Tasting: Raspberry/Red Blend

Attimo Winery

Sweet Berry Sunset
Raspberry/ Red Blend 2010
$13

Attimo Review: Semi-sweet, intense berry and fruity flavors, pairs well with any chocolate dessert.

My Review: Smells like fruit salad with berries and apple with a tasty explosion of fruity sweetness.

Tasting: Chambourcin

Attimo Winery

AD 325
Chambourcin 2010
$16

Attimo Review: This Georgian style wine is Attimo’s most popular, most awarded wine. Fermentation in clay and concrete, above ground gives AD 325 strong earthy tones. Dry red with bold flavors and cherry undertones; pairs with hearty foods, including BRIX chocolates.

My Review: Strong cherry smells with a pinkish tint, AD 325 is almost sweet at first then tingly with a simple, slightly oaky flavor.

Tasting: Trominette/Petit Manseng

Attimo Winery

I Do
Trominette/Petit Manseng 2010
$17

Attimo Review: This blended wine celebrates marriage and is semi-sweet with distinct citrus notes; pairs well with macadamia salad, light deserts, and spicy Asian foods. It is a German American hybrid blended so that all you smell is the Petit Manseng, a French Bordeaux grape, and all you taste is the Trominette, a German grape.

My Review: Smells strongly like a field of wild flowers and tastes like a very sugary candy dessert.

Tasting: Vidal Blanc

Attimo Winery

Sonnet 98
Vidal Blanc 2010
$17

Attimo Review: Named after Shakespeare’s Ode to Spring, this is a %100 floral grape similar to fresh cut grass and flowers. It is a French American hybrid grape. Dry, crisp, floral, hints of fresh greens; pairs well with our caprese salad.

My Review: Smells of pears with a dry sparkling sensation. It is very sweet for the first second  and then immediately dries out to sophisticated floral flavors.

Tasting: Chardonnay

Attimo Winery

Masquerade
Chardonnay 2010
$19

Attimo Review: Dry, smooth and oakey; pairs well with cheese plates and creamy foods.  Aged for seven months in oak barrels with vanilla hints makes a  lighter chardonnay not like California Chardonnay.

My Review: The smell is fresh and light but not too strong or recognizable. Tastes smooth and intensely creamy with definite hints of vanilla.

Distillery: Bacardi - San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Bacardi Distillery - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Bacardi Banner

Spring Break 2012 on the Carnival Liberty cruise ship was full of adventures, including a tour of the Bacardi Rum distillery in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We learned about the products, history, and process of forming the number one selling rum company in the world.

The founder of the company, Facundo Bacardí Massó, immigrated to Santiago de Cuba from Spain in 1830 and immediately set up business as a wine merchant and importer. Within a few years, he began to experiment with the distillation of rum. He wanted to change the stereotype that rum was not considered a refined or cultured drink.  During the production of rum in Cuba, the barn that housed the production was infested with fruit bats in its rafters.  When Facundo's wife noticed these bats, she had the idea for the famous bat logo for Bacardi.  After the years of prohibition, the plant re opened in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Having a plant in Puerto Rico allowed rum to be sold tax-free in the United States; there are no longer any ties between Cuba and Bacardi. 

entrance to museum tour.

Bat Symbol

Upon first arriving on the Bacardi ground we were presented with two drink tickets to be used at a beautiful outside bar, and time to browse through the Bacardi gift shop. With my two tickets, I tried Bacardi Raz, I think mixed with soda, and a rum and coke.

Covering to the outside bar which is an abstract architectural bat form. The gift shop is in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After enjoying my two drinks with our group of seven, a trolly picked us up and transported us to the Bacardi Museum...

Lobby of Bacardi Museum

Wine Students!!!!

Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside of the museum, but it included a short video on the history and founding of Bacardi Rum and a beautiful recreation of the first distillery in Cuba started by Facundo Bacardí Massó. At the end of the tour, there was another bar with a tender who explained how to make traditional Bacardi drinks including the mojito, daiquiri, and rum and coke and which rums to use for those drinks.

I'll take them all!!!

Winery Tour: Attimo

Attimo Winery

Tasting Room.

Pruned Vines

Inside the tasting room.

 Owned by Rik and Melissa Obiso, both former virginia tech students, Attimo is a brand new vineyard and winery located in Christiansburg, Virginia.  The Obiso’s have always dreamed of owning their own winery, but never expected the dream to come true. As stated in their biography, “over the past 5 years, Attimo has grown from a small patch of “test vines” to a large vineyard and tasting room.  Vines have been planted every year, beginning in 2007, and continuing until 2011, with many of our vines bearing fruit in 2010 & 2011.  There are now over 10,000 vines on the property & 1,200 raspberry and blackberry plants.” (http://www.attimowinery.com/index_files/Page411.htm) Attimo is now the most awarded winery in Virginia and is the only vineyard on the east coast that grows the Georgian Saperavi grape. They have USDA permits for two different vines from New York and California which are pruned in the winter, so unfortunately we did not see any fresh vines.

Attimo means “in the moment” in Italian and the winery sets their mission based on that saying. They are “dedicated to celebrating the everyday moments of life” and name all of their wines after certain moments in time. The wines we tried are below.

Tasting brochure!

Attimo uses the basement of their home on the vineyard property, and place in Charlottesville to make their wine. They use a variety of materials for aging depending on “style” of the wine. For example, their sweeter wines are fermented and aged in only stainless steel, but steel or oak depends on style such as French style, Italian style, Georgian style, Eastern European style, etc. Their bottling takes place either on their property on specified day when a truck with the correct materials is there, or in a facility in Charlottesville which is shared with other wineries. Not only are they the most awarded winery in Virginia, but they are also a totally green winery. They use all recycled corks, recycle all of their glass, compost all food scraps, and their tasting room is a passive solar building. A passive solar building  consists of windows, walls, and floors that are made to collect, store, and distribute solar energy as heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer.

Sweet Berry Sunset wine rimmed with chocolate!

Cheers.

Attimo only sells its wines for purchase at the vineyard, but distributes it to some restaurants in Blacksurg, Radford, and Roanoke including Zeppolis! Honestly, best wine I have tasted all semester!