Oasis Enterprises plans large new winery at Blue Rock Inn property; construction to start this fall on $10 million facility
By James P. Gannon
Plans are underway to build Rappahannock County’s largest winery, a $10-million-plus investment by Oasis Winery on the property of the Blue Rock Inn on Route 211 between Washington and Sperryville, VA, according to an Oasis Winery spokesman.
Oasis Enterprises, Inc. Chairman Tareq Salahi plans to move his Oasis Winery business, currently based near Hume in Fauquier County, to the Blue Rock property owned by Gary Harvey, said David Arnold, an assistant to Salahi. The new winery would become one of the ten largest in Virginia, he said, producing 35,000 to 50,000 cases of wine and champagne a year, Arnold said.
Groundbreaking is planned to begin late in the fall of 2008 and continue into 2009 on the facility which would be sited adjacent to the present Inn and restaurant building, on ground currently occupied by an old red barn.
Oasis is not planning to buy the Blue Rock property, but Salahi and Harvey have an agreement on the deal, according to Arnold. He was unable to say whether Harvey would be a partner or investor in the winery, or explain the exact nature of the agreement.
The Blue Rock Inn owner confirmed that he and Salahi have been in negotiations to have Oasis build and operate a new winery at Blue Rock, but he cautioned that it is not yet “a done deal.” Harvey said, “We are working on an agreement right now and I want to get it done as soon as I can.”
Last August, Harvey told The Rappahannock Voice that he planned a winery at the Blue Rock property, but said at that time that its size likely would be modest, with production of about 3,500 cases a year–only one-tenth or less of the facility described by the Oasis spokesman.
On Thursday, Harvey said in an interview that he had hoped to build a winery of his own on the Blue Rock property but found that it would take too long for him to accomplish that himself, partly due to the difficulty of finding financing in a worsening economy. He began discussing his ideas with established wineries, he said, and found that he and Salahi had compatible interests.
“I am trying to get a winery done and he needs a place to put a winery,” because the Oasis Winery property near Hume is up for sale. “I thought it would make sense to put it together. It looks like it is going to go, provided the money comes in” from investors. “We need major, major money.”
Details of the agreement between Harvey and the Oasis owner are still being negotiated, Harvey said.
Blue Rock Inn has set up a website under the name Blue Rock Winery. It provides little information about the venture, except to say: “Blue Rock Winery and Vineyard will open in the Spring of 2009 along side the Blue Rock Inn Restaurant, Pub and Bed & Breakfast facility. The vineyard has been planted and plans are underway for construction of the winery which will have conference and wedding facility available.”
At its own website, Oasis Winery makes this brief mention of the new enterprise: “Oasis Enterprises Winery to open Oasis Winery at Little Washington, Fall 2008,” without elaboration. Another website geared to tourists states that Oasis Winery is “Closed temporarily–We will reopen at the existing Bleu Rock Inn/Vineyards off of Highway Route 211…”
The ambitious venture, if realized, could have widespread ramifications for Rappahannock County. A large winery could become a major tourist attraction, benefiting the Blue Rock Inn and its restaurant and providing spillover wine-tourist traffic to nearby Rappahannock wineries and other tourist-related businesses. The business would generate sales and property-tax revenues for the county.
“It will help the tax base of the county,” Harvey said. “This would be a big tax base for the county to help pay for the schools and other needs.” The new winery, if built, would be almost directly across the highway from Rappahannock County High School.
The Blue Rock owner emphasized that he wants the new winery to fit harmoniously with the surrounding rural scenery and the traditional architecture of the property. “I want it to look nice and inviting, and not be humongous,” Harvey said. He envisions an architectural style that would be compatible with the existing buildings and rely on heavy use of stone, timber and wood to blend in with the surroundings.
Speaking of his large Graystone Estate home on the side of the mountain overlooking the Blue Rock Inn, Harvey added, “I am going to be up on my hill looking down on this, and I want something beautiful. It is going to be something that the county can be proud of.”
As described by Arnold, a major portion of the new winery facility would be underground, including the wine cellar, fermentation room, and bottling lines. These would be up to 30 feet below grade so that “most of this won’t be visible above ground,” he said. The visible portion above ground would include a tasting room barrel room, and a tasting deck overlooking the Blue Rock’s point-to-point race course.
“Designs are being worked on now,” Arnold said.
The winery would produce Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Riesling and other varieties of wine plus champagne, Arnold said. It would bottle its product mainly under the Oasis label, with smaller volume bottled under the Blue Rock label for use in the Inn and for limited sales within Virginia as a “boutique wine,” he added.
Under Virginia law and Rappahannock County code, farm wineries can be established “by right,” meaning no county approval or permit would be needed. There may be some question whether a facility as large as that described by Arnold would qualify as a farm winery, however.
Rappahannock County code recognizes two categories of farm wineries that can be established by right within an agricultural zone, such as the property owned by Harvey.
A Category 1 farm winery is one which produces at least 51% of the fruit used is grown on the premises, meaning grown and harvested on the same parcel of land where the wine is produced. A Category 2 farm winery is one where at least 25% of the fruit used is grown on that land parcel. Both categories qualify as “farm wineries” that may be set up by right on land zoned agricultural.
