Winery Visit- Attimo Winery

Entrance and welcome sign to Attimo Winery! 

Three of my friends and I adventured into the outskirts of Christiansburg for a visit to Attimo Winery.  To make the beginning of the week a little bit better we decided to do a tour and tasting on Monday the 15^th at 2pm.  With an easy ride down 81 south and past scenic pastures we reached the entrance, pulled passed some of the front vines lined in perfect rows and made our way to the main wine tasting restaurant and production house.

 

Rows of vines behind main house.  The house there is actually one of the investors of the winery.  

Attimo Winery is located on Childress Road in Christiansburg Virginia.  This southwest Virginian Winery is tucked past some fields and rolling landscape.  Without knowing what you are looking for you could not find the windy road that leads to this treasurer.  Attimo Winery is located on 17 acres, 11 of those devoted solely to vines.  A great thing about this winery is not only do they grow a variety of grapes for their wines from chardonnay to chambourcin but also raspberries and blackberries to add to the wine!  The establishment did not open to the public until the spring of 2011, only 2 years ago a very new Virginia Winery. 

Main house holding wine tasting room (this is not a picture from my visit it was raining that day and the picture I took did it no justice)

The tour began in the main wine tasting room similar to a very italian café area.  A beautiful building with Tuscan looking appeal, reminded me of one that would be found hidden in the grape vines of Italy. 

Wine Tasting Room looking over the front of the property and part of vineyard 

Inside finished fine wood tables lined the main space, all with the purpose of seat-down wine tasting to, as the server of the tasting said rather sit than stand so you can really live in the moment of the wine.  Behind swinging doors was a kitchen equip to handle finger foods for wine tasting, cheese, etc or to cater one of their many functions including weddings and music nights.  In the corner of the wine tasting room was several wine bottles lined up and in large racks.  It was a really a charming set up, I hope to have a corner of my house like that one day. 

Barrels, all types, stacked in the production house.  

The tour then moved out of the main house to the production house, only a couple hundred feet across parking area.  Stepping inside a wine production facility for the first time was really astonishing.  The massive stacks of oak barrels were the first things that caught my eye.  The owner confirmed he had French barrels, American barrels, and one I was not expecting, Hungarian barrels.  In total the barrels are currently holding 9,000 gallons of wine, more than 20 cases of wine in each.  Not only is wine held is oak barrels but it is also held in storage tanks an average of 3,900 cases in each tanks. 

 

Secondary containers grapes stored in here for short time before going to presser

Containers used to collect grapes directly from vine 

Next to the barrels were stacks and stacks of white boxes in which the wine was packaged once bottled.  The winery does not actually send out shipment orders according to the owner but uses a separate distribution company to handle such needs.  I also learned that the boxes were not just one type of wine bottled but could be purchased with variety of grapes/wines.  The boxes sell on an average a couple 100 per month.  Between the oak barrels, tanks, and boxes the net worth of the wine according the owner is 1.9 million. 

            In the corner of wear-house type room was the presser (crusher) and large cylinder thick plastic containers were the wine had carbon dioxide added to prevent oxidation.  The owner was very avid in emphasizing that the whole process was really done as “old fashion” or as “European” styled as possible.  The general wine making processes according to the owner was first harvesting of the grapes at their respective season; whites taken off vine before reds, etc.  The grapes are placed in the small containers seen below then transferred to larger holders the same day also seen below.  The grapes are not stored in here for any amount of time. 

Manual Presser

Next step is to transfer the grapes from the large containers into the presser (crushes the grapes).   Next the grapes move to large tanks to undergo fermentation, tubes inserted in a small hole on top are used to control the carbon dioxide levels so the wine does not oxidize.  Secondary fermentation and aging then follows.   This occurs in the airtight storage vessels.   This is where the owner really gets to put his own color in.  He decides what barrels, oak, stainless steel, etc and how long.  In other words it is time for the wine to be placed in the oak barrels, steel barrels, or very interesting and old world style is the steel barrels lined with clay for only certain wines that the winery really wishes to take the old world style to another level.  During secondary fermentation and aging wine is routinely tested in a laboratory, this winery had a small section of the production house as a testing area, for pH, chemical content, etc.  Wine is then bottled right on winery grounds depending on aging requirement, owner’s discretion, etc.  In general white wines are bottled in May and reds are bottles in August. 

Fermentation Tanks, yeast, sugar, etc added here!

