Jonathan Sperlazza's Wine Blog: Winery Visit

Attimo Winery Visit

Traveling to Attimo Winery was a long trek, but worth the time spent traveling. Located in the mountains of Christianburg, we arrived to a beautiful house that sat on the front of the vineyard with all the vines directly behind it. The first thing we did when we arrived to Attimo was sign up for a winery visit, and we were in store of a great tour guide. The tour guide was Rick, who was the owner and head winemaker of Attimo, who had a Doctorate in Biochemistry from Virginia Tech. He told us that hes rarely at the vineyard now a days working on other ventures and that we were in for a treat that he was our guide, and he was right.

Close up the Vines

The CEO and owner of daily operations of the day was his wife, now that the vineyard is starting to take off. The vineyard consisted of 15,000 vines (vitis labrusca) and has been growing for 8 years just starting to see revenue. Also every year they have had an increase in volume of wine and are continuing to grow. When the tour started he went over the selection of grapes that Attimo grew, which was vidal blanc, cabernet franc, chardonnay, and cabernet sauvignon to name a few. He then elaborated on the anatomy of the vines and the life-time of the vines, which was 50-70 years. Most of their harvesting season is during mid and late October. He then also started to talk about the expansion of the Vineyard in terms of who he sold to. Initially he has contracts with every restaurant house wine in Sharkeys and is looking to lock up a contract with Macadoes. They also not only sell to just restaurants, but have weddings, parties, and other social events. Once we walked around the vineyards, he took us to where they bottle and store the wines after the harvest. It was one building that was cooled and kind of musty . When we walked in there was cases of bottles on the right and oak barrels and plastic containers on the right.

They oaked their wines in French, American, and some Hungarian oaked barrels. I believe each barrel could hold about 60 tons of grapes and 5,000 cases. One of the unique things of this vineyard is how they bottled and transported the wines. They would bring in tractor trailers and bottle and transport them all in the same day. They sold about 60,000 bottles last year and are endlessly growing in popularity and production.

Mike the Owner Explaining their Storing Process

Storing Facility

Tasting

The first thing we did since the winery tour was not for an hour when we got there was taste the wines. It was a great price of $3 for 11 wines. Below are some of the wines that we tasted and some notes.

1. Yesterday's Song - Dry white, crisp, lightly oaked 3-4 weeks, pear taste, fresh and smooth texture, nice acidity.

2. Sonnet 98 - Dry white, crisp, floral, hints of fresh greens, very apple like, and a little more tart than the last one.

3. Off-the-Cuff - Semi-sweet white, fruity with mineral and citrus flavors and smells, tastes like a sweet tart, flower aroma.

4.I Do - Semi-sweet white, tropical fruit flavors, and floral aromas, smelled like gasoline.

5. Just Kissed Blush - Semi-sweet blush, fruity, distinct berry flavors, aroma was like bubble gum with smooth texture. This wine was easily one of my favorite wines out of the 11.

6. After Midnight - Semi-sweet red with fruity flavors, cranberry and strong black berries, and sweet finish.

7. Bull Frog Symphony - Dry red blend, peppery, Blend of 6 different grapes, it smelled like it was going to be very dry, but had lighter tannins than expected.

8. Deep Silence - Dry red, intense berry flavors and light smoky peppery finish, aged in american oak, fermentation very cold, smells like cherries and berries.

9. AD 325 - Dry red with bold flavors, cherry undertones, smelled like a Margarita, violet red color

10. Sweet Berry Sunset - Sweet red, intense berry and fruity flavors, One of the more distinctive features is its candy flavor, this wine was the only bottle bought and worth the money.

11. Sudden Downpour - Sweet, apple wine bourbon and earthy tones, smooth texture, with blueberry flavor, and she said it mixes well with fireball.