Oakton Wine Shop to Celebrate One-Year Anniversary

Bryan Gauthier opened for the Oakton community. 

With successful wine tastings each weekend, regular clientele and the distinction as , Gauthier is proud the customers have exceeded his expectations. 

"Fridays and Saturdays this tends to be the place to be, especially for our tastings. Our festivals are outrageously big," Gauthier said. "We've brought in local charities which is been a great benefactor to us, and we're glad to help within our own community."

This weekend, he will celebrate its success so far with a three-day festival to thank his customers for embracing him and his Hunter Mill Plaza store.

The festival begins 5 p.m. Thursday — a year to the day of the shop's opening — with a tasting focused on beer. It will feature beers from five different breweries: Southern Tier, Rogue, Sixpoint, Schlafly and Lost Rhino.

The festival will continue from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday with 20 to 25 wines featured on both days. The owner and winemaker from Cass Winery in Paso Robles, Calif., will Skype with customers and enjoy the festivities from his deck. On Saturday, the wine shop is flying in a winemaker from Spain, who will feature his own wines.

A portion of all sales Saturday will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and representatives of the nonprofit will be offering gift bags filled with gift certificates to local restaurants and stores to the first 100 customers who spend $100 or more in the shop.

"It's nice way to finish up their charity season and way for us to celebrate our one-year anniversary," Gauthier said.

Rebecca Wilcox, the for the National Capital Area Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, has been working with Gauthier and will be in attendance. 

Gauthier hopes customers both old and new will stop by the festival to give them the warm welcome the community has given him.

"It's not about making money this weekend, it's more about getting a lot of people to experience new things and to have just a great, big celebration," Gauthier said. "A lot of small businesses don't make it year, and, knock on wood, we've not only made it a year but we're continuing to grow."

The First Anniversary Festival, at 2952-A Chain Bridge Road in Oakton, is free and kicks off 5 p.m. Thursday. 

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