Quit WHINING AND START WINING. The Barrel Room, a wine bar on Main Street in Menomonie, offers more than 60 kinds of wine from around the world.

If you’re looking for something new to do in the Menomonie area, check out the Barrel Room, 320 Main St. E. The Barrel Room isn’t just your run-of-the-mill cocktail lounge: It’s a cozy and inviting wine bar, perfect for unwinding after a day of work or for going out on a Saturday night with your friends.

On one side of the long wine hall, the brick walls are adorned with shelves of wine. The high tabletops with black-and-red barstools entice you to sit down, relax and have a glass of wine. The rustic wood floor illuminated by light bursting in from the giant window facing Main Street allows you the perfect city/country combination.

“It’s a place for people to come and enjoy conversation. There’s absolutely nothing like it here.”
– co-owner Mary Bygd on The Barrel Room wine bar

“It’s a place for people to come and enjoy conversation,” said co-owner Mary Bygd. “There’s absolutely nothing like it here.” Mary, a Menomonie native, opened the Barrel Room in August with her husband, Rick Bygd. “One night, my husband and I wanted to have a nice glass of wine somewhere but we couldn’t think of any place to go except our basement!” In 2012, they established MR Wine LLC, and when property became available on Main Street, they jumped at the chance to make their business a reality.

The Barrel Room offers more than 60 kinds of reasonably priced wine from around the globe, including wine by the glass and wine that you can purchase off-sale and on premise. If you’re not particularly a fan of wine, the Barrel Room has you covered, too: It offers a variety of craft, import, and domestic beers. And it wouldn’t be a true tasting room without appetizers – or “Small Bites” as the Bygds like to call them – which includes a meat-and-cheese tray, tomato bruschetta, caprese skewers, and more.

As the first bar of its kind in the Menomonie area, it’s not surprise that the Barrel Room has been welcomed with open arms by the community. “People have been very receptive and supportive,” Mary said. “We know a lot of people that love the atmosphere; they come here and enjoy having a glass of wine in an adult environment.”

While Mary is a chardonnay kind of woman, she enjoys all kinds of wines and looks forward to sharing her knowledge of them with others. Whether you want to learn all there is to know about wine or you just want to whet your whistle, check out the Barrel Room in Menomonie.

The Barrel Room • Tuesday-Saturday, 2-10pm • 320 Main St. East, Menomonie • 715-231-WINE (9463) • barrelroomwi.com • www.facebook.com/BarrelRoomWI