ooking for something to do on a warm summer day, I saw that they were having a free live music concert featuring the Bear Creek Band. The winery/distillery is nestled into a scenic area, right next to the Chippewa River. Behind the building is a large area with the stage, with the vineyard behind that. On this day, they had Happy Trails Pizza serving food. The inside of the building has a large main seating area. There are different areas for tasting wine, ordering cocktails, or buying snacks and merchandise. The entire space is well-designed. We ordered a few cocktails and grabbed a table under the pergola-covered area. There weren't that many other people there (it was a very warm 90°F day), so we had lots of space. My Lavender Collins was very good, and everyone else enjoyed their refreshments. While we listened to the band, we munched on the caramel corn that we purchased inside. If we hadn't already had lunch, we would have tried the pizza. Maybe next time. Would definitely come back again for a drink and a concert. read more

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Tastings are free and then you pay by the glass delicious wine and have a variety of whites and reds. Love how they have vendors come in for food everyone is super nice! And a cute building and outdoor patio! Dog friendly for sure! read more

We are visiting with friends. Loved the dual options for drink selections. Great scenery!

Loved this place. If you don't like wine, they have incredible cocktails. I had the bloody mary and the lavender collins- both were outstanding. Staff was very knowledgeable and kind. 100% would recommend. read more

A great place to spend a Saturday. Family friendly, relaxing, great local wines, food trucks in season and local artists performing. The staff is knowledgeable and helpful. Prices are reasonable. Love being there! read more

The River Bend Winery & Distillery is a short ride from Chippewa Falls, or if you're traveling on Wis 29, an even shorter ride from exit 72. It's worth the short drive. The winery has received several awards already over their short life span. (They opened in 2009.) We did not visit the distillery on this visit, we're saving that one for next time. There is a huge parking area and on entering the showroom, you are greeted with a warm and welcoming atmosphere that makes extensive use of wood. There is a cash wrap and separate tasting bar, along with rack after rack of wine bottles, displays of branded t-shirts, fixtures loaded with wine accessories and a cooler with beverages for the under aged and cheese to go with that wine you liked so much. There's lots of eye candy here for wine connoisseurs! Wine tasting is divided into three flights of dry, semi-sweet or sweet wines and each flight has four offerings. I opted for the dry flight (sorry, you only get free tastings via one flight) with two white and two red. I found the Chardonnay to be flavorful and light. A Riesling was fruity with a great finish and I actually preferred it to the Chardonnay. River Bend Blend is a red blend of Cabernet and Marquette wines. It is a great, dry red that I think would be excellent with beef and the Summer Blend was a dry red that actually tastes better slightly chilled. I'm not a fan of chilling red wine, but this one brings out a fruity aftertaste by chilling and I could see it served with pork, perhaps even barbecued chicken. Really? Red with poultry? In this case, yes. After making a selection from the tasting, we purchased a glass of our favorite tasting choice and went outside to enjoy the warm summer, late afternoon on the patio under a heavy pergola. The patio overlooks the vineyard and you can see cars and trucks whizzing by on Wis 29, a couple of football fields away from the winery. There is an airport nearby and an interesting sight (and sound) was no fewer than five private jets landing by flying their approach over the vineyard and disappearing behind a tree line. The crowd was small the Friday we were there (crowd? What crowd?) but the place apparently fills up pretty well on weekends. They recommend you bring a blanket in case you have to sit on the lawn. There's plenty of lawn, too. I wish the winery wasn't quite so far away from home, I would come visit much more often. The good news is that River Bend wines are available in the Milwaukee area at Discount Liquor or you can order by the case (or half case) online. (There's a case discount, too!) I'll be checking out Discount Liquor to replenish the supply I purchased here today. read more

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Welcoming ambience , nice people and quick wine tasting. I loved their Riesling and red blend . It's a casual and calming patio area to savor their $5 glass of good wine. read more

River Bend Winery & Distillery - Wine tasting room - Wineries Near Me - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Love this winery! Beautiful and delicious wine too! Love the patio! Such wonderful staff also!

I came up to visit the area with my mom as my family lives nearby. My Aunt highly recommended this place. The grounds are very nice, the winery is very nice too. We stopped in late afternoon on a Saturday and the place was pretty crowded. We were able to sample a "flight". What they mean by a free flight is, a sip of each wine, not exactly a flight. I tend to think of a small glass, this was just a sample of each but just enough to decide if you'd like the wine, or not. The wines I tried were all very good. I recommend checking this place out if you're visiting wineries or just want to chill out with a glass or bottle. read more

River Bend Winery & Distillery - Wineries Near Me - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Came here with friends in the fall and it was very nice - clean and kind - high chairs and pretty view. Wine of course was delicious! Would recommend for a fun outing with friends. read more

River Bend Winery & Distillery - This was our favorite of the sweet wines - Wineries Near Me - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Ok wines, great facilities and service , cute shop, had outdoor live music which was a great idea! Overall good place to check out!

Great wine, nice atmosphere and very friendly staff. Wines are priced nice. Beautiful patio. Would definitely stop again!

A few of my friends and I stopped in here on a whim and the staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. The building itself is tastefully designed, the vineyard is beautiful, and the wine was delicious. I can't wait to go back! read more

I love the location just outside of the city, it's so beautiful there with all the grape vines lined right up to the road. The wines are terrific. Definitely the best winery in chippewa/eau claire! If you're looking for more than just the "typical sweet fruit wines" they've got a great variety. Very friendly knowledgeable staff. read more

Good winery. A little commercial but that isn't alway a bad thing. Nice bathrooms. This is a thing for me. Bought 2 bottles here

Went here because I'm always curious about Midwest wineries and what they can do. I like seeing they grow some of the grapes. In this case, they grow five of the varietals and those five make sense given the location. The tasting bar is a little small, but you're not going to be there long because a "taste" is 25ml. This is fine to me because they are free. There are three flights to choose from moving from "dry" to sweet. I got to try the dry and semi and both worked out OK. You can then buy a $5 glass to drink while you browse the place. This is a nice perk. I ended up buying three bottles of ones I thought were decent. Your experience may vary on that. I should also mention the staff was pretty knowledgeable and friendly, which I rarely find at Midwest wineries. If you're in EC and want a cool thing to do, drive out here. And before you leave, stop by the distillery side too. It's worth it. read more

Had a girls afternoon here in the fall with wine tasting. It is beautiful, staff is friendly, and the wine is pretty darn good! We bought a bottle and sat outside to chat on a lovely day. Great place to spend a few hours. Great place to find some unique gifts for someone special. read more

Nice place, poor experience. Not customer service friendly. Felt rushed as if they didn't want to be bothered to serve us. This has happened both times we were there. read more

We visited on a Thursday around noon. It wasn't very busy. We got 1 Complimentary wine flight tasting, which is one ounce pours of 3 wines, either dry, semi sweet, or sweet. We could purchase the other tasting flights for $5 each flight (not worth it in my opinion). Our "tasting" lady wasn't very knowledgeable or friendly, but she wasn't unkind, she was just ok. You can buy wine by the glass or you can open a bottle (they will recork what you don't finish) and sit on their relaxing patio, which is surrounded by beautiful gardens and the vineyard. It is very peaceful and a really nice atmosphere. They now have a distillery through a separate entrance where you can taste vodka, gin, or whiskey for a fee, or get a mixed drink for a fee. You can bring those drinks to the patio as well. Both the winery and the distillery had seating indoors too if the weather is bad, or outside isn't your thing. I would recommend trying this winery if you have some time. We bought 6 bottles, we usually can't agree in wines, and they had one that was good for both of our palates! read more

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