Voted Virginia's Favorite Winery

News for January 2008

"If your heart is warm with happiness, you'll need a glass;
if sorrow chills your heart, have two! "

-- Hannu Lehmusvuori (Finnish photographer and wine enthuiast)

Our Tastings and Wine Dinners [more]

Comforts of Winter Wine Dinner, $99 + tax & tip, menu January 12th, 6:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Our Barrel Room Reservations: 540-347-3475		Taste of Italy Wine Dinner, $99 + tax & tip, menu January 19th, 6:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Winery at La Grange, Haymarket, VA Reservations: 703-753-9360

Winemaking 101: From Vine to Wine, $110 January 20th, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Winery at La Grange, Haymarket, VA Reservations: 202-244-3700 or Taste DC Website		Virginia Wine Showcase, $25 (online); $35 (door) February 9 - 10th, 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Dulles Expo Center, Chantilly, VA Questions: 703-823-1868

Cupid's Delight Wine Dinner, $99 + tax & tip, menu February 14th, 6:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Winery at La Grange, Haymarket, VA Reservations: 703-753-9360		Valentine's Love, Wine, and Chocolate, $5 February 16 - 17th, 11:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Our Tasting Room & Winery at La Grange, Haymarket, VA Questions: 540-347-3475 or 703-753-9360

Cajun Romance Wine Dinner, $99 + tax & tip, menu February 16th, 6:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Our Barrel Room Reservations: 540-347-3475		Barrel Tasting and Futures Sale, $25 March 8-9, 29-30 & April 19-20, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Our Tasting Room Questions: 540-347-3475

Our Products

As you plan your personal, business, and social goals for 2008, bring your friends to Pearmund Cellars and celebrate the month of Janus, the Roman god who symbolizes transitions. Enjoy a tasting tour, then relax with your favorite bottle of wine while you decide which wine dinners and special tastings should be added to your calendar:

Comforts of Winter Wine Dinner: soothe your post-holiday blues with a January 12th winemaker's dinner dedicated to the joys of winter comfort food;
Taste of Italy Wine Dinner: enjoy favorite Italian dishes paired with classic Italian wines at the Winery at La Grange on January 19th;
Winemaking 101: From Vine to Wine: with Taste DC, learn about trellising, planting, grape sampling, green harvesting, destemming, pressing, maceration, fermentation, blending, etc., at the Winery at La Grange on January 20th;
Virginia Wine Showcase: join local wineries, restaurants, gourmet shops, crafters, and musicians to explore the finest Virginia wine, food, crafts, and music at the Dulles Expo Center on February 9 - 10th;
Cupid's Delight Wine Dinner: your wine lovers will appreciate your romantic streak if you celebrate Valentine's Day itself with a gourmet wine dinner at the Winery at La Grange;
Valentine's Love, Wine, and Chocolate: instead of mailing Valentines, bring your loved ones to taste Chocolaterie Wanders' hand-made chocolates paired with red wine on February 16 - 17th;
Cajun Romance Wine Dinner: bring your true love to enjoy our candle-lit barrel room, festive music, excellent service, and Cajun-style food;
Barrel Tasting and Futures Sale: on March 8 - 9th, 29 - 30th, or April 19-20th, enjoy pre-release samplings of our 2007 vintage wines paired with hors d’oeuvres and gourmet cheeses, discussions with the winemakers responsible for the fine vintages, and the opportunity to purchase cases of these future wines at discounted pricing.

Concordance Gold Medal Won by Pearmund Cellars

Of course, our seasonal specials are still available if you want to do your planning at home, and be sure to stock up on your favorite award winners. Note that, in the Wines of the South competition, Pearmund Cellars was just honored with a Concordance Gold medal for our 2006 Viognier. We also received Silver medals for our 2005 Ameritage and 2006 Petit Verdot.

