News for July 2009

"Wine is bottled poetry."

-- Robert Louis Stevenson

Our Tastings and Wine Dinners [more]

Independence & 6th Anniversary Celebration, Tasting Fees July 4th & 5th, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Our Vineyard Questions: 540-347-3475		Independence Celebration & Jewelry Show, Tasting Fees July 3rd to 5th, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Winery at La Grange, Haymarket, VA Questions: 703-753-9360

Girls' Night Out, Tasting Fees July 9th & 30th, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Our Tasting Room Questions: 540-347-3475		Sangria & Guacamole, $25 July 10th & 24th, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Winery at La Grange, Haymarket, VA Questions: 703-753-9360

Meritage Blending, $75 July 11th, Noon - 2 p.m. & 3 - 5 p.m.; July 12th, 1 - 3 p.m. Winery at La Grange, Haymarket, VA Reservations: 703-753-9360		Ameritage Blending, $75 July 17th, Noon - 2 p.m. & 3 - 5 p.m.; July 18th, 1 - 3 p.m. Our Barrel Room Reservations: 540-347-3475

Taste of The Islands Dinner, $89, menu July 18th, 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Winery at La Grange, Haymarket, VA Reservations: 703-753-9360		Thank God It's Friday, Tasting Fees July 24th & August 28th, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Our Tasting Room Questions: 540-347-3475

French Riviera Wine Dinner, $89 + tax & tip, menu July 25th, 6:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Our Barrel Room Reservations: 540-347-3475		Blue Ridge Bridal Showcase, $12 (person), $20 (couple) July 26th, 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Winery at La Grange, Haymarket, VA Reservations: 540-667-5956 or Online

Mon Ami Gabi's Best of VA Wine Dinner, $55 + tax & tip July 27th, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. Mon Ami Gabi, Reston, VA Reservations: 703-707-0233		Watch Our Website or Follow Us on Facebook Learn About Grand Openings: Vint Hill Craft Winery & Paradise Springs Winery

Our Products

Watch our website or follow us on Facebook to learn more about two new wineries that are opening soon. Vint Hill Craft Winery, our brother winery, is opening July 11th. It will offer individuals or small groups the opportunity to work with our expert winemaking team to "craft" a barrel (approximately 300 bottles) of their own wine at our specially-designed, eco-friendly, small-lot winery. Paradise Springs Winery, our winemaking partner, is opening in August and will be the first winery in Fairfax County. It is located in a quaint log cabin in the heart of Clifton, Virginia. Both will be welcome additions to the Virginia wine industry. In the meantime, try our varied selection of activities:

Independence and 6th Anniversary Celebration: On this 4th of July and our 6th Anniversary weekend, On this Fourth of July and our 6th Anniversary weekend, Redmund wants to make sure that all wine dogs are free to bask in the sun, frolic between the vines, and chase frisbees. He will invite their owners and friends to taste his new release of Redmund's Reserve Red and White as he greets everyone, poses for pictures, offers light appetizers, and asks for donations to the SPCA. On July 4th, Redmund will also be grilling hamburgers, wiener dogs, and roast corn as he listens to the vocal harmony, acoustic and electric guitars, percussion, and other instruments of Natural Progression singer songwriters: David Fatula and Damon Lomison. However, Redmund says that all his guests must be well mannered, play nicely with others, and clean up after themselves.
Independence Celebration & Jewelry Show: On July 3rd to 5th, visit our sister winery for a fun-filled Independence weekend with food, wine, and jewelry. Lisa from INDIGO Accessories of Disti nction will be showcasing beautiful hand-crafted items for purchase.
Girls' Night Out: Organize your babysitter, then ask your female cousins, neighbors, colleagues, choir members, workout partners, book club friends, sisters, mother, mother-in-law, grandmothers, aunts, and other best friends to join you for our ladies-only evenings on July 9th and July 30th. If you plan to bring more than six friends, create your own Evite, then let us know how many guests will be arriving. Order limousine service if you would like to ride in style.
Sangria & Guacamole: The best way to spend a Friday night is sipping Sangria, dipping chips in guacamole, and swapping stories of days gone by. On July 10th and 24th, invite your friends and family to de-stress from their hectic work week and share this casual evening at our sister winery.
Meritage & Ameritage Blending: Learn about wine blending and create your own Meritage or Ameritage from five different Bordeaux varietals. Our winemakers will decide which is closest to their idea of fantastic wine. Those blends will be used for the next vintage with the winner's name on the back label alongside our winemaker's name. Reserve your Winery at La Grange session on July 11th or 12th and your Pearmund Cellars session on July 18th or 19th. Last year, a few people signed up twice so they should be experts this year.
Taste of The Islands Dinner: Bring your best friends along for a romantic July 18th evening at the islands. Our sister winery will be serving a gourmet dinner on their windswept beach surrounded by tiki torches, flowers, and island music.
Thank God It's Friday: On June 12th, July 24th, and August 28th, make a date with your friends and colleagues to relax after the stress of a long week of commuting or working at home. Of course, on this day of extended hours, you can also come on your own to meet other wine lovers. Bring your own picnic, enjoy our snacks, or ask us about catering -- 24 hours notice for catering please.
French Riviera Wine Dinner: Enjoy a gourmet menu normally found on the French Riviera and learn about our 2010 wine cruise through Burgundy and Provence. Bring your loved ones to enjoy a colorful July 25th sunset, fabulous French wines, imaginative cuisine, and the romantic atmosphere of dining between our Chardonnay vines.
Blue Ridge Bridal Showcase: Engaged couples, their parents, and their attendants will gather on July 26th in our sister winery's barrel room and under a tent on the their lawn to hear leading experts discuss the hottest topics in the wedding industry. Relax with our sangria to enjoy Silver Suitcase Educational Moments. Reserve your place today!
Mon Ami Gabi's Best of VA Wine Dinner: Executive Chef Marty Ticar of Mon Ami Gabi will host a July 27th wine dinner featuring Winery at La Grange's finest wines paired with a creative farm-to-table menu. You will love this special evening that celebrates the best products from local Virginia farms.

