Cinder winemaker Melanie Krause dips a long syringe into one of the oak barrels stacked in the back of the Urban Winemaker's Collective in Garden City. Her hands stained purple with grape juice, she draws liquid up from its depths and pours it into a glass.

"Here, try this," she says with a smile. "This is where you start to know a wine."

Swirl, inhale. The taste is surprising. You get a slight sparkle, an earthy scent from the yeast and a creamy finish. Though the wine is unfinished, you can sense what's to come from the tourmaline-pink liquid. This will become Cinder Rose, with hints of watermelon and strawberry.

"Freshly finished fermenting, it tastes a little gritty or bitter, because it still has a lot of particles floating in it," Krause explained. "For the next few months, this wine is going to sit there (and) start to become really smooth and you'll recognize it as my finished rose."

Tasting wine from a barrel is like a first date. It's where you start building a relationship with a wine you will come to love. Lovers of Idaho will have ample opportunity to explore the area's wineries at the annual Thanksgiving weekend Idaho Wine Country Tour and Barrel Tasting. You can sample the local wine, buy new releases and stock up on wine for the holiday season with case discounts and other specials.

This year, many of the wineries have made access easier. There are new cooperative wine ventures, such as the Urban Winemakers, where you can taste Cinder, Vale and Syringa wines. At the new Coyotes Group in Caldwell, you can taste Bitner, Vale and the new Fujishin Family Cellars wines. Snake River Winery has a BoDo storefront and Fraser Winery has a tasting room in Boise.

This is a great chance to meet and talk with the winemakers and learn their stories.

Krause returned to her home state in 2006 to make her first vintage. Since then, she's planted her flag firmly in Idaho soil.

In 2007, the state received its American Viticulture Area (AVA) designation from the federal government for the Snake River Valley growing area.

That allows Idaho winemakers and growers to market their products at a higher premium because the region is known for producing high-quality fruit.

Since then, the number of wines coming out of Southwestern Idaho has increased and the area's reputation has grown.

Krause's Cinder Rose won a gold medal and Best Rose at the 2009 Northwest Wine Summit and was featured in Food and Wine magazine. Other Idaho wines showed well, winning the highest percentage of awards for their entries. Bitner, Sawtooth, Koenig and Vale all took home the gold.

Dana Oland: 377-6442