The Code also defines a general “winery” category that is neither a farm winery or a home winery, and these may not be established by right, but would require a Special Exception to the zoning, with full public hearings and approval by the Board of Supervisors.
Whether the county government has any regulatory say in the winery under discussion by the Blue Rock and Oasis owners would depend on how it may be classified for zoning purposes by the county.
County Administrator John McCarthy said late Thursday that Gary Harvey had spoken to him about opening a winery at Blue Rock, but without mentioning anything about Oasis’ involvement. McCarthy said he has not had any questions or requests from anyone representing Salahi or Oasis Enterprises.
McCarthy indicated that the winery described by Arnold would be much larger than anything he had contemplated based on conversations with Harvey. A winery on such a scale may not qualify as either a Category 1 or Category 2 farm winery and thus may need a Special Exception permit.
The Salahi family has a long history of association with the Blue Rock site. Tareq Salahi and his father, Dirgham, now 82, planted the original vineyard at Blue Rock Inn in the 1980s when the restaurant and inn were under previous owners, Arnold said.
Because most of those vines were aged or damaged, the vineyard was replanted last year and will begin producing grapes in 2010, he said. The new winery also plans to purchase grapes from growers in Rappahannock and nearby counties for initial operation.
“This will be the fulfillment of a dream that Mr. Salahi and his father long have held,” said the Oasis spokesman. Salahi is “working with investors” on financing the new venture, he added.
The Oasis Winery vineyards and property near Hume have been for sale on the real estate market for some time and remain up for sale.
In January, the Fauquier Times-Democrat reported that a sale of the Oasis real estate fell through when McLean Realtor Casey Margenau backed out of the deal to buy the property for $4.15 million. At that time, the newspaper reported that litigation regarding the disposition of the winery began in 2006, and court documents contain allegations of fraud and embezzlement of corporate assets by Tareq Salahi and his parents, Dirgham and Corrine Salahi.
The Times-Democrat said that last June, the Fauquier County Circuit Court appointed T. Huntley Thorpe III as a receiver in the case, and in a report filed with the court, Thorpe described operation of the winery as “contentious.”
In an advertisement in this week’s Rappahannock News, the Oasis Vineyard property of 108 acres and 17,000 square foot production facility is offered for sale at $4,750,000 by Armfield, Miller & Ripley Fine Properties, a Realtor in Washington, VA.
Arnold said that while the Fauquier County real estate is for sale, the winery business operated by Oasis Enterprises is not, and would move to the Blue Rock site. This would include the Oasis wine inventory, wholesale distribution business and marketing operations owned by Salahi or his wife, Arnold said.
The Salahi family has been embroiled in what Arnold called “an on-going family dispute” pitting Tareq Salahi’s mother against him and his aged father, who suffers some dementia, according to Arnold. He said the father and the son want to go on in the wine business, while his mother does not.
The Oasis Winery itself became enmeshed in a protracted dispute with Fauquier County government over citations of zoning violations related to events held at the Hume winery that neighbors found objectionable because of noise and traffic. The dispute gave rise to a struggle in the Virginia General Assembly over the powers of local governments to regulate farm wineries, and legislation on that subject remains before the legislature, to be taken up again next year after failing to pass this session.
Blue Rock owner Gary Harvey has had his own troubles with neighbors and with Rappahannock County government over charges of operating an unauthorized bed-and-breakfast lodge at his Graystone Estate home overlooking the Blue Rock Inn property. Last August, Harvey was found guilty in Rappahannock County General District court of operating a B&B-type accommodation without the necessary county permit, though Harvey denied any wrongdoing and blamed neighbors for causing him trouble. He paid a $100 fine and was placed on probation for 12 months.
-- James P. GannonComments
Comment from brad johnston
Time: March 9, 2008, 7:53 pm
Perhaps the new owner has changed the name but the Bleu Rock Inn has spelled its name “Bleu”, not “Blue”. It was owned by two Frenchmen, brothers, and the French spell blue, bleu. Calling it the Blue Rock Inn is rather like spelling your name “Gannen”; close but no basket.
–Brad Johnston
Editor’s Note: Owner Gary Harvey changed the spelling of the Inn from the original Bleu Rock to the current Blue Rock. The wine label, however, is still spelled Bleu Rock. How’s that for confusing? –JPG.
Comment from Pareus
Time: March 11, 2008, 12:58 pm
Perfect… Two birds of a feather seeking an alliance. I wish the neighbors of Blue(eu) Rock Inn well. If you think Mr. Harvey is a lousy neighbor, he doesn’t have anything on Mr. Salahi. Ask any current neighbor of Oasis Winery. Just wait for the helicopter rides, firework displays and all night events with blaring music. I’m just glad I get my peace and quiet back on Hume Road.
–Larry Pareus
Comment from DavidD
Time: June 2, 2008, 2:23 pm
It’s always great to see a substantial new investment in the Virginia wine industry. It really validates Virginia as a viable new wine region in the US.
Write a comment