Paradise Springs Vinyard's award-winning red and white wines. Photo courtesy of Paradise Springs Winery.
Just a 25-minute drive outside of DC sits Paradise Springs Winery, a unique, historical gem. It would be an understatement to describe it as a labor of love, as it has been roughly 300 years in the making. “This place wasn’t built from scratch over night. It’s been in the family a long time and it’s a family affair,” said co-owner Kirk Wiles.
As Virginia is steadily becoming known for its vineyards, Paradise Springs Winery is setting themselves apart from the rest of the pack, thanks to their property’s rich historical background and the accessibility of their vineyard to the DC Metro area.
The vineyard sits on 36 acres of picturesque land in the small town of Clifton, VA. The land is part of a 1000-acre grant given to the direct ancestors of mother and son co-owners, Jane Kincheloe and Kirk Wiles, by Lord Fairfax in 1716. A log cabin that came with the land, and now serves as the vineyard’s tasting room, is estimated to have been built in the early 1800s, and was renovated in 1955 by a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1956, a red barn that originally was in downtown Fairfax was taken apart and reassembled on the property and now serves as another space for entertaining visitors to the vineyard.
Through the years the land has been passed from generation to generation. Twenty years ago, Jane and her late aunt, Esther Podolnick, decided the area was an ideal location for a vineyard. At the time, however, vineyards in Virginia had yet to achieve significant popularity.
Fast forward to 2007, when a lengthy three-year process of developing the vineyard started. After acquiring a license from the Virginia ABC, Wiles and Kincheloe proved their wine-making abilities by establishing an agreement with Chris Pearman of Pearman Fellers winery. They bought grapes from Pearman and other growers in Virginia and crafted wines using Pearman’s facility. It was there that they created their own label, Paradise Springs Winery.“Very few wineries use their own grapes alone for producing. There are lots of independent growers, and if they don’t have a winery they sell their grapes to the wineries and we make it,” Wiles said.
Paradise Springs’ wines receive regional and national praise, including their 2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008 Norton, 2008 Vidal Blanc, 2008 Viognier and 2008 Sauvignon Blanc.Vineyard’s log tasting cabin that dates back to 1800s.
In April 2008, Paradise Springs held a planting party where they set the stage for their own grape production and invited visitors to come out to see the newly planted vineyard.
After proving their production abilities, the vineyard finally received their operating license in December 2009, and will break ground on their own production facilities in April or May of this year.
The vineyard’s first harvest of their own grapes is expected for fall 2011, and until their own production facility is complete they will continue to use Pearman’s facility to craft their award-winning wines.
Currently Paradise Springs is focusing on selling to restaurants and local stores in Clifton, Fairfax County and the DC Metro area. However, as production volume increases, they hope to make their wine available throughout the state and even nationwide.
“After the 2011 harvest, and as we make more and more wine at our own facility, we will be able to ramp up and get a grasp of what we will sell in our tasting room and expand to high-end restaurants and around the country,” Wiles said.
Grapes for the vineyard’s white wines will be harvested this coming September, while grapes for reds will be harvested between October and November.
“Year to year everything changes with wine varieties. It’s an educational thing for not just us but for the people who come here and it gives them a reason to come back. Every year will be a little bit different,” Wiles said.
While Paradise Springs already had a grand opening this past January, they are looking forward to a second grand opening this May. Visitors will be able to enjoy the scenic views, sample wines and tour the growing vineyard.
“We call ourselves ‘the gateway to Virginia wine country,’ because we are the first and last stop,” Wiles said, noting that the vineyard is close enough to visit without making an all-day trip
Come spring, the vineyard will open up the barn to visitors and have live music, so be sure to check their website for upcoming events.
Paradise Springs Winery is open Saturday and Sunday: 11a.m. to 6 p.m. through April 2010, with summer and fall hours to be announced soon.
Paradise Springs Winery: 13219 Yates Ford Road, Clifton, VA; 703-830-WINE; www.paradisespringswinery.com
[googleMap name="Paradise Springs Winery" width="770" height="235" mousewheel="false"]13219 Yates Ford Road, Clifton, VA[/googleMap]
