Barrel Oak Winery

Address:	3623 Grove Ln, Delaplane, VA 20144, USA
Phone:	+1 540-364-6402
Site:	barreloak.com
Rating:	4.3
Working:	11AM–6PM 11AM–6PM 11AM–6PM 11AM–6PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 10AM–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 8

Alice Wang

Gorgeous, gorgeous winery! Barrel Oak Winery (or BOW as they abbreviate themselves) makes for the perfect day or afternoon trip from the hustle and bustle of the city. The grounds are sprawling and spacious, the winery itself is super quaint and beautiful, and you cant beat looking out to miles and miles of spectacular fall foliage in the Piedmont countryside. Just off of Route 17, BOW is known to be dog friendly. When I read that, I was thinking, "OK, they let you bring your dogs. Thats nice." But no, when they say theyre dog friendly, they mean super, super dog friendly. The owners are dog lovers and welcome all dogs onto the winery, making the atmosphere even more welcoming and relaxing. They even have a dog on staff! Dogs are allowed everywhere, inside the winery, outside on the grounds, and they even have bowls of water and treats ready for your pooch. There are almost as many dogs as people here! And everyone who comes here is a dog lover too, it seems. We came with friends who own a beautiful Bernese Mountain dog and so many folks came up to say hello and pet the dog. Everyone was friendly and I think thats because they allow Fido here! Not only that, but they also allow children to roam around as well, making it the best family-friendly winery in northern Virginia. The wine tasting is $11 and you get to taste 11 wines. My favorites were the 2013 BowHaus White, which was very fresh, crisp, and had tropical notes, and the 2010 BowHaus Red, which is a Chambourcin that was slightly dry but aged very well and tasted fantastic. They also had two dessert wines that were pretty good, the first being the 2013 Goldie and the other being their popular Chocolate Lab. The Goldie had an aroma honey and wildflowers on the nose and tasted fairly sweet, while the Chocolate Lab was a port-style Chambourcin that was a little bit sweeter. Their wines are good, although Ive had a few better ones at Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton. You can take a self-guided tour of the production area and view the barrel room. They do offer guided tours but only as part of their reserve tasting on Saturdays. They also say that it is possible to visit the vineyards depending on the time of the year, but you have to ask a manager. The scenery, dog-friendly atmosphere, and spaciousness cannot be beat. Its obvious that the owners and staff took the time to make the winery quaint and homey. Theres a fireplace inside with lots of comfy couches as well as high tables for folks to eat and drink. Theres an outdoor patio where live music is playing, as well as an adjacent indoor area that looks like it was formerly a garage which also has equally comfy chairs, and plenty of picnic tables outside to drink wine, eat prosciutto, cheese, grapes, etc., and play with dogs. When we went, there was even a BBQ station that served up mean ribs and BBQ pork sandwiches. Fantastic, beautiful winery! Cant wait to go back soon!

A Private User

A friend of ours won a package for a tasting at barrel oak. 8 of us took a trip up from the harrisonburg area to visit the winery. The tasting was great, and we enjoyed the wine. The lady that did our private tasting was great. Very knowledgeable and quite nice. Unfortunately the rest of the staff were very unfriendly and rude. Im not sure if this is just their northern attitude or if they were just busy and having a bad day. We also got cheese plates, which were ok, not great. The bread we received was not baked through and was very doughy. We tried talking to the manager, but he seemed to think it was funny. With most of their wines being $30/bottle and the staff being so rude, i doubt we will ever return. We frequent Veritias winery and have definitely been spoiled when it comes to great service, friendly staff, and amazing, well priced wines.

Diana Berg

I have always enjoyed BOW. I have come here numerous times through the years. I have always appreciated the relaxed atmosphere. I have also loved that they are open Christmas Day. Brian has always made us feel so welcome. There is one reason I took the time to do this review...the prices of the wine. Why would your prices be so high? Plus, if you buy the wine and stay to drink it, it is $10.00 more per bottle then if you take the wine home. Do you want us to leave? We have been to so many wineries, including Californias Napa, Sonoma, and Russian River. Most places wines were much less expensive. Even the Virginia wineries are typically much lower in cost. Your wines are nice, but $29.00 for your least expensive white blend and red blend bottled in 2015 is too high. I cant spend that even when I have the money to spend. I cant justify the cost.

Chris Pugrud

Best winery in the area for families and dogs. Barrel Oak Winery is very dog and family friendly with lots of areas to relax and enjoy great wine and good food inside or out with many tables available, picnic areas, and many well stocked fire pits for those chilly evenings. On the weekends you can also enjoy a wood fired pizza cooked on premises. During the week you can have local pizza delivered if you want more than the wide variety of meats and cheeses available. The wines are consistently good and reasonably priced. There are also some exceptional wines available only by the bottle for indulging in the some magnificent Virginia wine.

Dean Hickerson

We frequently visit barrel oak for not only their great wine but the incredibly fun atmosphere. We love to bring our dog and enjoy a sunset outside at their huge outdoor patio while the pooch gets to sniff and soak up some sun. They have expanded so much over the last few years and each new addition makes it that much more enjoyable. Recently they have added brick oven pizzas to their offerings and its phenomenal. Its incredible how many people will be there every weekend. Clearly this winery is doing something right and other wineries in the area may want to take note. Its a very family oriented place that appeals well to young couples.

Mindy Waltz

This winery has a different ambience than most of the other local wineries. It is quite large, but also very busy. When I went, I had to wait more than 20 minutes for a tasting. The tastings were a fair price, although the samples seemed to be on the small side. The bottles of wine were also significantly more expensive than others in the area. The staff were polite, but not overly friendly, probably due to how busy it was. If you like going to a big, busy, expensive winery, this one is for you. If you dont, skip it in favor of one of the smaller and more hospitable wineries.

Alex Ashton

Barrel Oak Winery is a wonderful place! Great location right off I-66, but far enough from the highway to highlight the rural setting without noise pollution. The scenery is amazing, surrounded by vineyard covered hills with mountains in the distance. There is ample space both inside and outside and plenty of friendly staff to handle the crowds, and the prices are reasonable. Bonus: if you get hungry, they have a pop up with amazing wood fired pizza! Goes great with their wine! Double bonus: the entire place is dog friendly!

A Private User

This place is the anti wine snob winery. It is everything Linden is not -- good and bad. Its great to come with or without your dog and have a fun time. The wine is nothing to write home about and is a bit on the pricey side -- its the price of admission to a great day. The sacrifice on wine quality is well worth the party atmosphere, IMO. I will definitely go there whenever Im in the area, which is regularly because Sky Meadows is nearby, making for a great day of hiking and drinking.