   The tour ended with a tasting of eight of the “standard wine.”  Reserve wines were available for tasting but at one dollar a glass.  The standard wine tasting was eight wines for five dollars.  The tasting was done seated in the wine tasting room in the “main house.”  The wine was served in a small wine glass marked with Attimo Winery by a cheerful pourer who allowed just the right amount of time to really indulge in the wine and converse with opinions of friends there.  I read later on the website that wine tastings can last ten minutes or up to an hour if desired.  I thought that was very nice touch compared to the tastings at the cellar were I feel somewhat rushed.  The wines tasting including the following wines:

Wines on display in wine tasting room. 

·      Yesterday’s Song was the first wine tasted and hands down my favorite.  This white wine was 100 % Chardonnay was only aged in oak barrel for 2-4 weeks, enough time to retain the fruit flavor as hinted by the sever.  The wineries comments on this wine were “Dry white, crisp, lightly oaked, pear notes.”  This wine was really something it had intense pear aroma when swirling the wine.  The taste was key for my palate, like drinking semi-sweet flowers with a nice bite at the end.  It was just the right amount of dry mixed with a light fruit and flower flavor.

Sonnet 98 

Yesterdays Song 

·      Sonnet 98 is also a white wine, made of 100% Vidal Blanc grapes.  This wine actually won the silver metal in the governor’s cup the server was proud to tell.   The wineries description was “Dry white, crisp, floral, hints of fresh green.”  I did not get any kind of distinctive smell; the taste was also very mild.  Sweet apple flavored taste and dry with an acidic taste to end.  Not as pleasing as the first wine but I am feeling my palate is starting to favor chardonnays.  

·      Off the-Cuff is a white varietal wine made with Riesling and Chardonnay.  Description from the winery was only “semi-sweet white, fruity.”  This wine has a very light taste and no after taste which I appreciated, however the aroma literally reminded me of my grandma, like a lavender woody smell.  Light taste if you do not like any kind of kick or acidity, however the smell was again little bit too much likes my grandma.

On the Cuff 

Just Kissed

·      Just Kissed Blush was light colored blush a varietal made of Vidal and raspberries.  Wineries comments “Off-dry blush, fruity; distinct berry flavors” and 2.8% sugar (from artificial addition).  This blush had a pleasing strawberry and rose smell with a taste that I can only describe as a creamy strawberry candy that flowed well over the whole palate.  A very sweet but great wine.

·      After Midnight is a varietal wine made of 75% Merlot with Zinfandel and Blackberry.  Wineries description “semi-sweet red, fruity flavors; velvety texture.”  This wine was definitely the most interesting.  It had a smoky dark berry smell.  The taste was a lot of spice not a boom of spice but a flow of a cinnamon taste spice. 

After Midnight

Bull Frog Symphony 

·      Bull Frog Symphony is “a dry red blend, peppery, Bordeaux style.”  This red blend contained Cabernet franc, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Zinfandel.  The grapes were all fermented separately then blended together.  Really good wine for any kind of food because so much variety of grape.  The wine had a peppery and woody smell, no fruit hints at all.  The taste had a lot of flavor,

almost too much from all the different grapes was not that distinguishable of what the owner
really wanted me to taste.  The ending taste was very dry.  Similar to the smell the wine had no fruit taste; the only descriptor of this wine I could come up with was dried pepper meat, like a slim Jim. 

·      Deep Silence is 100 % Cabernet Franc the “Virginia Grape.”  This wine was aged in French and American oak for 9 months.  The wineries description is “Dry red, intense berry flavors and light smoky pepper finish.”  The aroma of this red was sharp.  The taste

was just an explosion of spice all at once with no after taste. 

Sweet Berry Sunset 

·      AD 325 is a red of 100% Chambourcin.  It is a un-oaked, made in a clay lined steel barrel to replication the old style.  The wine had a very bold deep red color because the skins were left in longer after pressing.  Winery review, “Dry red with bold flavors and cherry undertones:  My impression was however this wine had no smell really and a sharp prune taste that really made me feel like something was yanking at my taste buds, definitely makes you pucker. 

·      Sweet Berry Sunset was the last wine on the menu.  It is a WHITE dessert wine that is “as dry as desserts wines can be.”  It smelled like a strawberry shooter and tasted of just sugar with an acidity end.  The winery reviews were as following “Sweet red, intense berry and fruity flavors.”  The strawberry smell and sugary strawberry taste was a little much for me I did not get any of the other desired characteristics out. 

The wine tasting was the end of the experience.  As my first time at a winery I very much enjoyed it.  The tour was a little short, felt slightly rushed by owner.  The wine tasting was excellent though, great server allowed time to appreciate all the wines.  The property was very nice, however I had a much higher expectation of what a winery would look like, I thought the property would be much larger, more like the “classic wineries” seen in Tuscany.  I did enjoy the whole experience though and I would love to keep visiting wineries now, it was a perfect activity for filling a free afternoon. 

Courtney and I in the wine tasting room trying out the Chardonnay.