s…I cannot think of anything remotely wrong with this establishment aside from having to drive an hour to get here.
They offer a great selection of wines by the glass or bottle. If you’re unsure about what to order, their staff is incredibly informative. I’ve taken their suggestions a couple times and never been let down. During my most recent visit, I ordered a semi-​sweet red wine, because my friend wasn’t into dry reds.
Their food. For the love of all that is holy, order the goat cheese and feta dip. The flavor is out of this world! I wish their portions were bigger, but that’s probably in the best interest of my waistline. After appetizers, I go for their pizzas. They say they’re personal size, but I’ve always shared. The wild mushroom is definitely my favorite.
The VIEW! If you’re accustomed to looking outside your window and seeing cornfields — you must visit Aerie’s. You’ll feel like you’re much father away than an hour. The view of the Mississippi is perfect from the very top of the hill. One warning: it’s windy. If you have long hair, bring a hair tie and thank me later.