STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. — Chaumette Vineyards and Winery will soon be sold to a Catholic youth ministry organization, which has plans to turn the estate into a summer camp for kids.
Steve Allgeyer, chief advance officer at Life Teen International, said officials at fell in love with the Ste. Genevieve property when it came across their radar in January.
“We’ve been looking for a campground in ӣƵ for many years,” he said Tuesday. “We’ve been dreaming up an evangelization center for young teenagers.”
Located in Ste. Genevieve, about 67 miles south of ӣƵ, Chaumette Vineyards includes a wine production facility, office building, tasting room, restaurant, wedding venue, gazebo, swimming pool, fitness center, horse pasture and shed, three small lakes, an Episcopal church and multiple lodging accommodations.
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Allgeyer said Life Teen, which has a local office in ӣƵ, will buy about 130 acres of the 151-acre property and 10 of the villas. There are 14 privately-owned villas that Allgeyer said they hope to negotiate with the owners to purchase. The deal with Chaumette Vineyards is set to close Aug. 15.
The campgrounds, which will be called Life Teen Camp Cana, will be a retreat center for Catholic parishes and high schools for most of the year. In the summer months, the property will be a summer camp for middle and high school-aged kids across the Midwest, Allgeyer said.
Cana, the new camp's namesake, is where Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water into wine in the Bible, he explained.
“It’s been a dream of mine, being a ӣƵ kid, to build a place for my kids and grandkids to come,” Allgeyer said. “We believe that when a kid comes to camp it's their first miracle.”
Owners Hank and Jackie Johnson have run Chaumette Vineyards for the past 35 years. They first listed the property for sale in 2023 for $7.3 million.
Allgeyer wouldn’t disclose the purchase price, but said Life Teen is paying less than $7.3 million.
Hank Johnson, 82, said the closure of the winery isn’t a result of poor sales or slow business — it’s just time for him to retire.
“I can’t believe I am as old as I am. It makes sense for me to stop,” Johnson said. “All of my friends are retired. It’s time for me to not work. I’ve been working every year for 50 years. It’s time for me to do something else.”
Johnson said he and his wife will continue to own their house on the east side of the property and conduct Sunday services at the on-site church. Some of their winemaking equipment will be given away, he said.
Established in 1990, the boutique winery annually produces between 3,000 and 5,000 cases of mostly dry wine. The property has won multiple national awards for its wine and food at the Grapevine Grill, Chaumette’s on-site restaurant. They have also been recognized by wedding planning website The Knot for its barn venue.
In the weeks since the winery announced that this summer will be its final season, Johnson said they’ve seen people turn out for a final goodbye, sharing memories.
“I have a lot of people say a lot of nice things about this place. It makes me feel good,” Johnson said.
The winery has a calendar of events, complete with live music, tastings and guest chefs, planned until its closure.
Allgeyer said that Life Teen will honor all the weddings that Chaumette Vineyards has booked thru October, but they will start having staff and missionaries on-site once the sale closes in August.
Life Teen plans to officially be fully operating at the estate, located at 24345 State Route WW in Ste. Genevieve, by Jan. 1, 2026. The organization already runs two campsites in Georgia.
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