August 10, 2006 — Big Sky Cafe and Chaumette Vineyards & Winery are proud to announce their partnership to produce a private label wine available exclusively for Great Restaurants (Blue Water Grill, Big Sky Café and Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar).  A first for the two companies involved, the collaboration was created to bring the wine and restaurant industry together. Both companies are dedicated to producing a quality experience that appeals to your senses, and have the same commitment to supporting local producers whether it is dairy, produce, or Missouri wine. The Big Sky Café Big T Chardonel is a representation of this partnership.

After tasting several wines produced by Chaumette, Joyce DeNeal Mistress of Wine Celebrations for Great Restaurants, choose the Big Sky Café Big T Chardonel because of its medium weight, it appeals to most palates with its toasty spice characteristics, and it is full and balanced so that it can paired easily with a variety of foods. “I wanted to choose a wine that would best expose the most people to high quality Missouri wine and break through the barriers that Missouri only produces sweet wine”, says DeNeal.

The Big Sky Café Big T Chardonel was not originally produced solely for Great Restaurants. The winery has set aside the single production of the Thebeau Chardonel specifically for the restaurant group. Mr. and Mrs. Thebeau originally owned the land, but continued to lease their home after the winery was created. A vineyard was planted next to the Thebeau’s home and the wine produced was named after them. Mr. Thebeau was so honored to have a wine named after him that he took his first sip of alcohol ever when he tried his namesake wine. After Great Restaurants chose that Chardonel, it was renamed Big Sky Café Big T Chardonel to reflect the personality and background of the wine and the restaurant.

The wine is available to the public on Tuesday August 15 on all three restaurant wine lists for $6 a glass, $28 a bottle, and $18 ($28 minus $10 corking fee) for carryout retail sale. Besides the Great Restaurants, the wine will only be available in the tasting room of Chaumette Vineyards & Winery.

Established in 1990 by Hank and Jackie Johnson, Chaumette Vineyards and Winery is located in Ste. Genevieve County 20 miles southwest of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. As a premier Missouri Winery, Chaumette is dedicated to handcrafting wines of distinction and elegance. For more information go to www.chaumette.com

Great Restaurants is an independent restaurant group in St. Louis, Missouri. Owned by Tim Mallett, he first opened Blue Water Grill in Kirkwood in 1988 and soon followed with Big Sky Café in Webster Groves in 1992 and Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar in 1995. For more information go to www.allgreatrestaurants.com.

Bottle of 2003 Big T Chardonel signed by Chaumette Winery owner Hank Johnson
(photos by Christopher Ruess)