Attimo Winery

About a month or so ago, my friend Janna and I went to Attimo Winery. Normally, a tasting at Attimo is $5 for 8 wines, but because Janna has a Virginia Wine Pass (http://virginiawinepass.com/), we had 16 tastings for free! Yep, we're just that good. We didn't have the opportunity to physically tour the winery, but we got a lot of information on how some of the wines were made. I'll keep my descriptions brief since there are 16 of them!

Yesterday's Song, Chardonnay, $18: I thought this was a very oaked chardonnay, especially on the back end. This isn't surprising, as I've come to find that I'm not a big fan of chardonnays unless they're unoaked. It also had a nice pear flavor to it, and a toasty finish.

Sonnet 98, Vidal Blanc, $18:  The biggest flavors I got from this wine were: asparagus, lemon, and butter. It had a surprising earthy component to it, but you can't go wrong with that flavor profile!

Off-the-Cuff, Riesling/Chardonnay, $17: This wine had a tropical feel to it that I wasn't expecting. I tasted a lot of mango and pineapple.

Wonder, Viognier/Vidal/Traminette, $19: I didn't know what to expect with this wine since I don't have very much experience with any of these varietals, but this is one of my favorites! I guess it was a little bit oaky, but that was balanced out with the lovely melted heath bar flavor to it. It wasn't overly sweet, but it tasted like toffee and it was delicious.

I Do, Traminette/Petit Mensang, $17: This is one of the wines they designate for weddings, which personally I find a bit disappointing because I wasn't a big fan of the wine. It had a lot of rotten vegetable smells on the nose, but the palate didn't really make up for it. Janna aptly described the nose as "after-eating-asparagus-pee".

Just Kissed Blush, Vidal/Raspberry, $17: The notes I took for this wine just say "Raspberry. Raspberry. Raspberry." I don't mean that in a bad way, but that's the main (if not the only) flavor you get from this wine. But overall it's very light and drinkable.

After Midnight, Merlot/Blackberry/Zinfandel, $17: This wine was deliciously fruity and luscious. The best thing I could compare it to would be a raspberry vinaigrette, because you can taste the fruit but it's not overly sweet. Definitely one of my favorites.

Bull Frog Symphony, Blend, $18: This is essentially Attimo's experiment wine. They describe it as "dry red blend, peppery, and eclectic", which had me looking forward to it throughout the entire tasting. I wasn't dazzled by it, to me it just tasted like a generic red table wine.

Deep Silence, Cabernet Franc, $19: This wine is stored in American Oak barrels surrounded by dry ice, which I thought was pretty interesting. To me, this tasted like toast with strawberry jam on it, which isn't too bad of a flavor profile.

AD325, Chambourcin, $18: Wet rock and cinnamon on the nose, but light cherry on the nose. It wasn't a heavy wine at all.

Sudden Downpour, Apple/White Blend, $16: This wine was made in the most unique way I've ever heard. The grapes are kept with wood chips that you'd use on a barbeque for a time, then the wine is stored in bourbon barrels instead of your standard wine oak barrels. It's then aged in neutral plastic barrels. The resulting flavor can really only be described as apple pie. It's very sweet, so make sure you don't take a big sip!

Masquerade, Chardonnay, $20: So, funny story. Masquerade was created by accident. It was originally Yesterday's Song, however a barrels of that wine were lost at their storage facility (shared with other wineries, at the time the Chardonnay wasn't made on site). They were eventually found 7 months later. What happened to the flavor of the wine? It had a smooth, creamy texture to it and was much better than Yesterday's Song! In my opinion, the mouth feel of the wine masks the oak flavors, making it much more drinkable.

Vertex, Cabernet Sauvignon, $21: The most important note I have about this wine is that if you want to drink it, open it a few hours earlier. It's got too powerful of a flavor profile to be consumed immediately!

Charisma, Tinta Madera/Touriga Nacional/Souzao, $26: This is a port wine from Portugal that is sent to California to be fortified with brandy, and is obviously not produced on site. To me, it just tasted like raisin infused brandy, but it smelled much sweeter and fruitier.

Tropical Getaway, Chardonnay/Vidal/Riesling, $21: This Members Only wine was VERY sweet! It tasted like a mango syrup to me, It would actually probably be really good for cooking.

Promise, Syrah/Zinfandel/Cab Sauv, $25: Another Members Only wine. This was one of my favorites. Honestly, I don't have many notes for it because I drank it too fast! It had lots of robust fruit and berry flavors to it. It was very drinkable all by itself!

Overall, it was a great day! Attimo is a very cozy place, run by really nice people. It felt really nice to support a local winery. I can't wait to go back!