About Sharon, Brian & The Dogs

Sharon Roeder                                      

Sharon was born Sharon L.  Mortimer, in southern New Jersey, and considers the greater Philidelphia area as her hometown. She earned a Bachelor's degree in German Studies from Wooster College, and taught English in former East Germany as a Fulbright scholar soon after the wall came down.  She continued her studies at Georgetown University, earning a Master's of Science in Foreign Service.  It was there that she attracted the eye of her lucky classmate, Brian Roeder.  Sharon worked her way through school, and continued as a Government Affairs drone after graduation. She loved her boss, had a dream commute by D.C. standards, and wonderful clients, but dreamt of a different life nonetheless.

Throughout her schooling Sharon excelled in both left, and right-brained subjects.  She's one of those all-around good students. Her perfect blend of creativity and scientific discipline have shown themselves to be invaluable attributes in all of her professional pursuits, most notably, winemaking. Sharon's wines have have achieved international awards, national recognition, and overall customer acclaim in an astoundingly short period of time. One of her, and her winemaking partner, Rick Tagg's, crowning acheivements is the 2008 production of Reserve Petit Verdot; a winner of several top honors including Best-in-Show at the State Fair of Virginia, and a Gold Medal at the Pacific Rim International Wine Competition. 

She remains humble about her accomplishments and easily entertained by her flock of  four-footed fuzzy creatures who always and energetically welcome her home and accompany her to work in the vineyard.  While numerous articles have been written about her dream to grow grapes and live in the countryside, we think that all have missed the essence of her relationship to BOW:   She makes it look easy by working damn-hard,  leads by gently pushing from the back.  She is the heart of it all and she gives BOW its magic and its purpose. 

Brian Roeder                                                    

Brian was born in Northen California to gnomes with no known address.  He was long thought to be the Dark Lord of the Sith, something that he was not, but has worked hard since to become. His mother and grandmother never lost faith in him, even during the troubled years (circa 1980-1994). In his younger years Brian specialized in gaining knowledge through a diverse field of endeavor including motorcycles, fast cars, loose women, broken bones, beaches, sunsets, blows to the head, and things that can be fixed with duct tape and/or superglue and/or alka seltzer, and/or whiskey...preferably single malt.  Today he sports no tattoos other than the 157 scars on his body.

Brian's luck changed the moment he met lovely Sharon in 1995. Being a slow learner, he took a full 2 months to realize that she was the only girl for him.   Married in 2000 to the love of his life, he has never been happier.  He has spent the past decade trying to find himself, something that has come easier to him in his most recent pursuit: Barrel Oak Winery. Shared passions for community service, fine wine, and the beautiful Virginia countryside and culture, have given Brian and Sharon an unique opportunity to work together on a shared, limitless, ethereal dream.

Brian works independently and with local organizations designing  improved strategies to maintain Fauquier County's beauty, sustainable agri-business, and community involvment. He has dedicated himself to improving Virginia's recognition as one of the top wine producing states in the Nation.  He enjoys being liked by his neighbors for a change although he still struggles to take showers every day.  The beloved Sharon tells him that "that's okay.  Maybe you'll do better tomorrow".

For recreation, Brian adores his lovely Sharon, eats, drinks, sleeps and plays with his dogs.  

Barley,    

Little-known-fact: Barley is the second Roeder dog. He was rescued from some tenants of Brian and Sharon's who were overwhelmed with the care required for a growing retreiver puppy. Dorky, sad, droopy, pathetic and a bit snarky;  if he were a person, he may be a guest on the Dr. Phil show, or working for NewsCorp. He's gradually and reluctantly grown into his own after Sharon lost  her beloved running partner, Bogart.  

Justice,                              

Justice came to live at 3623 Grove Lane on Barrel Oak Winery's opening day.  Named after Justice Lane, which abuts the west side of the Roeder's property, his full given name is Justice Snotworth TheTrouble Roeder, Esq. Justice is the forever-puppy...80 pounds of narcissistic beauty crying out, "Love Me!  I'm Beautiful!"  If ever there were a creature without a care in the world, Justice is his name.  Imagine...spending your whole life as a puppy.  Wow...

Peanut,                     

Peanut is the boss.  An American Bulldog/Lab/Beagle mix with crazy two-tone eyes, she runs the whole show.  She tells the boys who will sit where, who gets fed when, and who stays outside or in.  Smarter than the rest combined, she is also smarter than Brian who can't figure out how to open the door when she can.  She's also the most verbal of the bunch and yes...she lets you know what she thinks.  Home late?  "wwwoowwooo..."  Dinner delayed?  "yowoowwoooo..."  Forgot me?  "waaawaaaoowww...!"  Finally, she's really, really, competitive!  Wanna play catch?  She's the only one that gets to bring back the ball.  That's our little Peanut!

& Birch                                                  

Finally, there's Birch...Mr. Birch to his friends.  Mr. Birch showed up at BOW in the Spring of 2010, looking for a scratch behind the ears, a rock to chase, and a snack.  He just kind'a never left.  Born a Hungarian Vizsla, he seems to be fluent in English. He's all love and humility and we've asked Mr. Birch to be our offical greeter at the winery.  You'll catch him there often, making certain that everyone is properly taken care of, his nails click-clacking on the oak floors.  He's always up for a game of fetch and he'll snarf any snacks that you have.  Please just don't feed him bad stuff like candy bars and salty snacks, because while he may not die...he'll wish he had.