Winery Visit- Attimo Winery

Rustic Front Door of the Winery

On a recent sunny Saturday in the New River Valley, two of my friends and I decided to take a trip to Attimo Winery in Christiansburg, VA. Outside of a fourth grade field trip to see how church wine is made (Oh Catholic School! Such an adventure!) I had never been to a winery before. I was extremely excited because unlike my first winery visit, I would actually get to taste the product this time.

Barren Vines

After taking a few wrong turns, we finally found ourselves at the winery. In the middle of February, a vineyard really isn't that much to look at. The winery itself isn't much to look at anyway. It's in the middle of an upper-middle class neighborhood. We almost missed the turn because it look like just another house. 

Award Winning Wines Lined the Mantel of the Fireplace

Decoration inside the Tasting Room

When we sat down for the tasting, I felt myself having a complete shift of paradigm. Before I had seen this winery as a poor excuse for a vineyard, I now began to see the appeal. The tasting room was decorated in a home-y manner. It was welcoming and friendly. While we were there I saw this same aspect in the wines and in our server. Our server, Charles, was a vibrant young college student. You could tell that he really knew what he was talking about, and that he had given the same tasting many times over. Attimo grows a fair amount of their grapes but they also have to rely on other vineyards to produce some of the grapes that do not grow well in the South West Virginia climate. We sampled through the following wines:

• Yesterday's Song: I absolutely adored this wine. It is very clear why this is the first wine that they present. The wine had a light body and seemed to sparkle on my tongue. The finish was crisp and very enjoyable. I'm very surprised that I like this wine due to the fact that it is slightly oaked. In general, I do not care for oaked wines but the extra sweet hint of pear and honey in this wine appealed to my pallet. 
• Sonnet 98: This wine had a lemon grass nose. The mid pallet was hollow with a very slight spice at the end. Up to full 90 seconds after swallowing, there was a lingering floral tone. 
• Off-the-Cuff: This wine is marketed as a "dinner guest wine." When you do not know your host's wine preference, this wine is a perfect option to bring. With a big floral nose, this wine grabs you right at the beginning. 
• I Do: I do not. This wine is marketed at a wedding wine, hence the name. The nose was very fuity but it also had an air of smoke. Overall the wine smelled like a wood stove and fruit salad. The aftertaste added to the smokiness. In fact, the after taste was similar to teriyaki sauce and reminded me of jerky.
• Just Kissed Blush: I could take or leave this wine. It's a blend of Vidal Grapes and Raspberry. The idea of mixing the two is unique and intriguing. The overall flavor was acceptable. It's just nothing I would write home about. 
• After Midnight: This red is another berry-grape mixture containing Merlot, Zifandel and Blackberry. To my dismay, the blackberry tones were not very strong. This wine was very smooth with the primary, mid and finish all blending nicely without any choppiness or abrupt flavors. 
• Bullfrog Symphony: First, I would like to say that the name of this wine is fabulous! The variety of grape is listed as "blend", which I feel like perfectly describes a bullfrog symphony. The idea of this wine really appealed to my South West Virginia roots. Too bad the taste did not. The nose was very woody and the taste was just too dry. 
• Deep Silence: As a cabernet franc this was a more gentle red with low tannins and a small body. However, the finish was very strong with major pepper notes. 
• AD 325: This wine is an attempt to recreate the wine that was available in 325 AD. It was very strong with a high tannin content. Similar to the other red wines we tried, this one was high in acid and really dried out your mouth. 
• Sweet Berry Sunset: Very very berry! It was an interesting twist on red wine. By adding raspberry to a red grape blend, a certain berry-candy hybrid. This red was sweet but the 12.5% alcohol content seemed to distract from the overall taste. 
• Sudden Downpour: I was overly excited for this apple/white blend! I had seen it in Kroger the night before and had to prevent myself from buying it, knowing that I would be going to the winery the next day. The nose on this wine was soapy and smelled like apple-scented dish soap. There were hints of cinnamon with the mid pallet being semi-sour. 

Attimo names all of their wines after a "moment" in life. In fact, "attimo" means moment in Italian. I really enjoyed the moment that I spent at Attimo winery with my friends. I will definitely return. (Hopefully when I do the vines will be in bloom!)

Bri and me in the Tasting Room

Best Advice Ever!