By Kate Miller, Record Managing Editor
Business is so good at Cedar Lake Cellars, its owners Carl and Gabriella Bolm, added another building to accommodate all of their guests.The winery and event venue is located on graceful, spacious countryside outside of Wright City at 11008 Schreckengast Road.The new space, called the Barrel Room, looks like a new barn from the outside. Inside, the space has an indoor-outdoor design, a 40-foot tasting bar and space for up to 375 people. The patio has a 35-by-15-foot water feature and faces one of the property’s six lakes. The lakes are home to nine swans and counting. (The swans are for viewing, not petting.)Carl Bolm describes it as “Upscale chic with an industrial flare.”The stage and sound system is large and elaborate enough to attract bigger, nationally known entertainment, Bolm said. It will be used on the weekends for entertaining winery and dinner guests. Otherwise, it will be reserved for weddings, corporate meetings and other private events.“We’re not even open yet but we’re already getting booked up, fast,” Bolm said.People booked their events while the place was under construction. All they had to look at was a rendering of the future Barrel Room and the Bolms’ track record. Cedar Lake Cellars opened in 2010 in a refurbished old barn, the big red barn as it became known. Over time, Bolm refurbished the other original buildings around the big red barn, such as the little red barn, and added a new service as each one opened.With two kitchens and multiple dining and lounging areas, guests could dine on sandwiches on the lawn or prime rib in dining areas.The Bolms’ attention to detail shows up in the least obvious places, like using glass beer bottles as covers for stairway lights in the big red barn. It may not have been what the barn builders had in mind, but it works nicely for winery guests and wedding receptions in this millennium. When Bolm bought the property, he said, “It was a working farm. It had cows, cats and buildings that needed repair, so we refurbished and renovated. They certainly would have been cheaper to have been torn down but there’s so much history.“The big red barn should have been torn, bulldozed down but I couldn’t bring myself to doing it,” he added.The farm was owned by the Schreckengast family. Bolm, having grown up nearby in Foristell, bought 70 acres at first and kept buying. Now it’s 370 acres and features Cedar Lake Cellars and the Battlegrounds, an obstacle course that hosts two mud-run events each year. The events attract thousands of runners and spectators from 27 states and three countries.According to Bolm, when he bought the property he did not imagine what it has turned into. It was friends who saw it and wanted to have their weddings there. Then friends of friends. The entrepreneur in him saw a business opportunity. He already had the venue and the setting, so he added a staff, a culinary experience and good wines from Missouri, California and around the world.With that, he found himself spending his weekends with about 1,000 people in his backyard, and loving it.“I love entertaining. The pleasure I receive in seeing people enjoying themselves is very rewarding,” Bolm said.For a complete list of hours, wines, and venue information, visit the Cedar Lake Cellars website at cedarlakecellars.com or call 636-745-9500.Carl Bolm, owner of Cedar Lake Cellars, in Wright City stands on the first floor of the big red barn. Bolm renovated the old outbuilding, saving it from certain destruction. The completed renovation inspired him to create a winery and event destination that has grown since 2010. Record photo/ Kate Miller.
