Winery Visit- Attimo Winery

Tasting Room

On Saturday April 19th, my friend Jonathan and I went to Attimo Winery in Christiansburg, VA. We participated in a tour of the facility and a wine tasting. I was very excited to visit a local winery! I was not sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised!

Tour of the Vidal Blanc Vines

Attimo Winery is Located off Childress Road. It is a thirteen acre property located on the outskirts of Christiansburg, VA. On the premise is the tasting room (pictured above) and a storage and processing facility and the vineyards where the grapes are grown. The grapes are grown and processed on site. Depending on the season and weather conditions the grapes are harvested between September and early October. Pictures below are the two grape processing machines used.

The Grape Processing Machines

After the grapes are crushed, they move the product inside. There the wine is processed, fermented and stored.  The wine is first stored in plastic containers instead of steel containers. These plastic containers do not impart any flavor into the wine. They are so also cheaper than storing them in steel barrels. It is a more efficient and effective way to produce wine for smaller facilities. Last year, Attimo Winery had planted 11 acres of grapes. This year they were planning to plant about 12 acres. In total they have about 11 acres of the Vidal Blanc. It is the most used grape in all of there wines. The vines had just been pruned. There were some buds starting to grow on them. However, it is still early in the growing season.

Storage and Processing Facility 

At the end of the tour we participated in a wine tasting with Attimo's Various wines. It was a wide variety of and a great sampling. The 10 different wines are listed below. All the wines are named after Shakespeare's work.
-Sonnet 98: Shakespeare's Sonnet 98 is an ode to spring. This wine reminded me a lot of spring. It was a straw colored wine. One the Nose I got hints of peach, pear and apple. The mid palate was oaky, the finish was acidic, tart and semi-dry. This wine would pair well with seafood. Overall, this wine was okay.
-Blaze: Blaze is a unique wine in that it is made with white grapes but treated like a red wine. It has the boquet of a white wine but the tannins of a red. This wine is an light orange color. On the nose, I got both flowery and musty smells.  This wine was acidic, semi-dry very tannic and fiery. It was like nothing I have ever tasted before!
-Off-the-Cuff: This was one of my favorite wines. On the nose I got tropical flavors with hints of orange and lemon. The taste was not semi-sweet, and it had a smooth velvety finish.
-I Do:  This was the wedding theme wine. The nose was interesting. I got hints of fruit and the smell of rain on a hot summer day. This wine was semi-sweet and refreshing.
-Just Kissed Blush: This wine would be a good sangria base, because it has so many hints of fruit in it. It was a slight orange color. On the nose I got white blush and raspberry. The taste was refreshing and hints of berry, rose and honey. It was a semi-dry wine.
-After Midnight: This wine was a dark pink color. One the nose I got raspberry. On the first part of my palate I got blackberry, then the finish was dry and there was a bite to it.
-Bull Frog Symphony:  There are six different types of grapes in this wine! One the nose, I got lot of black pepper. The taste was dry and the finish was very peppery and spicy.
-AD 325: This wine used to be buried in clay pots and fermented under ground in many European countries. It was a violet color. One the nose I got hints of cherry and subtle hints of pepper. The taste of cherry overwhelmed my palate. Overall this wine was very tannic. It had a smooth finish.
-Sweet Berry Sunset: This was a dessert wine. It was a light ruby color. One the nose I got berry flavored cough syrup. It was a fruit and sweet wine. It has berry undertones. The finish was tart. It was a perfect balance of sweet and tart.
-Sudden Downpour: This was the second dessert wine. It was made from apples and bourbon. This wine was a pale yellow color. On the nose, I got apple skins. The wine tasted like apples. The finish was a little tart. I enjoyed this wine because I had never tasted anything like this before.

Overall I really enjoyed my trip to Attimo Winery. I learned a lot about the wine making process. I had been to a bigger winery in Portugal, so it was interesting to compare it to Attimo. Many of the processes are the same. When dealing with crops, it really depends on the weather and mother nature. That cannot be controlled by anyone!