Barrel Oak Winery

Virginia wine mysteries written by Ellen Crosby.
And here is Ellen Crosby on the left autographing books for customers.
Which do you like most: the wine, the mountain view from the patio or that cute little Pug dog?
Lots of land for exploring, picnicing or for using as a photo backdrop.

There is a brand new winery in Northern Virginia and Jack and I drove out to Delaplane, Virginia to see it. Delaplane by the way is famous for being the long time home town of Willard Scott of Today Show fame. The name of this winery owned and operated by Brian Roeder is Barrel Oak Winery.Brian's wife is the vintner and he is the man who wears many work caps around the winery---from pouring wine for tastings to doing the books to building and landscaping the winery.
As you can see from this photo this winery building is completely contemporary in both design and function. And it is big. Two stories to explore and to enjoy the views of the mountains to the west.
I shot this photo from upstairs looking down over the large seating and shopping area. Notice the old wood. I think it is a mix of recycled old white pine from torn down homes and barns. I like the idea of using old things in new exciting ways. I also like the russet reds, sunflower yellows and blacks used in the color palette. (Hmmm....maybe I like it because those are the colors in my home.)
This is a view of part of the huge wine tasting bar. The base is wood with supports made of staves from old recycled wine barrels and the top is wrapped in sheets of stainless steel that Brian Roeder has personally sanded with a sander to create a rather unique circle design in the steel.
I took this photo from the parking lot. It was a warm weekend a couple of weeks ago and many folks took advantage of the nice weather to plan a winery outing to enjoy both the nice tasting wine and the views of the mountains and valleys. This winery has a little rock stage for entertaining folks with singers and bands.

I would definitely recommend that you check out this winery if you are in Northern Virginia. It's very new but I have put it on my list of top ten Virginia wineries to visit for tastings. When I have more time I must write my blog about my favorite top ten wineries. In the meantime I need to go meet The Russians for breakfast in Manassas at the Golden Corral. Oh,do go ahead and click here to see the winery's website and to meet the Roeders and their little bow wows.

http://www.barreloak.com/