Our Process

In the Vineyard: Chris Pearmund says that he is a bit concerned about the summer drought's effect on our vines' cold hardiness. To reduce any ill effects, he added a foliar nutrient to his final spray and lightly fertilized with some well-aged horse manure. Also, vineyard replants from last spring put on less than two feet of growth even with grow tubes. Assuming they survive the winter, Chris is thinking about cutting the replants back to two or three buds, placing grow tubes back on, and seeing if they won't take off a bit better in 2008.

In the Winery: Our winemakers are preparing for our Barrel Tasting and Futures Sale on March 8 - 9th, 29 - 30th, and April 19-20th. If you didn't attend in previous years, to learn more about this great way to buy your favorite varietals at discounted pricing.

Our People

Barrel Oak Winery: Neighbor to Pearmund Cellars

Have you met our new neighbors? Sharon and Brian Roeder are starting Barrel Oak Winery with their ever-loving golden retrievers Bogart and Barley. For almost a year, staff members at Pearmund Cellars and the Winery at La Grange have been helping them learn about vineyard management and winemaking.

Located between Marshall and Delaplane, Virginia, Barrel Oak Winery's beautiful tasting room will be opening this May. Watch their website for construction photos, and swing by their winery for a tour of their work in progress. Don't forget to use the “Contact Us” link on their website to join their mailing list for discounts and special event notices.

Our Partners & Retailers

Partner: Cecily Corcoran attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Lyme Academy of the Fine Arts, Daniel Graves Studio, and Brataslava Academy of the Fine Arts. She also studied in the ateliers of Klara Sever, Lisa Simerad, and Ken Marlow. Emphasizing color, rhythm, balance, and light, Cecily paints the Virginian country-side, creates portrait commissions, and depicts still-lifes. She also instructs painting and drawing to children and adults. Visit the winery to see how natural beauty near Pearmund Cellars has inspired her. You may wish to purchase a painting for yourself.

Wine Store: Cecile Giannangeli's Fine Wine is located in Mc Lean, Virginia, and Gaithersburg, Maryland, with 400 wines and on the Internet with 20,000 wine ratings. Its mission is to offer outstanding wine values at all price points for the novice and connoisseur alike, while providing the best customer service presented by a knowledgeable, credible, and unpretentious staff. They must be succeeding because the Washington Post selected the store as having the most accurate wine reviews in Washington Metro Area.

Restaurant: Griffin Tavern is a casual, family restaurant with three dining rooms and wonderful outdoor seating. Chef Todd Eisenhauer and his staff offers home-style cooking, including fish-n-chips, wings, hamburgers, seafood, steaks, salads, nightly specials, and a children's menu. There is a pub-style bar with affordable wines, eight beers on tap (Guinness, Boddingtons, Newcastle, Harp, Stella, Amstel Lite, Woodpecker Cider, and Star Hill Pale Ale), two TV's, and a big screen to catch all of the sporting events or news you'd like. It's the perfect place to relax with your favorite Pearmund Cellars wine, grab a quick meal, and work on your laptop.

Inn: The Silver Thatch Inn is a charming clapboard inn started in 1780 by Hessian soldiers captured during the Revolutionary War at the battle of Saratoga and marched south to Charlottesville. The cozy inn includes a main lodge and three cottages named after Virginia-born presidents. Its contemporary cuisine, with eclectic sauces, local products, and homemade desserts, is served in intimate candlelit rooms and an English pub. Each year since 1986, Silver Thatch Inn has received the coveted Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for its selection of fine domestic wines, and the Wine Enthusiast Award of Unique Distinction since its inception.

Our Industry

A team of researchers, led by Dr. Riccardo Velasco of the Istituto Agrario di San Michele all'Adige (click English button), recently completed the genome sequencing for the Pinot Noir grape. Their work will provide clues to the evolution of grapes, which have been farmed since the Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages. In addition, their genome sequence will be an invaluable tool in developing high-quality grape varieties resistant to fungi, bacteria, and viruses. For a detailed description of the team's work, see the article in Science Daily.

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