Our Process

In the Vineyard: Throughout July, our vineyard work includes positioning shoots and removing leaves to open the canopy for good air drainage and control vine growth. If you stop by the vineyard, we would be happy to show you the way we maintain Virginia's oldest Chardonnay vines.

In the Winery: Wine is blended so that the quality of the finished product is better than the sum of its components. Winemakers combine wines by region, by vineyard, by vintage, and by type of aging container. They do this to improve a wine's aroma, color, and flavor. The latter is the most difficult because the winemaker may change the wine's complexity, acidity, sweetness, bitterness, chewiness, alcohol content, etc. To learn more about blending a better wine, join one of our Ameritage blending sessions. Chris and D.J. must be doing this right: they received gold medals for their 2007 Ameritage and 2007 Petit Verdot at the Indianapolis International Wine Competition.

Our People

Join Pearmund Cellars' Rhone River Cruise

Chris, Lisa, and D.J. from Pearmund Cellars, Melissa and webmaster Bob from our sister winery, and more than 80 members of our Pearmund Cellars family just returned from a romantic 10-night Rome to Barcelona cruise. Please ask them for details about this wondeful wine vacation -- a beautiful ship, great wines to drink, and perfect weather every day. It sounded like the walking tour of ancient Pompeii, the wine pairing dinner at the ship's specialty steakhouse, lunch in the charming town of Avignon, and the Tuscan family-style wine gala were major highlights. However, what made the trip special was the companionship of fellow wine lovers -- old friends and new -- so we are now planning a Rhone River cruise through the heart of the French Rivieria. For more information or to reserve your places, please contact Cruise Holidays of Alexandria at 703-706-0011 or 866-368-7327.

Enjoy Pearmund Cellars Wine Dinner Hosted by Brass Cannon Restaurant

Enjoy Pearmund Cellars Wine Dinner Hosted by Brass Cannon Restaurant

Since two of our winemakers were on a working vacation, you may have wondered who was managing our 2009 varietals. We have many exciting changes occurring. D.J. will soon be moving to the Vint Hill Craft Winery -- he promises to visit often -- and we already mentioned that our sister winery has a new winemaker, Jef Stebben, with a Bachelor of Science in Fermentation Science from University of California, Davis Campus, and 15 years experience as a Napa Valley winemaker. We are now happy to announce that our new winemaker, Kristen Parsons, comes to the Pearmund Cellars family with a wealth of knowledge that will round out our winemaking team! Kristen received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Babson College and a Bachelor of Science in Enology and Viticulture from Washington State University. She then traveled to Lorenzo de Medici School in Florence, Italy, where she learned more about viticulture and the winemaking process. Upon her return to the United States, Kristen worked at Snoqualmie Vineyard and Canadaigua Winery in Washington State as a Vineyard Researcher. She also worked with Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washington State and Chamard Vineyards in Clinton, Connecticut. We are excited to have Kristen join our Pearmund Cellars family, and, as you can see, her technical knowledge and work experience will be a great resource for Chris, D.J., and Jef!

Our Partners & Retailers

Partner: Offering quick, yet reliable, computer, communications, and most other Information Technology services to both residential customers and small-to-medium-sized businesses, Tim Whitney and his Chief Technology Advisor associates can help bridge your technology gaps. Their fast response, informed expertise, and consistent high-quality solutions assure continued profitability for Northern Virginia customers, including Pearmund Cellars.

Pearmund Cellars Wines Sold at Norm's Beer and Wine

Wine Store: Norm’s Beer and Wine in Vienna, Virginia, offers more than 400 kinds of beer plus wines from around the world -- all in a casual, neighborly atmosphere. Their beer department includes local craft beers as well as imports from Germany, Belgium, the UK, etc. Their international wine selections include France, Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Australia, Chile, and South Africa. Domestic wines feature well-knowns as well as special finds from California, Oregon, Washington state, and Virginia. While you’re stocking up, be sure to check out their gourmet snacks, cheeses, cookies, chocolates, and hot sauces.

Restaurant: Located in Reston, Virginia, and other United States cities, Mon Ami Gabi specializes in Classic Bistro Fare including crepes and quiches. Their menu features classics such as French Onion Soup, Trout Grenobloise, and Steak Frites. They serve French and American wines by the glass or the bottle from their rolling wine cart. See how Pearmund Cellars and Winery at La Grange wines compare with similar-priced French wines.

Inn: Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, the Hampton Inn can provide exactly what you need at a reasonable price. In Warrenton and Gainesville - Haymarket, Virginia, the inn's amenities include a 32'' LCD TV, DVD player, movie channel, free high-speed internet, complimentary hot breakfast, coffee maker, microwave oven, mini-refrigerator, iron, fitness center, and indoor swimming pool. Offering Double Dipping with HHonors® Points and Miles, their friendly staff members look forward to seeing you after Pearmund Cellars' next wine dinner!

Our Industry

VocationVacations® is dedicated to enriching people’s lives by allowing them to test-drive the job of their dreams. Launched in 2004, the company's dream has quickly spread across the US and abroad, gaining widespread attention from the media. They offer the chance to try over 125 unique careers, through almost 300 expert mentors, and they are adding more each month, including a winemaking job with our own Chris Pearmund! When seeking a new career, a unique vacation, or the perfect gift, contact VocationVacations® for the experience of a lifetime!

If you are already interested in winemaking and want to learn about investment opportunities in our expanding Virginia wine industry.

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