Winery Visit: Attimo Winery

On Saturday, February 9, 2013, I drove thirty minutes away to one of Virginia's newest wineries, Attimo Winery in the Christiansburg/Radford area (http://www.attimowinery.com). Having never visited a winery before, I was very disappointed when my friends and I pulled into the driveway as the property was much less picturesque than I had imagined it would be. There were no cottages with plump grapes everywhere like in the movies- it was just a few acres with rows and rows of empty posts in neat lines.

Attimo Winery, Feb. 9,2013

My friends and I in the tasting room at Attimo Winery

The tasting room resembled a large living room with a mismatched array of tables and chairs situated in front of a fireplace. We sat down and were soon approached by a waitress with a bottle of wine, all set to begin our tasting before we even ordered which, luckily for her, was what we planned on ordering. The basic tasting was $5 with an additional $3 charge if you choose to keep the wine glass. Because of the emphasis in class on enjoying wine with food, I suggested that we all order a small dish to accompany our tasting. After ordering a fruit and cheese plate, we dove headfirst into the wines! The following is a list of the eight wines that we tried and my notes on each (in italics):



Yesterday's Song (Chardonnay) "dry white, crisp, lightly oaked, pear notes"
crisp, buttery, salty, pear flavor
Sonnet 98 (Vidal blanc) "dry white, crisp, floral, hints of fresh greens"
notes of pepper and a savory herb I can not quite place
Off-the-Cuff (Riesling/Chardonnay) "semi-sweet white, fruity"
overwhelming berry
Just Kissed Blush (Vidal/Raspberry) "off-dry blush, fruity; distinct berry flavors"
Raspberry and strawberry flavors
After Midnight (Merlot/Zinfandel/Blackberry) "semi-sweet red, fruity flavors; velvety texture"
Smells like a fireplace; tastes explosive, a bit of a cheese flavor, pepper, pineapple and mocha
Bull Frog Symphony (Blend) "dry red blend, peppery, Bordeaux style"
Pepper and cucumber (This was the only one I really did not like)
Deep Silence (Cabernet Franc) "dry red, intense berry flavors and light smoky pepper finish"
Smells like a buttery potato but tastes distinctly of lime and berry; very smooth finish
AD 325 (Chambourcin) "dry red with bold flavors and cherry undertones"
Earthy, minimal sweetness

A glass of Yesterday's Song next to a glass of After Midnight (the fruit/cheese plate was delicious!)

Attimo's Wine list- notice the fake wine stain!

I was particularly interested in how all of the various wines got their names; the waitress was extremely knowledgeable about each of the bottles and the history behind their making. For example, the blush wine, Just Kissed, got its name because the winemaker determined that the color of the wine is similar to the blush or glow that a person-most likely a girl- gets right after being kissed while "Deep Silence" was described to us as a wine that you drink when you just want to be alone and sit in deep silence; such clever names! Unfortunately for us, the winemaker was out of the country learning about new techniques and trends in teh global wine market so the tour of the wine barn that we had planned on taking was not able to happen. As a substitution of sorts, my friends and I talked with the waitress and another staff member about Attimo's process and events planned on the property. They explained that while the winery makes every attempt to utilize grapes that are grown on the property in making their wines, particularly Cabernet Franc (which I learned is the only grape that is truly native to Virginia), Attimo does import grapes from other locations as well as rent land elsewhere to farm. 

'Winemaking Barn' at Attimo Winery

A grape plant in early February at Attimo

Before leaving the property, we decided to take a stroll around. Despite the apparent emptiness, apparently there were grapes growing and they were just underground due to it being the middle of winter! I tried to peek into the winemaking 'barns' (which just looked like greenhouses) but was not able to see much. My overall impression is that Attimo has a lot of promise to become a prestigious Virginia winery based on their high-quality products that will likely improve once their grape plants reach maturity in the coming years! Two critiques that I have: 

-From what I can ascertain, it is quite unusual to experience a wine tasting in a restaurant-like setting where guests are sitting down and are expected to tip their waitstaff
- It seems that Attimo has only one variety of wine glass. After the tastings, we each ordered a glass of one of the wines (I opted for the After Midnight as I am attempting to get more into red wines) and they were all served in the same glass despite them being very different styles. It may be a good idea for the winery to invest in a variety of glasses for guests to fully enjoy the wines in.

We hope to go back to Attimo when the weather gets warmer to sample some of their seasonal wines that were not available during our visit (I am particularly interested in tasting their apple/white blend, "Sudden Downpour" when it becomes available again), finally get a tour of the winemaking process and maybe even participate in one of their murder mystery nights!

My boyfriend and I at Attimo Winery