Pearmund Cellars
October 27, 2025. Four and a half years ago, Kim and I stopped by Pearmund Cellars in Broad Run, Fauquier County, and chanced into a discussion with Chris Pearmund, the hale owner and entrepreneur behind this and several other wineries in Northern Virginia. (See our post from June 2021). We had a great time on that visit, but they didn’t know we were coming.
Since then, we normally alert wineries that we plan to visit with them, which tends to deliver more in depth results for the blog and for your background information. Chris was not available for us on this visit, but we had another great time speaking with servers Jamie and Jo-Jo – “the J Team” - and with executive winemaker, Mark Ward.
Here are some basics: Chris Pearmund parlayed his thirty years in the wine and restaurant industry when he bought the Meriwether Vineyard in 1996. He began operating Pearmund Cellars in 2002 making it the 47th winery in Virginia, according to the Pearmund website. From the base of operations at the Broad Run facility and tasting room, Chris branched out to own or manage Vint Hill Craft Winery (Vint Hill) and Effingham Winery (Nokesville) as well as mentoring dozens of wineries in Virginia including Sunrise Ridge Winery (Gainesville) and Paradise Springs Winery (Clifton).
We enjoyed a nice meeting and tour from Mark Ward, the wine maker. Compared to Chris’ flush exuberance, Mark is a quiet, matter-of-fact, no-nonsense guy, with rugged outdoors looks. You have to bend-in to hear him sometimes. Mark grew up on a farm and learned the science of wine in Washington State. He came to Virginia in 2014 and was winemaker at Vint Hill before taking the executive job for Pearmund. Wines under the Pearmund, Vint Hill, and Effingham labels are all processed at the central Broad Run facility and Mark, as executive wine maker, supervises the whole process for all three wineries. He makes 8 to 10,000 cases under the Pearmund label alone.
The Broad Run tasting room is surrounded by the 15-acre Meriwether Vineyard^ of Chardonnay – some of the oldest Chardonnay vines in Virginia and certified in the Commonwealth’s “Old Vine Registry.” Pearmund also sources grapes from more than 100 acres throughout Virginia, which we’ll point out as we go through the tasting notes. According to Mark, the goal is to blend two to four sources for each varietal they bottle. This allows the winery to spread the risk of disease and adverse weather events while creating potentially more complex blends. I noted that Mark considers himself more of an interventionist wine maker, which makes sense considering all of the balancing of juice from multiple sources that he has to do. It also means that Mark sometimes has to make wines he wouldn’t normally drink himself – like Pearmund’s “Sunshine” wine.
Mark keeps his sharpness for the vineyard side of the business by owning a three-acre vineyard himself.
The tasting room at Broad Run is fairly basic: a couple of tables for indoor seating in the tasting room or the adjacent barrel room and more space on their outdoor patio. There are some tables out in the vineyard, too. The winery is powered by geothermal energy which is good for the environment, but with no fireplace and limited allowances for the cooler months, the room is lacking in ambience. However, I did enjoy looking over the actual wine library they have in the corner.
The Broad Run facility hosts occasional special events for maybe 50 or 60 people. People wanting larger venues will be directed over to Effingham, which has a ballroom and an elegant old manor house to choose from.
Pearmund Cellars is a 21+ venue, selling only wines under the Pearmund label. Outside food is allowed at the winery; lite fare is also available. Dogs on leashes are okay. Separate from the winery is a farm store over the hill from the tasting room where the kids are welcome and you can buy wines from Chris’ other properties. When the J Team is not working, you might look for Beryl in the tasting room – that’s Chris’ first wife. Chris’ second wife, Lisa, manages the farm store. Our thanks also to Jamie and Jo-Jo for their welcome to us.
Here's what we sampled on a picture-perfect Fall afternoon:
2023 Petit Manseng. From the South River Vineyard in Standardsville, this wine is dry with tropical melon and pineapple fruit on the palate. We gave it a B.
2022 Viognier. Some floral and telltale honeysuckle. Fermented in stainless and aged eight months in acacia and oak. We gave it a B.
2022 Old Vine Chardonnay. Good flavor of peach and toast. Uses Chardonnay from the old Meriwether Vineyard. Nearly full-bodied. B+ but $37.00 a bottle.
2023 Rosé. Based on Chambourcin from the Silver Creek Vineyards in Tyro, Nelson County, I believe. Middle of the road. Lots of fruit, especially strawberry, but well balanced. Good for the Summer heat. I gave it a B.
2021 Cabernet Franc. From the Toll Gate Vineyard in Flint Hill, Rappahannock County, this wine is light red in color and medium-bodied. Some cherry and vanilla. B+.
2020 Ameritage. Pearmund’s Bordeaux-style blend using 32% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc, 13% Petit Verdot, and a “dash” of Malbec. Mark Ward aged the grapes separately for 10 months before blending them and aging an additional four months. Light red fruit in the front of the palate. Earth and brambles. Tannins are well-controlled. I gave it a B. In August, Pearmund has an in-house tasting competition for their Ameritage blend. Members whose suggested blend comes closest to what Mark developed for that vintage might get their name on the label.
2021 Petit Verdot. We had the chance to compare the 2021 Petit Verdot with the Reserve of the same year. I gave the regular Petit Verdot a B+ . Plums and a lighter body. Grapes sourced from Toll Gate Vineyard.
2021 Petit Verdot Reserve. I gave the Reserve only a B, partly on the $45.00 price. The Reserve would be better for a more substantial meal than the regular Petit Verdot. The fruit is darker and perhaps better balanced. Listed as Virginia Red Wine.
10th Mission Black Ops. Each year, Pearmund Cellars releases its “Black Ops” wine with part of the proceeds of sale going to the Code of Support Foundation helping veterans and their families. The 10th Mission was released in October 2025. Pearmund keeps the exact blend of this Bordeaux-style wine a secret. (“Black Ops” – get it?) I did get cherry fruit and well-managed tannin. Full-bodied. I gave it a B, partly on the $45.00 price.
The wine is good and the welcome is sincere at Pearmund Cellars. Its location between Gainesville and Warrenton makes it ideal for day trips from Washington and the close-in suburbs.
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^ We are told that the “Meriwether Vineyard” is not related or on land belonging to the family of Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition fame.
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