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Life has changed in so many ways over the past year. But not all change is bad, as this half-dozen of new wineries and tasting rooms in Idaho are here to prove. And with vaccines and temperatures on the rise, there’s no better time to get out and get familiar with the newest members of the Idaho wine-growing community.

You probably wouldn’t imagine going to a winery to pick up hand sanitizer. But if you lived anywhere near Buhl, Idaho in the past year, you just might have done so. For James Holesinsky, owner and winemaker of Holesinsky Vineyard & Winery, the pandemic was a strange twist of fate that converged and comingled both ends of his businesses: making wine and making chemicals

After a year stuck inside, life is starting to open up again. And it couldn't come at a better time. Spring, the season of rebirth, has arrived. And summer, with all its warmth and long days filled with never-ending sunshine, is right behind it. For wine lovers, adventurers, dreamers and others, there's no better time to get out and explore Idaho than now.

Remember the old days when ordering a bottle of wine filled you with dread? Back when a tuxedoed waiter would look down his nose and shudder at you for ordering a dry white with your ribeye. Or a bold red with your whitefish? Well, drink up! Those days are gone, my friend.

A recent survey finds 90% of Americans care more about drinking what they like over what's 'right.'

Before starting Coiled Wines, winemaker Leslie Preston's life was going down an entirely different path. "I was in grad school at University of California, Davis and my plan was to be a professor and teach French literature," she recalls. What she didn't know at the time, soon her students would be the ones instructing her — lessons that would change the entire course of her life.

These stay-at-home date night ideas are so good, you may never leave the house again.

Jovinea – pronounced joe-vinh-Ā-uh (with a long "a," not a long "e") – of Jovinea Cellars, is a combination of two words. The first is "jovial," meaning cheerful and friendly. The second is "Vinea," which is Latin for "Vine." When put together, you get the full meaning of one of the newest wineries in the Lewis-Clark Valley AVA: joy flows from wine.

Holiday shopping can be stressful — especially for the ones who seem to have everything. But we know a secret: you can't go wrong with wine. For one thing, giving wine is easy. You don’t need to know the difference between a Beaujolais and a Grenache.

At the most basic level, it's just choosing between red and white (and sometimes pink). Secondly, there's an almost endless stream of wine-adjacent gift ideas (like food, totes, glasses and more) floating out there. All you have to do is find them.

If you had to sum up Split Rail Winery in a word, chances are "wacky" wouldn't be the first one to come to mind. But if you're Jed Glavin, Split Rail's owner and winemaker, it's exactly the word you'd use. In fact, it's a word he uses a lot when discussing wine, grapes, winemaking and life in general.

The canopy has been set. The vines have been pruned. The grapes have been watered (and dried out). Now, comes the moment of truth. It's Harvest, the most anticipated and exciting time of year for winemakers and wine tasters alike. After months of hanging on the vine, the grapes are brought inside and winemakers finally get to see, and taste, the fruits of their labor.