Building The Tasting Room
Our humble beginnings started with a tasting room in the basement of our home. The year 2015 was a breakout year and we made many new friends, wines, and meads. This growth called for a new space.
With our own hands, we built a log cabin tasting room that has the warmth and character found within our bottles.
See the journey of building the new tasting room below.
Planning
Months of prep and a handful of drawings. One thing we couldn't lose sight of: utilizing the view of the Middletown Valley right out our backdoor. So, a wraparound deck was a necessity.
The Delivery
45,000 pounds of timber on the first truck and another 40,000 on the second. Unloading on uneven ground was like playing a massive and dangerous game of Jenga. Luckily, Andrzej can drive anything.
Building The Structure
Years of practice with Lincoln Logs prepared us for this moment. These logs, however, had a bit more weight to them.
The key here was patience, lots of glue, and two-foot-long lag bolts.
"Are you guys building a fort?"
Roof and Deck
Measure, double check, measure one more time just in case, cut.
We commonly get winds over 50mph up on our little Middletown hill. Thus, we overbuild everything, especially the roof. With a team of four, the shingles were attached in no time.
By the time we were finished with the deck, the inspector said it was so well supported that it could double as a parking structure.
"And block that view? Don't think so..."
The Bar
What's the main reason people come to see us? The carefully crafted booze, of course! Thus, the bar is paramount.
Enlisting the help of some skilled craftsman, we set forth to make a 35 foot concrete countertop bar with a mismatched brick facade. All of the bricks come from a lifelong mason in Virginia who collected one brick from each project over the last 80 years. We're proud to give them a proper home.
THE INTERIOR
Walls, plumbing, painting, OH MY!
Getting the structure up was easy, picking paint colors was another story.
"It has to be perfect!"
Heat and A/C and plumbing? Check.
52 electrical outlets (you never know)? Check.
Unimpressed dog? Check.
BRIGHTEN IT UP
Lights, stain, action!
Seeing 25 gallons of stain and oil in person is certainly intimidating. Our shoulders had never been stronger! We noticed that a rotating playlist of Queen and Dave Brubeck helps to squelch feelings of fatigue.
The entire exterior was coated in a protective stain finish and the interior was finished with Brazilian rosewood oil, because why not?
The lights were hung and could see it all coming together.
Finishing Up
Dotting i's and crossing t's.
We squared up molding, sealed brick, and framed bathroom mirrors. It's far from glamorous, but it makes a big difference. We were so close we could taste it.
"Are we there yet?"
Cleaning UP
We made quite the mess. To put it lightly, we had enough scrap pieces of wood hanging around to supply Carmen (the vineyard lab) with 10 years of chew toys. At that point, we knew no other smell than freshly cut pine and rosewood oil.
Out went the tools, wood, and mess. In came the furniture!
Nirvana!
At long last, we were finally ready to share our new space. We opened our doors Saturday, March 12th, 2016 have hosted a multitude of guests and events ever since.
Come Visit Us.