Exciting things are happening in Idaho wine. The establishment of Idaho’s first American Viticultural Area in 2007 was a big step in elevating the wines of Idaho onto the national and international stage.
An AVA is a defined area for winegrowing, such as the Napa Valley or Walla Walla. The Snake River Valley has been recognized as having unique characteristics and has been legally defined. The AVA is large, more than 5 million acres, stretching from Ontario, Ore., nearly to Twin Falls. That makes it the fifth largest AVA in the country.
By comparison, Washington’s Columbia Valley is more than 11 million acres, Oregon’s Willamette Valley is just more than 3 million, and the Napa Valley is 225,000.
An AVA is defined by specific climactic and geographic characteristics. The Snake River Valley AVA is the area that was covered by a prehistoric lake that once existed over much of southern Idaho. That lake was responsible for forming the subsoil upon which we live. The consistency of elevation, soil, and climate means that, in theory, wines grown in the Snake River Valley will have a unique character.
Several winemakers are now lobbying for the creation of sub-AVAs which will further designate the difference between the more volcanic soil surrounding Craters of the Moon and the more sandy soil of Canyon County.
As a nascent winegrowing region, Idaho is still working through one of the most vital steps for any growing area: choosing which grapes to grow. Though the science now exists to help, nothing short of experimentation will determine which grapes are best suited to an area. This is made even more difficult when it comes to making wine because it takes a minimum of four years before new vines begin to produce viable fruit. Add that to a year or two for red wines before the wine is ready for release, and another few years in a bottle to see how the wine evolves, and you could be looking at a decade from planting before you can even be certain that the vines you’ve planted are the right ones.
Analyzing climate and soil types can give you an idea of which varietals will thrive in a new region, and folks have been experimenting with vines here for decades. Southern Idaho’s hot, dry climate is similar to that of the Rhone Valley in France. That area is home to Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier, among others, and you’ve probably noticed that just about every Idaho winery is working with at least one of these grapes.
You’ll also see a fair bit of Cabernet, Merlot, and Chardonnay coming from Idaho wineries. Chardonnay is so versatile and the vine so tolerant to a variety of different growing climates that it really is a winemaker’s grape. There are several Idaho winemakers who do excellent work with Chardonnay, including Kirby Vickers of Vickers Vineyards, Melanie Krause of Cinder Wines, and Greg Koenig who makes the wines for Koenig, Williamson, and 3 Horse Ranch.
Cabernet and Merlot, however, can be a challenge since we don’t always have a very long growing season. Length of growing season is a concern for all wine grapes, but those native to the Bordeaux region of France (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Carmenere) are particularly prone to display green, bell-peppery, stemmy, or weedy flavor and aromatic characteristics when they don’t achieve optimal ripeness. So in a year like this one, with such a long, cool spring, vineyard managers will have to pay special attention to make sure these grapes get ripe.
The short, often unpredictable growing climate in Idaho has got some people experimenting with grapes that ripen earlier. Tempranillo is one that has shown some promise and, in fact, I put a few Tempranillo vines in my yard this year. Tempranillo is native to Spain, most famously to the Rioja region.
I recently participated in a blind tasting of Tempranillo wines from Idaho, Washington, and Spain, and the two Idaho Tempranillos from Cinder and Sawtooth came out in the lead.
There has been an unmistakable improvement in the overall quality of Idaho wines in the past decade, and I look forward to watching that quality continue to improve.
TRY IDAHO WINES
Æ The Snake River Winery’s tasting room at 786 W. Broad St. works with a few unique varietals such as Austrian Zweigelt and Portuguese Touriga.
Æ Cinder, 107 East 44th St., Garden City, has a tasting room that’s open from noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Syringa’s tasting room at 3500 Chinden Blvd., Garden City, is open from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday -Saturday. Both make excellent wines.
Æ In Caldwell, Koenig Distillery and Winery, 20928 Grape Lane, has a tasting room open from noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Williamson Orchards and Vineyards, 19692 Williamson Lane, has a tasting room open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday June through December.
Æ In downtown Caldwell, Fujishin Family Cellars, Vale, and Bitner wineries all are available for tasting at Coyotes, 217 S. Kimball, Caldwell.
Leil Cardoza has been the inventory manager for 3 › years at the Boise Co-op Wine Shop. His column appears in Life on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. He also writes a blog about wine: ithinkaboutwine.wordpress.com. Email your wine questions to ithinkaboutwine@gmail.com.
