One of the closest wineries to Washington DC, Paradise Springs is located in Fairfax County, in the village of Clifton (“The Brigadoon of Virginia”). The winery was founded in 2007, with the tasting room opening in 2010. The name reflects the winery’s location on the site of an old mineral spring whose water was bottled in the 19th century, near Bull Run. Founder Kirk Wiles has also created a sister winery of the same name in Santa Barbara, California. Paradise Springs is experimenting with a “bi-coastal” winery model, which intends to use grapes from the two states.
Wine. One of the Top 3 wineries in Northern Virginia, and among the 10 Best Wineries in Virginia. Paradise Springs continued its run for a third straight year in 2025, once again coming away from the Virginia Governor’s Cup with strong claims to being among the best wineries in the state. After being awarded no fewer than six gold medals in the state-wide competition in 2023, Paradise Springs was awarded four more gold medals at the 2024 Governor’s Cup, and two more again in 2025. 2025 gold medalists from the winery were their 2023 Petit Manseng and Brown Bear Vineyard Cabernet Franc, while 2024 Governor’s Cup gold medalists were their 2021 Tannat and Williams Gap Petit Verdot (winemaker Rob Cox is also the winemaker for Williams Gap Vineyards in Round Hill), and their 2022 Petit Manseng and “Kill”. The winery also received four silver medals at the 2025 Governor’s Cup, for their 2019 Meritage, 2020 Sparkling Blanc de Blanc, 2021 PVT (a Petit Verdot and Tannat blend, with grapes again sourced from Williams Gap), and 2023 Petit Verdot.
Setting. The Paradise Springs property features an 1800’s log cabin, which was renovated in 1955 by a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright. It is near hiking trails and the Hemlock Overlook State Park, so a good place to combine a walk or hike with a wine tasting. Limited food options.
Stories. Land debates — not everyone loves wine. One of the reasons Paradise Springs remains one of the very closest wineries to Washington DC is that there are (at least currently) no other wineries in Fairfax County. When the founders decided they wanted to create a winery in Clifton, they were initially denied permits by the County, that took the view that a winery was an “industrial” rather than an “agricultural” pursuit, and so tightly limited in terms of location – and certainly not to be allowed in rural Clifton. This led to several years of legal battles, until late 2009 when a decision came down from the Virginia ABC Board proclaiming Paradise Springs Winery’s right to operate. The ruling was appealed by disgruntled neighbors, but ultimately upheld. This illustrates that while many people love wineries – especially though not only wine drinkers – not everyone does so. We’re a long way from the days of Prohibition when vineyard adversaries helped tear out grapevines, but there are many people who don’t really like the idea of crowds constantly driving up and being loud nearby. NIMBY, Not in My Back Yard, has an influence on wineries as well as on other activities it is more associated with – like factories or infrastructure.