Winery Visit: Attimo Winery

     My friend Tiffany and I visited Attimo Winery on Friday, April 26th. They are located in Montgomery County, Virginia on the outskirts of Christiansburg in the Blue Ridge Highlands Wine Region. Their name "Attimo" is Italian for "in the moment".

The tasting room and gift shop.

     We called ahead to schedule a tour and a tasting (simple tastings are $5 and a tour is $5), so when we arrived we did our tasting first. Inside the tasting room are various places to sit down and relax. Each sitting area is named for moments that happen in our lives. Tiffany and I choose the "Mellow Moment" table as we each had a long week and were looking to mellow out while we enjoyed our wine.

The name of our table. 

Getting ready to enjoy our wine! 

     We tasted a total of 9 different wines again all named for different moments. Their descriptions are as follows: 

• Yesterday's Song: Was described as a dry, crisp chardonnay that was lightly oaked and featured pear notes. On the smell it definitely smelled liked pears. On the taste it was nice and smooth with a slight oak notes between pears and apples. This was probably one of my favorite chardonnays as I'm not a big fan of heavily oaked Chardonnays. 
• Sonnet 98: This wine is Attimo's Vidal Blanc. It is described as a dry white that is crisp and floral and contains hints of fresh greens. On the smell it was more perfumey than fruity. To me it tasted like grass. 
• Off the Cuff: This wine is a blended wine that consists of Riesling and Chardonnay. It is described as a semi-sweet white that is fruity. On the smell it certainly smelled fruity with hints of apple, pear, and pineapple. On the taste it was very interesting because it was sweet and then the sweetness stopped and finished slightly dry. I really liked this wine. 
• Just Kissed Blush: Just kissed is a blend of Vidal Blanc and Raspberries. It is described as an off-dry blush, that's fruity and contains distinct berry flavors. I smelled what we associate with the typical grape smell on the nose along with the raspberries. Tasting this wine, I could pick out a ton of red fruit (raspberries, cherries, strawberries, and maybe a little blueberries). It was fruity and sweet but not over the top. 
• After Midnight: Another blended wine, this wine was made up of Merlot, Zinfandel, and Blackberries. It is described as a semi-sweet red with fruity flavors and a velvety texture. I smelled blackberries and bitterness. It was too bitter for my taste. 
• Bull Frog Symphony: This wine is a Bordeaux style blended wine. It is a dry red blend with peppery notes. On the nose it smelled like cherries and pepper. On the taste, it was certainly dry and had more pepper notes than I cared for. 
• Deep Silence: This wine was a Cabernet Franc that is described as a dry red with intense berry flavors and a light smoky pepper finish. I smelled smoky fruit on the nose and on the taste it was bitter first, then I got the dark juicy cherry flavors, then I got the pepper finish. 
• AD 325: AD 325 is made from the Chambourcin grape. It is a dry red with bold flavors and cherry undertones. This wine was unoaked and had a beautiful inky red color. The smell was very different from the other wines. I couldn't really put into words what I was smelling. It was slightly cedar smelling. It tasted really earthy instead of fruity. I struggled to pick up on the cherry undertones. 
• Sweet Berry Sunset: This was another very good wine. It is another blended wine that contains raspberries and other red grapes. It is a sweet red with intense berry and fruity flavors. I smelled the raspberries. It was slightly sweet on the taste with raspberries and sour flavors. 

   

The vineyards. I believe these were Vidal Blanc grapevines.

From the tasting we met up with Rik Obiso, the owner and winemaker. He gave us a brief history and answered some of our questions before we headed to the vineyard. The first vines were planted in 2006 and the winery first opened in 2010. It opened to the public in 2011. They have a good number of vines on the property but they also lease vines in Charlottesville, Roanoke, and Bedford. They also grow raspberries and blackberry plants on the property.

Rik explaining how they trim the grape vines down.

     In the vineyard Rik explained that when the grape vines grow dormant in December they trim them down to where the new branches started. The line that the grape vine is called a fruit wire and the vines will follow that wire and climb up to the upper wires as they grow. In September through October they harvest the grapes. 

New growth on the grapevine. When the grapevine goes dormant this is where they will prune it down to. 

     From the vineyard he took us into the wine-making area. He showed us the small bladder press where they crush the grapes, and then we were able to see where they store, filter, and blend their wines.

Me beside the bladder press machine. 

One of the winemakers filtering some of the Just Kissed.

The filtering machine to the right.

Their "lab" set-up. 

     Rik also explained that they normally ferment their wine to dryness to get the most alcohol content of their wine. If they're making a sweet wine they will add sugar. This is called chapitalization and is legal in Virginia but is not legal in most European countries.

Filtered Just Kissed almost ready for bottling! 

     He also said that they don't have their own bottling facility because it is so expensive. When it is time to bottle they rent a bottling truck, which is basically a semi with a fully operational bottling line inside. The truck backs up to the facility and they run hoses of wine into the truck and the truck will bottle everything for them. 

More of the vineyards. 

    All and all, I was very impressed with Attimo. For being such a young winery, they certainly know what they are doing and their wines are pretty good. I believe good things will come out of this winery in the future and would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a moment to get away. 

Tiffany and I enjoying our moment!