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| Attimo Wine Tasting! |
Last weekend a bunch of my friends and I went to Attimo winery for yet another fun experience! When we first got to the winery, the vineyard greeted us at the sign on the right, and the tasting room was just beyond that. Upon entering the tasting room, we sat down at a table and glanced over the menu before beginning our experience.
We learned that Attimo means "In the moment" in Italian, so every wine that they produce are named after a moment in time, and the taste of the wine is supposed to reflect that moment. I loved this theme, and I found it to be very interesting as we tasted the wines and were told about the different experiences. Listed below are each of the wines we tasted and the notes that I took on each of them:
Yesterday's Song: This wine was a standard Chardonnay and was lightly oaked for 2-3 weeks to preserve the fruitiness. Our server told us that this wine pairs wonderfully with cheese. I thought that this wine was a very tart white, and it definitely tasted like a bitter apple. It also had some earthy undertones that tasted similar to maybe a sediment. This wine has won multiple awards, which include the following: 2011 Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition - Vintage (2010) Bronze, 2011 International Eastern Wine Competition – Vintage (2010) Bronze, 2011 Virginia Wine Lover's Classic – Vinatge (2010) Gold, 2012 American Wine Society Commercial Wine Competition – Vintage (2011) Silver.
Sonnet 98: The grapes used to produce this wine were on the vines that greeted us at the front of the winery next to the sign. This was named after Shakespeare's ode to spring, and it is a Vidal Blanc. This wine had very floral flavors and earthy smells like that of bark on a tree. This wine reminded me of rocks at the bottom of a river bank. It was also very thin in texture and it went down the throat smoothly. I think that this wine would be a great one to bring along on a hike. This wine has also won many awards, which include the following: 2011 International Eastern Wine Competition – Vintage (2010) Double Gold & Best in Class, 2011 Virginia Wine Lover's Classic – Vintage (2010) Gold, 2011 Wine of the South Competition – Vintage (2010) Silver, 2012 Virginia Wine Lover's Reader's Choice, Western Division, Best White – Vintage (2010) First, 2012 American Wine Society Commercial Wine Competition – Vintage (2011) Bronze, 2012 Townpoint Wine Competition – Vintage (2011) Silver, 2012 Wines of the South Competition – Vintage (2011) Bronze, 2012 International Women's Wine Competition – Vintage (2011) Silver, 2013 Governor's Cup (Virginia) - Vintage (2011) Silver, 2013 Florida State Fair International Wine and Juice Competition -- Vintage (2011) Bronze, 2013 Int'l Eastern Wine Competition -- Vintage (2011) Silver, 2014 Governer's Cup (Virginia) - Vintage (2012) Bronze.
Wonder: This wine won the gold medal in the 2014 State Fair of Virginia Wine competition. It was produced in last harvest and was heavily oaked and is very sweet. This wine was described by our server to taste like a toffee with a honeysuckle sweet edge. I thought that it tasted exactly as if I was sucking on a coffee bean. It was very sweet and came at me with unexpected flavors. I actually loved this wine and I think that it would pair extremely well with any dessert.
I do: This wine was described to have a grassy straw hue from the trim with a smokey exotic fruitiness from another part of the wine. Our server told us that this wine pairs well with spicy food like curry or a spicy salsa with mexican food or Chipotle. I thought that this wine tasted like a crisp apple or pear, and I couldn't really pull any of the smokiness from this wine. This wine has won two awards, and they are the 2011 Wines of the South Competition – Vintage (2010) Silver and the 2012 Virginia Wine Lover's Reader's Choice, Western Division, Best White – Vintage (2010) First.
Just Kissed Blush: This wine won the silver medal at the 2012 Wines of the South Competition, and it is a Vidal Blanc/ Red Raspberry. This wine smells a little smoke and tastes a little bit like burnt wood with a raspberry twist to it. I thought that this wine went down very smooth, and I actually really enjoyed it. ***
After Midnight- This wine also won the silver medal at the 2012 Wines of the South Competition, and it is a Merlot/Zinfandel/Blackberry blend. This wine smelt very sweet and it tasted even more sweet. It also had a smokey aftertaste. This was not amongst my most favorite wines of this tasting. ***
Deep Silence: This wine is a very dry red Cabernet Franc. It smelled kind of sweet with a hints of burnt coal. It also tasted like burnt coal and had a peppery spice to finish it off. I was not a fan of this wine, but it was still extremely unique when comparing it to other wines that I have tasted up to this point in time. It has won several awards so far, and they include the following: 2011 Wines of the South Competition – Vintage (2010) Bronze, 2012 Virginia Wine Lover's Reader's Choice, Western Division, Best Red – Vintage (2010) First, 2012 American Wine Society Commercial Wine Competition – Vintage (2011) Silver, 2012 Wines of the South Competition – Vintage (2011) Silver. ***
Sudden Downpour: This wine smelled very home-like and like nature. It was very sweet and I could taste a fruity apple in this one. This wine had a bold earthy sweetness to it that I really liked. This wine has also won several awards and they include the following: 2011 Wines of the South Competition – Vintage (2010) Bronze, 2012 Virginia Wine Lover's Reader's Choice, Best Fruit Wine – Vintage (2010) Fourth, 2012 Virginia Wine Lover's Reader's Choice, Western Division, Best Fruit – Vintage (2010) First. ***
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| Wines & their awards |
I really enjoyed this experience and learning about the production of all of the different wines. I thought that their theme was very unique and it made for a unique tasting experience. I liked the majority of the wines that I tasted, and I thought that every single wine was so unique from anything that I have ever tasted before. Even the wines that I didn't like were extremely unique. There were tons of flavors in these wines that I had never tasted in a wine before. My absolute favorite wine from this tasting was Wonder. I usually enjoy wines that are fruity and sweet, so I was surprised that this was my favorite out of the whole bunch. I would've bought a bottle of this wine if I wasn't such a poor college kid on a budget. Overall, this was such a fun thing to do with my friends and I would definitely return to this winery for another tasting in the future.
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| All of us having a good time at the tasting! |
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| All of us at the wine tasting! |
