Chateau St. Jean hosts weddings and private celebrations for up to 400 guests at evening events, along with rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, engagements, elopements, farewell brunches and smaller private gatherings. The winery sits on Sonoma Highway in Kenwood, in the Sonoma Valley, around a chateau built as a family summer home in the 1920s.
Weddings and receptions
Ceremonies take place in the landscaped inner courtyard or on the grand lawn that looks over the vineyards. Receptions and outdoor dinners use the lawn and the Olive Grove. Evening events run from 5 to 10 p.m., with string lighting included. The winery requires couples to hire a full-service wedding planner and to choose vendors, including caterers, from its preferred list. The wine team suggests pairings to match the menu. Formats range from an intimate dinner to a large reception, and the same request form covers other private events, small or large.
Rooms and capacities
The largest stated capacity is 400 guests for evening events. The site does not give figures for each space. For smaller groups, the winery runs set group formats during the day. The Chez Nous dining room in the chateau takes seated reserve tastings for 8 to 14 guests. A private bocce area with picnic tables and cornhole hosts groups of 8 to 35 for two hours, a format that also works for a team outing. Groups of eight or more must reserve through the concierge. Other tasting spaces include the wood-paneled rooms of the chateau, its patio over the vines, Belle Terre beside the rose garden and the Classic Bar.
Catering
Food comes from caterers on the winery's preferred vendor list, coordinated with the required wedding planner. Wines are the estate's own, and pairings are chosen with the winery staff. Daytime visitors can also book an estate picnic on the lawns, in the gardens or under the redwoods.
History and setting
The Goff family bought about 300 acres in the Valley of the Moon in 1916 and began building their summer home, the chateau, in 1920. In October 1973, Ken Sheffield and the brothers Bob and Ed Merzoian, table grape growers and shippers from the San Joaquin Valley, founded the winery on 250 acres of the Goff estate. Dick Arrowood was the first winemaker, and Lisa Evich holds the role today. A visitor center and gardens opened in the summer of 2000, the courtyard garden holds a statue of Jean, the winery's namesake, and the gardens and bocce courts were upgraded in 2022. The winery is part of Foley Family Wines.
Getting there
The address is 8555 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood, CA 95452. The winery is on the road that runs through the Valley of the Moon between Sonoma and Santa Rosa, and the nearest airport is Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport. The estate is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last tasting reservation at 3:30 p.m. Guests stay in the hotels of the Sonoma Valley, as the winery lists no bedrooms on site.
