The Barrel Room rolls out in Oakland

If a new wine-focused restaurant with proprietor-sommeliers who specialize in obscurity sounds like a great night out, then get yourself to The Barrel Room in Rockridge.

Sarah Trubnick and Carolyn Johnson are in launch mode for The Barrel Room, an expanded version of their San Francisco wine bar of the same name. Theyre furthering a win-win trend of successful businesses like A-16 (also in Rockridge) that are crossing the Bay for better rents and eager, sophisticated diners in Oakland.

The Barrel Room in Oakland (photo: Granate Sosnoff)

As media guests, we visited this new restaurant with a twist, which builds a menu around the wines rather than vice-versa. They feature a rotating wine list with an emphasis on small-production, terroir-expressive (buzzword alert) wines from around the world.

Accompanied by a food menu slated to change every 8 weeks, the idea is to keep it fresh and inventive, sharing new food, wines and wine education without a lot of pomp.

The Barrel Room in Oakland will feature the gifts of Chef Sam Paulding, (formerly of Paulding and Co., and Oliveto) an East Bay native, excited to live and work in Oakland as a part of this creative venture.

Sarah Trubnick and Sam Paulding

Open since mid-December, theyre starting with a French-influenced menu including classic charcuterie options paired with the certified sommeliers wine flights.

In the coming year, diners and drinkers can look forward to German, Italian and other international and regional menus, sure to be inspired and surprising.

Because were lazy and trust, we let owner Sarah Trubnick choose our food and wine pairings. We werent disappointed.

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The Barrel Room rolls out in Oakland