I’ve been a fan of Chris Pearmund’s wines for several years (see also Paradise Springs and Winery at La Grange), but I had never visited the flagship winery in Broad Run, just north of Warrenton, until just recently. It’s relatively easy to find driving west on route 66 from Washington, DC and existing on route 29 south in Gainesville. If you’re a landmark sort of person, just turn right at the Howard Johnson’s sign! Once you arrive at Pearmund Cellars there is plenty of parking in the gravel lot overlooking the vineyard. The large tasting room has a rectangular wine bar with standing room for 25 or 30 customers. The walls are decorated with local artwork, which is for sale, and there are a number of tables and chairs. On a pleasant day it’s preferable to sit at a table outside on the covered porch and enjoy a picnic, since the tasting room can get quite noisy.
I found the tasting room staff to be warm and friendly, but they looked a bit disorganized, occasionally bumping into one another, and they were not working as a team to serve customers. I enjoyed the wines, but I was distracted by the chaos at the wine bar. The staff were not particularly knowledgable about the wine or the vineyard operations either. Personally, I’d recommend some training for the staff so that can be more synchronized with each other and with what Chris Pearmund’s vision is.
The classic tasting fee is $5 which buys you 8 tastes of reds and whites. The reserve tasting is an additional $7 fee, but you may combine the two tastings for a total of $10. The whites in the classic tasting seemed to be out of tasting order, which the tasting staff acknowledged. Perhaps this will be remedied by the time you read this post? Regardless, they did have many nice wines, with my favorites being: the 2008 Old Vine Chardonnay (nice buttery flavor), the 2008 Viognier (very lush), a 2008 Cabernet Franc ( a nice young franc), and 2008 Late Harvest Viognier (rich flavors), and the 2008 Ameritage Reserve (just like a Meritage).
The wines are priced between $19 and $29, a bit on the high side. Pearmund Cellars offers a 10 percent discount on purchases of one half case and a 20 percent discount on purchases of a full case. For your picnicking pleasure, they offer cheeses, dips, and sausage for purchase, but you may bring your own picnic foods to enjoy as well. Pearmund Cellars has about 25 acres of vines with about 15 of those acres dedicated to Chardonnay grapes. They produce about 6,000 to 7,000 cases a year and all of the grapes they use to produce their wines are from Virginia. I like the fact that I’m drinking local! Overall, Pearmund Cellars is a solid bet for Virginia wine lovers. To plan your visit, check out their website at www.pearmundcellars.com.
