Located in Nokesville, Prince William County, Effingham is the latest of a number of wineries started by Chris Pearmund, Northern Virginia’s most active wine entrepreneur. Aside from his original Pearmund Cellars in Broad Run, which currently produces the wines sold under the Effingham label, Pearmund owns Vint Hill Craft Winery in Warrenton, and founded The Winery at La Grange in Haymarket before selling this to Chinese investors. The 250-year-old manor house at Effingham, listed on the historic registry, was originally owned by William Alexander, the great-grandson of John Alexander for whom Alexandria was named.
Wine. Among the Top 10 Northern Virginia wineries, and among the 25 Best Wineries of Virginia. Effingham was hugely successful at the 2024 San Francisco Chronicle nation-wide wine competition, with their 2022 vintage Petit Manseng being voted “Best in Class,” and their 2020 King’s Ransom (a Bordeaux style red blend) being awarded a Double Gold Medal, and their 2020 Tannat being awarded a gold medal. The more recent vintages entered at the 2025 San Francisco Chronicle competition were not as highly received, with Effingham being awarded three silver medals (for their 2022 Tannat and King’s Ransom and 2023 Petit Manseng) and one bronze medal (for the 2021 Reserve Red). Back in 2022, Effingham’s 2019 Meritage was awarded a gold medal at the Atlantic Seaboard Winery Association competition.
Setting. One star. The historic and renovated manor house makes an elegant setting for tasting Effingham wines. The house is accompanied by one of the oldest English garden terraces in Virginia, a smokehouse, blacksmith shop and renovated house that was a former slave quarters. The porch provides outdoor seating with a view of the gardens.
Stories. Not Everyone Loves A Winery. Vineyards, scenic and tranquil land users, rarely draw any complaints. Wineries, however, can be a completely different manner (or, in this case, a completely different Manor). While Virginia has hundreds of wineries, there’s a reason few are in the inner suburbs of Washington – land use restrictions. NIMBY, or “Not In My Back Yard” movements tend to be quite strong across the country, and in many parts of Virginia – where they have blocked solar farms and other seemingly “green” uses of land. Wealthy areas close to the nation’s capital frequently put in place legal barriers to commercial activities, or other uses of land not favored by landowners. Chris Pearmund, owner and operator of two wineries in Fauquier County, had cast his eye on finding a place for another winery closer to the District, and landed on historic Effingham Manor. A group of local homeowners was not pleased. In 2016, homeowners in the Alexander Lakes subdivision of Nokesville sued to block the opening of the winery, on grounds that it would violate the local Homeowners’ Association’s covenants against bringing commercial traffic to a private road. The homeowners noted the road was explicitly built for residential traffic, and not for the volume of vehicles attracted by a business: covenants were so strict that a property owner could not offer piano lessons because customer traffic to home-based businesses is not allowed. In a May 2017 decision, Prince William Circuit Court Judge Steven Smith ruled in Pearmund’s favor. Effingham Manor Winery is open for business, but don’t expect too many more wineries to open close in to Washington.
