Snake River Cuisine Tours will begin offering weekend excursions to Treasure Valley wineries, starting April 19 for $75 per person. 321-2550; email, patty@srctours.com
Snake River Cuisine Tours will begin offering weekend excursions to Treasure Valley wineries, starting April 19 for $75 per person. 321-2550; email, patty@srctours.com
Sherise Jones gets as many as 75 calls a month from people interested in organized tours of Treasure Valley wineries.
Jones, the executive director of the Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Commission, provides names of local limousine services, a list of wineries and maps.
But most callers are looking for tailored tours of the Valley's wine country. More than half of the state's 32 wineries are in the Valley.
"Other states have actual tours, and that's what they want," Jones said.
There are Valley businesses that offer wine tours by appointment or request, including Boise Party Bus. But Boise entrepreneur Patty Johnson sees an opportunity, and she hopes to serve the wine-tour niche with her new business, Snake River Cuisine Tours.
She plans to launch the first public tour Saturday, April 19.
The public tours, which will run from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays, will include stops at several wineries and a visit to Market Limone in Nampa. The $75 cost per person will cover a gourmet box lunch and a commemorative tasting glass.
Transportation will be on a Valley Express bus. Public tours will be limited to 25 to 30 people.
"The wineries are small, and their tasting rooms are small. We don't want to overwhelm their capacities," Johnson said.
Johnson also plans to offer custom tours, some of which may pair wine tasting with a dinner at one of the Valley's finer restaurants.
"I want to offer corporate events, as well as link up with conference and convention business," said Johnson, whose professional background is in the food industry and marketing. She managed restaurants for May Department Stores and Bennigan's and was director of food-service marketing for Hillshire Farm, a division of the Sara Lee Corp.
After more than six years working as director of business development at Clear Springs Foods in Twin Falls - the world's largest producer of rainbow trout - she decided to pursue her dream of owning her own business.
The tours will start at Fraser Vineyard Winery & Tasting Room, 1104 S. La Pointe, in Boise.
One of the stops April 19 will be Bitner Vineyards in Caldwell. The tasting room that opened at Bitner Vineyard in May attracts 10 to 12 people a day on weekends, even without tours.
Owner Ron Bitner is excited about Snake River Cuisine tours.
"It's different than anything else we've had," he said.
Katy Moeller: 377-6413
