The Oak & Brazen Wine Co, a thriving urban winery located in downtown Delaware, is adding new partners to the tasting room. Amy & Justin Bresler of Delaware took over management control on September 1, along with all the events and community outreach the winery has become so well known for; while current owners, Jeff & Gina Kirby of Powell, focus their efforts on additional locations.
“We are very excited to be able to bring in a great local couple like Amy & Justin on board to continue to grow this fun place,” says Jeff. He and his wife, Gina, opened The Powell Village Winery in 2011, The Dove Mountain Brewing Co. in 2016 (in Arizona) and The Oak & Brazen in 2017. I am still going to be very involved with the business. The winemaking side is where I love spending my time so I will continue to develop the same great wines for the winery and you’ll see us there quite often,” Jeff added.
The Kirby’s and the Bresler’s have become good friends over the past couple of years. Amy was one of the first employees hired by Jeff upon opening in Delaware. She has spent this year as the tasting room co-manager and became a patron favorite there.
“Having Amy takeover and lead this place is amazing,” Jeff said. “Our guests just love her; and her husband, Justin, is as down-to-earth as you can get. We wouldn’t do this with just anyone. Amy & Justin were the perfect people to partner with on this and it excites me to see the great vision they already have for its future success.”
Amy & Justin have been residents of Delaware for 6 years and truly love the community and local, hometown feel that Delaware exudes. She feels the winery fits perfectly into Delaware’s blossoming food & drink scene. “I truly love the downtown vibe and I feel this winery is a great part of that.” Amy said. “Just a few short weeks on the job, I approached Jeff & Gina and let them know this was something I saw as long term and wanted to make a career out of. I started studying and learning as much as I could and hope to participate in a sommerlier course soon.”
Amy’s husband Justin echoed a similar sentiment. “We have enjoyed every moment we’ve spent in this tasting room.” Justin mentioned. “We are extremely excited to carry the torch and continue the accomplishments the winery has had.”
The winery has grown considerably in just two short years with Jeff handling both the tasting room operations and the winemaking operations. “The success of this winery has exceeded all of our expectations,” Gina said. “Keeping up with the winemaking side and the tasting room side of the business has become a major undertaking so having Amy & Justin taking over control of the tasting room piece is the perfect recipe for continued success.”
When asked why they were making this change to the business, Jeff responded, “We have opened three craft drinks businesses so far and we have plans to keep that ball rolling. This will allow us the time to focus on that expansion, as well as focus a lot more time on continually producing superb wines.”
The Oak & Brazen Wine Co. will continue to be in great hands in the coming future. The Bresler’s are a wonderful couple and are so excited for this new venture in their life. They have plans to develop the wholesale market of their wines, expand the food menu & merchandising in the tasting room and get more involved in off-site events. They will officially be serving in the tasting room starting this week and it’s the kick-off to a wonderful time of year to visit the winery, so be sure to swing by and wish them continued success.
The Oak & Brazen Wine Co. is located at 38 E. Winter Street, Delaware, Ohio 43015 and their phone number is 740-417-4252. You can visit them on the web at www.oakandbrazen.com or “like” them at www.facebook.com/oakandbrazen.
