Kuna is a small town known for many things - biker bars and a Mexican restaurant come to mind - but being known as a production center for fine wines, both regular and port, would surprise most Idahoans.
Yet, here is where you'll find Silver Trail Winery and Indian Creek Winery, two of Idaho's top port producers.
Indian Creek is just a few miles west of town and produces an array of white and red wines, including an excellent ruby port. It's being replaced in a few weeks with an outstanding new product called Ruby Dahlia Dessert Wine. Winery owner Bill Stowe and his family grow many of the grapes used in his wines.
Silver Trail's tasting room is in Kuna in the Sandstone retail center. The Nicholas family also produces an extensive and impressive array of products, including three fine ports. Many of their grapes are locally grown, also.
Silver Trail offers an outstanding gift shop that's the best I've seen in Idaho. It's beyond me why an establishment in Boise - the home of many of the state's wine lovers - can't offer near as good a tasting room and gift shop as Silver Trail does in a small town like Kuna.
Offering virtually anything a wine lover could desire, Silver Trail's gift shop is part of a larger complex that includes an area to sit and enjoy a glass of wine, and a separate cozy dining area called the Trellis Bistro.
If you haven't checked out either Silver Trail or Indian Creek, you need to put them on your list of things to do this winter. Both wineries offer hand-crafted wines and friendly staff to wait on you.
Silver Trail has the dream gift shop, while Indian Creek offers a homey atmosphere with a wood-burning stove to keep you warm. Both offer impressive port wines that speak to the excellence of Idaho winemakers.
Now that winter has set in, there is no better time to enjoy a port wine. Its robust character and sweetness combine to create luxurious warmth that radiates throughout your body as you sip it.
Savoring a small glass of port in front of a fireplace before going to bed is the perfect way to cap off a satisfying dinner or a day of outside activity in the cold.
Just what, exactly, is port? It's a member of a class of wines called fortified wines and originally was created in Portugal, hence the term "port," (known as Porto in Portuguese). It's called fortified because of the addition of brandy, which raises the alcohol content. Ports typically contain 18-20 percent alcohol instead of the 10-14 percent of most regular red and white wines.
The process of making port arrests the fermentation of the grapes before completion, creating a sweet wine because the sugar is not all allowed to convert to alcohol. The addition of brandy raises the alcohol content to its final level, yielding a full-bodied, sweet wine.
Since port originally came from a region of Europe, the term should not be used for a fortified wine made in the United States. Nonetheless, you'll find wineries all across the country making fortified wines and calling them port.
But this is changing because of legal issues with the European Union, so the term "port" should start disappearing from labels of American fortified wines.
There are three basic types of port: ruby, tawny and white. As you might guess, these refer to the color of the wine. Ruby is dark red, tawny is a reddish-brown, and white is, naturally, white, but not necessarily clear.
Many ports are aged, sometimes for decades. Connoisseurs debate the subtleties of character, taste, and complexity of well-aged port. It's no surprise, then, that some ports command very high prices, often more than $100 a bottle.
Taste, like beauty, however, is in the mind of the beholder. A few years back, a very inexpensive port from Australia with the garish name of "Whiskers Blake" received a rating of 94 from a top wine magazine, making it one of the highest-rated wines in the world that year. True port connoisseurs shuddered. But it goes to show that you can find excellent ports without hurting your wallet.
Here's my short list of ports available locally that I recommend you try. As you develop your taste, you can experiment with more expensive and older ports. In the case of the ones from Idaho, you might have to buy them direct from the wineries.
Noval LB Porto, Finest Reserve ($22). A genuine port from Portugal, Noval is light ruby-colored with a subtle, fruity nose. Its taste is a nice balance between fruitiness and sweetness, with hints of spice and chocolate. This is a great port to serve guests when having chocolate desserts or to sip in front of the fireplace.
Silver Trail 2004 White Idaho Port ($25). This Idaho white port is excellent proof that port does not have to be red. It's light amber-colored and should be served at room temperature (contrary to what some folks say) to bring out the best of its light, fruity character. Made from chardonnay grapes, it is light-bodied and balanced, with just the right touch of sweetness. It's an excellent choice to serve with non-chocolate desserts.
Indian Creek 2006 Idaho Ruby Dahlia ($26 when released in several weeks); Silver Trail 2003 Idaho Ruby Port ($25). You couldn't ask for better examples of rich-tasting, deep ruby-colored port than these two Idaho offerings. (Whoops, can't use the term port anymore, which is why Indian Creek's new release is called Ruby Dahlia Dessert Wine.)
Although Indian Creek's offering won't be bottled for a couple more weeks, I had a chance to taste it from the barrel. It's an outstanding wine with a beautiful, dark ruby color and a light, smoky nose.
Dahlia pleases the palate with a smooth, well-balanced taste of dark berry fruit that's just heavenly. Combining a well-crafted balance of spiciness and sweetness, this wine is very, very good. Its lingering finish will leave you savoring it long after your glass is empty.
The Silver Trail 2003 Ruby Port is a little darker in color, a touch sweeter and has a fruitier nose. On the palate it's rich and full-bodied with lots of fruit.
Both Indian Creek's Dahlia and Silver Trail's Ruby are excellent choices for pairing with chocolate desserts, or to enjoy with friends after dinner.
Silver Trail 2001 Idaho Tawny Port ($25). One of the best tawny ports I've tasted recently has been the Silver Trail 2001 Tawny. Made from zinfandel grapes, it is light reddish-brown with a delightful, fruity nose and a delicate yet smooth taste of dark fruit. It is so smooth and light that I could drink it like a regular wine with dinner. It's outstanding.
TASTING TIPS
Bottles can have a vintage year on them (such as 2001), an age (such as 10-year-old tawny), or neither. A vintage year means the wine was made with that year's grapes. A stated age means the wine was made of a blend of different years but is an average of the age on the label.
If the label has neither a year nor an age, then it is probably relatively young and a blend of different grapes from different vineyards and/or wineries.
Garry Scholz: wineadvice.garry@gmail.com
