pearmund cellars

since our first winery experience was such a smashing success i couldn't wait to ditch my two buck chuck for a taste of real wine in virginia. brett still lives in the barracks so many of our activities are centered around areas of virginia where some travel site has in fact led us to "a four star hotel at a two star price" . expedia recently led us to manassas va where we stayed at the four points by sheraton - a great hotel at a great value i might add. after a sunny saturday afternoon where we happily tromped through civil war battlefields and stonewall jackson monuments we found ourselves sweaty, thirsty and in need of a good drink. this time i had done my homework.

pearmund cellars is located about 30 minutes north of manassas in broad run virginia. we knew we were in for a good time when we saw a "beware - wino crossing" sign as we drove through some gorgeous farmland and vineyards. we arrived at a large, beautiful barn surrounded by two outdoor patios teeming with people playing board games, nibbling on cheese and crackers, and of course drinking wine. once we entered we saw a huge 3 sided tasting bar that was so crowded there was a line to taste! not surprising considering that pearmund cellars was voted virginia's favorite winery in 2007. since it was so crowded a sommelier approached us and asked us if we'd like to do a tasting outside. traditional tastings are 5 dollars but they also offer a reserve tasting for 7 dollars. we opted for the traditional which included 7 wines. the glasses are yours to keep for either. tasting portions were rather generous and brett and i definitely exchanged looks at one point thinking "who's going to drive us out of this joint?!" neither brett nor myself were a fan of the ameritage or lisa's merlot that we tried but we definitely had more luck with the whites (no surprise there!)

Reisling
I really liked this one! It wasn't nearly as sweet as most reislings but was very crisp, light, and nice considering how hot & sweaty we were.

Late Harvest Viognier
Brett and I both really enjoyed this one. The fruit flavors were really prevalent - you could taste the peaches, mangos and apricots and it had a lovely vanilla finish.

We headed inside and grabbed a bottle of the late harvest viognier and contemplated popping the cork and joining the others on the patio for jenga and uno but decided to walk the grounds instead in hopes that we could hit another winery later that day! in the meantime i fell in love with a golden retriever who wanders the grounds.

while this experience was much more commercialized than rogers ford we still walked out with a great bottle of wine, furthered our wine knowledge & enjoyed some gorgeous views!



http://www.pearmundcellars.com/wines.shtml