The Game is On!

In the spirit of the 25 things phenom sweeping the FaceBook Nation, I thought that this week we'd share some not so random thoughts from several vantage points.

So here's the game. Which of the below are:

A. From our FB 25 list,
B. From our guests,
C. From past emails.

Let's see how well you know us.

Please Enjoy!

1. I came to your winery this past Friday and enjoyed it tremendously. This was my first time at a winery. My mother and I were visiting my sister in the Manassas area and traveled to Delaplane to your winery. I purchased three bottles to bring home to the Birmingham area and share with my husband. Your wine expert was fabulous. She answered my questions and further educated me on wine. We are hosting our first dinner club next Tuesday night and I purchased the Chocolate Lab just for the occasion. I cannot wait to share it with my friends. When I return to the area, I will definitely be back.

2. We first met sitting next to each other during orientation at GU's MSFS grad program. She had bangs and looked like a doll. I had neither gut nor grey. Surprisinigly, the..chemistry... was...not...instantaneous. Love didn't stick till about 7 months later when my knee exploded while dancing. She's been taking care of me ever since.

3. Wanted to say we had a great time this past Saturday (1/31). We loved all of your wines. Also liked being to be able to bring both of our dogs with us. We had the 2 goldendoodles (They loved all the attention they got). Unfortunately I didn't get the name of the photographer who was there taking pictures. Does he have a website or contact information. I would love to be able to get some copies of some of the photos he took. We will definitely be coming back out. Probably when the weathers warmer and we can be outside with the dogs. It was worth the 80 mile drive from Waldorf.

4. There before me was a very large meatloaf-looking object without discernable bird shape or fowl form. I couldn't comprehend what I was looking at and what I saw was horrible. A bird had been sent out and this had been returned, stuffed and shapeless. There was no leg, no thigh, no apparent dark or light meat, no savories stuck in the nooks and crannies of anything even resembling a bird, no pope's nose and no wish bone. And yet the skin of the bird was still whole and intact! It was like reading a very bad tabloid: the juicy particulars had been removed with every last potential bone of contention. The eviscerated turkey flesh was now just a wrapping around the stuffing placed grandly inside. To this day I don't know how that butcher made those bones disappear. And I have no idea how many hundreds of dollars he must have charged to create the strange magic of that formless boneless turkey presented on that far away table.

5. I purchased and systematically destroyed a 1985 Kawasaki 1000R, the fastest production motorcycle in its day in a series of four ill-conceived and badly executed catastrophic accidents that have left me partially loopy (like my dog) to this day. The whiplash was cured in 1992, thank you.

6. My sister sent on the email she sent to you letting you know how much fun she and I had at your winery last Friday night---she wrote something along the lines of “ sister and I came, I will be back” sounded like I didn’t enjoy myself! But I had a wonderful time – it is just that I live in N.C. and the drive would be prohibitive!! Just wanted to clarify that. PS: the singer on Fri night was fantastic – please have her again – tremendous evening!! And I really have enjoyed the first red wine on the list I brought back some bottles for gifts too.

7. Fire and ice, silly and sensible, leather and lace, loud and quiet, joyful and joyous, common and regal, beast and beauty, brunette and blonde, big and small, gastronome and athlete, steak and pita, red and white, sales and manufacturing, promotions and product, cents and sensibility, challenging and challenged.

8. We love Barrel Oak for the regular and obvious reasons... great wine... beautiful place to relax... right down to those awesome faucets in the WC - lol But for me, my best reason is just the mentality of you and your lovely bride when it comes to giving back to the community who so loves you.

9. If I have a choice of drinking wine at a place where I feel like cattle being moved through a chute with commercialism written all over it... or a place where I come in and feel appreciated and welcomed as a friend by staff and owners and the main order of business (aside from crushing and bottling) is "who can we help this week with food or donations?" then by golly, we're going to patron the place that realizes that success is just another opportunity to help those who need it.

10. It was a bit early for us. We've been sleeping in a little later and recovering from the craziness of the harvest and crush and tasting room. My feet don't hurt these days and she has been getting back into the gym. But this morning was different. Our customers have been patient, at first quietly waiting for the ChocoLab, then persistently asking for it, then beginning with the pleading, and more recently threatening us with beatings if we didn't get more soon. Lying there...we felt...safer. I rolled over and smiled at her. 'hmmmm....not gonna be any beatings.' she smiled back.

11. I have thrice accidentally seriously electrocuted myself. Not the 110 volt stuff which I have done 100s of times as a remodeler, but the 220 stuff that cooks. Once in the head, once in the chest, and once in my hand. Each time I made a noise very much like ununununununaaaaaaaagggghaahhhhhununununaagagagagakkkkakaka! As a result I have an irregular heart beat that occasionally makes me feel like absolute hell. Two operations have not yet solved this situation. The question is if I am up for a third.

12. I just loaded your website on my Facebook Page......I want allllllllll my friends to know how incredibly awesome you are! Thanx for all the good times, as we just moved here. We shall be certain, to bring all our "Peeps" from MD, DC, and NY out to see you when they visit!

13. Wow. The sun is rising in a thin sliver of light. I am looking out my office window westward toward the PIedmont ridgeline. The clouds are wispy and high and because the sun is just clearing the hills behind me, it fills that gap between the earth and the cloud cover. The light is falling intensely on the Oak Hill estate and on the trees surrounding the old house and it is lovely. There are so many warm colors in the woods. The words that we use to capture these colors such as orange and red and yellow do not do justice to this beauty. Of course there is still the green in many of the trees and that makes the other tones so much more striking. This is the beautiful time of year.

It is peak in the Piedmont. It begins here and now and will last maybe a week...two if we're lucky. Soon the leaves will be mostly brown. In place of the warm and strong shades wrapped in their remaining crisp greens, the forests will be turning away toward winter. Soon thereafter they'll shed their leaves and the smoke of our fireplaces will drape their bare branches like a shawl around grandmother's shoulders.

14. WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! And THANK YOU so much for a wonderful experience........ Just found you last week.........You are so AWESOME, and set the bar above and beyond most Winery's. in NoVa....(and Restaurants for that matter!!!!)..........We came upon Barrell Oak, just on a "jaunt" as we just moved here (Haymarket) less than a year ago. From New York.......We Hop in the car, and just drive about the area, and happened upon your FABULOUS PLACE................Your Wine is Bar None, and........because we have two little luvs, in which we rescued, we were AMAZED that you are DOG FRIENDLY.............We loved the atmosphere, the staff, and everyone there. It was one of the most pleasant experiences we have had, and the view is incredible, Your Patio, with all the "Fire Pits", Wood, and View of the mountains makes for one incredible experience. We shall tell all our DC Friends, and MD friends, if they want a most relaxing day/eve........to stop by. You truly are, the "Best, of the Best".......Thank you again! For such a wonderful experience...............You DO Raise the Bar!

15. Our friends and family are the absolutely most important thing in our lives. We would sacrifice all we have for any of their welfare.