Copper Dock Winery

Address:	498 700 N, Pocahontas, IL 62275, USA
Phone:	+1 618-669-2675
Site:	copperdockwinery.com
Rating:	3.5
Working:	Closed Closed 11AM–8PM 11AM–8PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

austin sebastian

RUDE owners. Complianed to us about previous weddings. Told us that our decorations would be ugly. Told our guests at the reception that they were taking too much food! After our cake cutting, the owner said "we dont do cakes." when I asked for plates to serve our guests. she supplied us paper napkins to serve our cake. The bartender was told 3-4 times what was included in the open bar (by our wedding planner, our parents, and ourselves) and still tried to charge our guests! We were only attentive about this because a previous bride told us that her entire reception paid for drinks that she already paid for! The bartender should have been informed by the owners! We think he was just trying to pocket the cash for himself. The owners repeatively told us to "calm down" when we were worried about the ceremony and reception. when all we were doing is asking simple questions. (ex: Is there a sound system at the pavilion? (for our minister to utilize during the ceremony)). Then you wouldnt get an answer for 2-3 weeks and feel bad for calling back! The owners brought up our contract when we noticed they had paper napkins on the tables. 2 weeks before our wedding they said we could have cloth napkins and they said yes. The day before our wedding, they said "we dont do cloth napkins anymore. No one likes them and the table linens promised in the contract only include the table cloths. napkins arent in the contract." this is only an example, they promised many things and failed to follow through. It was literally a miracle that our wedding was a success. Only because the extraordinary effort from our wedding planner and decorator as well as our friends and family. They were so rude that 6 months before the wedding we considered changing our venue, they were lucky they had our money already.. review from my wife: THEY SHOULD BE EMBARRASSED ABOUT HOW THEY TREATED US! They have a beautiful location for a wedding, but the staff are some of the rudest people we have EVER encountered. I would advise brides that if you want to have a wedding here be prepared for the most frustrating experience of your life! Of the owners, deal with Steve as much as possible because he was always friendly and helpful...Chris on the other hand was rude, condescending, and just plain horrible to us AND our wedding guests. Unfortunately she is the contact person for weddings. Some of our encounters included: her referring to me as "Princess", telling me I should change my wedding colors, making rude comments about other peoples weddings being ugly or over-done, telling us we could do or have something and then changing her mind 2 days before the wedding, or acting like we never discussed something (because she never wrote anything down). She was extremely rude to my decorator, making her wait for 3 hours so she could drive over there to "approve" the materials she was using. At the wedding she told my guests they were taking too much food! and the staff tried to take peoples drinks away while they were still sitting at the table. WATCH OUT FOR THE BARTENDERS ALSO...ten minutes after being told that wine was included in the open bar, our bartender charged several guests for wine! When two friends of min told him that they knew wine was included he argued with them telling them they had to pay...he did not back down until they said they were going to find my wedding planner and then he said, "Oh, I think you are right." When my mother went over to him he acted like he knew nothing about wine being included! Im not sure if he is an idiot or if he was trying to steal money from my guests. It is really sad that our wedding is marred by these terrible experiences :(

A Private User

We have been here several times now and each time upon going back we tell ourselves "well give it one more try." The times that we have been, we can never tell if they are under-staffed or if the servers are just incompetent. The last time we decided to venture out there on a night where we were at a loss as to what to do, we went with a group of six. We found our OWN table since no one seamed to care or be concerned with trying to seat us. Once we were seated we asked several of the servers/bussers who passed us by repeatedly if we could get some menus. Finally after asking over and over we did receive menus. The food is mediocre at best. As far as I can tell everything is frozen and prepared by line cooks. I know everyone says, "ooooouuu, its a winery that serves food, yah!!!" really??? Im pretty sure we could do that at home: buy frozen food throw it in the oven and get a couple bottles of wine. How hard is it really to find a chef that can just offer a few things and do them really well??? Ive heard some people say, "well, it is Pocahontas......" Hmmmm, ok, so youre only expecting people that live in Pokie to patronize you? Doubtful. We have also had a few occasions where we have had to deal with one of the owners. It truly amazes me how someone who deals with the public on a daily basis can so consistently rude to customers. You know....the same customers that are willing to open their penny pinched wallets in this tight economy. We feel like the owners had been to a few wineries at some point, found or owned a nice piece of property and said, "I think we should open a winery!" That seams like as far as the thought process went. No thought about food, service, or proper etiquette on how to manage a restaurant /winery. So now we sit at home and ask ourselves, "do we give them ONE more shot???" The answer in short: Absolutely NO! The owners dont deserve to own a place with as much potential as this property could have.

Kristin Davidson

Copper Dock is a lovely venue. My photographer said this was one the most beautiful places for pictures he has ever been. The set up is really nice, with an outdoor pavilion for the wedding ceremony and an indoor reception hall that is only reserved for wedding parties. The price of the venue is very reasonable for the area and the owners cater for you so you dont have to search through 20 different caterers for the reception. All of our guests loved the wedding and reception and so did we. The only problem with Copper Dock is communicating with the owners. Many times, my text messages, phone calls, and emails werent returned, so I had to repeatedly try to contact them. Also, a lot of the things communicated over email or text werent actually written down, so when it came to the day of the wedding, the owner said I had never asked for certain things or I didnt have a certain number of guests, even though I did. They also have very strict rules. The contract goes into detail about everything so if they are upfront about them at least. I knew what I was getting into, but at the same time, I expected a little bit of flexibility since every bride is different. Figuring things out with the owners was difficult, but in the end, we had a beautiful wedding so I cant complain.

Peggy Adamick

In the St. Louis Metro East area, there are about a dozen wineries. This one is by far the best I have been to. And even in WINE country, this winery can hold up to that. Most of them dont have a restaurant. This does and it is very good. First, you are impressed with the outdoors covered DOUBLE DECKER dock that over looks the mature lake, water fountain, and ducks. If the ambiance of the winery does not impress you, the music on the weekends will. There are musicians LINED up to be here. When you eat from their varied and very delicious and reasonable menu, you can enjoy a full bar and outdoor service as well as indoor service. Food, music, friends and ambiance....what more can you ask for. Well, there is one more thing: EXCELLENT PRICES. Stop by and get a great experience and bottle of wine. You will enjoy your day, the life and living in the country in Pocahontas. I strongly recommend you consider looking into a wedding/reception, party or festive gathering in their hall. Look for the copper grape sculpture just off the "Pokey Road" going north toward IL Rt 140 from Eastbound Interstate 70, exit 36 (Pocahontas). It truly will impress you and your friends. I have been there three times in one month. It is a huge success.