The Corkscrew Blog

Opening up the latest Idaho wine topics, events, and news

Displaying 1 - 9 of 62 Articles
Bottle of Idaho Viognier sitting in sand in front of women holding beach balls
10 Types of Wine In Idaho You NEED To Try

Idaho wine varieties are as diverse as the state in which they’re grown. But what exactly is a wine variety? It's a specific type of wine distinguished by the type of grapes used in its production,...

Meet the Masterminds Crafting Irresistible Idaho Sparkling Wines

Pop pop. Fizz fizz. Sparkling. Bubbling. Delectable. Those are just some of the words we use to sum up the fantastic Idaho sparkling wine. There is something to be said about that feeling you get...

Two men cheers with Idaho Sparkling wine
All About Idaho Sparkling Wines

Get ready to elevate your celebrations with the effortless charm of Idaho sparkling wines. In this blog, we uncork the secrets behind the art of sparkling wine production, unveiling the perfect...

A group of people sitting in an Idaho winery vineyard are toasting with Idaho wine and food in front of them.
Wine Pairings With Idaho Wine

Sipping on Idaho wine is an adventure in itself, but the art of pairing these exquisite wines with delectable dishes creates a sensory tasting experience that elevates both elements to new heights. 

...

Idaho Winter Wine Weekends Return With A Cinematic Twist

The much-anticipated Idaho Winter Wine Weekends are back for year two! After a stellar debut last year, we're thrilled to announce that this event is returning with a flurry of excitement. We will...

Idaho Wine Christmas Gift
Idaho Wines For Every Personality   on Your Gift List

This holiday season, gift a taste of Idaho's finest to your loved ones, because let’s face it, wine is the best present ever! It’s personal, delightful, and leaves a lasting impression. Gifting wine...

Applying Harvest to Harvest (H2H) as a soil amendment.
Scientists Working to Help Idaho's Vineyards

The summer of 2021 was the hottest summer on record in Idaho. The Idaho Wine Commission heard the industry express concerns about drought, the effects of climate change, and the availability of water...

Idaho Cider in Glasses Blog Header
Cider 101: From Fruit To Fermentation

Any time can be the right time for cider, with hard cider experiencing a remarkable surge in popularity over the past decade. Even so, you may be asking yourself, “What exactly is hard cider?”

Idaho Wine Friends Cheers
Chill Advice for Traveling with and Storing Idaho Wine

Summertime means wine country excursions, dining alfresco, and sipping delicious Idaho wines and ciders on a patio somewhere—whether in your own backyard, a favorite restaurant, or one of Idaho’s...

Savor Idaho Crowd
Best.Day.Ever.: Savor Idaho 2023

Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate, sip, and savor Idaho wine and cider with us at the 13th Annual Savor Idaho event on June 11, 2023! This year's event was incredible, featuring over 25...

Results of the 2023 Idaho Wine & Cider Competition

It's time for the 14th annual Idaho Wine Competition! We're at the beautiful Koenig Vineyards today with Great Northwest Wine and will be sharing real-time updates on the winners at this link...

Bud break on vineyards in Idaho during spring
Is it Spring Yet? Idaho’s Grapevines Want to Know

Much of Idaho has had a long, cold winter. In Idaho’s Treasure Valley—home to the Snake River AVA and the Eagle Foothills AVA, March has come and gone like a lion. It will go down for now in the...

Family Fun at Idaho’s Wineries and Cideries—It’s a thing!

Wine and cider tasting experiences in Idaho are not a stuffy, formal affair. We invite you to come as you are—even if that means with your kids in tow! There’s fun to be had for the whole family.

February is for Wine Lovers

February isn’t just for Valentines anymore. This wonderful month has not one but two national wine holidays—National Drink Wine Day on February 18 and Open that Bottle Night on February 25. Idaho...

Discover the Delights of Idaho Wine in Winter

When you think of wine tasting, do you think of sitting on a sun-dappled patio in summer? Or perhaps you reminisce about the crisp fall air when wineries have just finished harvest? Why not expand...

12 Ways to Gift Idaho Wine🍷

The holiday season is an especially important time to support Idaho’s growers, winemakers and business owners. Throughout December, we encourage you to tune into our social media channels where we’ll...

2022 Wine Competition Showcases the Best of Idaho Wines

Wine industry experts judged over 150 of the state’s best wines

The 13th annual Idaho Wine and Cider Competition took place on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, and identified the state’s top wines and ciders...

Great Holiday Gift Ideas for the Wine Lovers in Your Life

Finding the perfect holiday gift can be a challenge. Questions like “Does she already have one?” or “Will he like it?” or “What haven’t I given them already?” can plague even inspired gift givers....

Q&A with Veer Wine Project: A License to Experiment

What started out as a passion project for winemaker Will Wetmore is gaining momentum. The Idaho Wine Commission sat down with Will to learn what makes his label, Veer Wine Project, so unique, and how...

Idaho’s 2021 Grape Harvest: Bright and Intense—Like Idaho’s Summer

Intense Heat

Temperatures soared across the Pacific Northwest in June this year, and the heat wave lingered in Idaho for a good chunk of the summer. National Weather Service data showed the Treasure...

A Family Affair: The Story of Fujishin Family Cellars

Fujishin Family Cellars has a unique niche in the Idaho wine community—turning people onto something new by growing new grape varieties. For them, it’s what keeps winemaking fun. We sat down with...

Going for the gold

This year, one of the most highly anticipated competitions of 2021 took place. After much planning and preparation, many worried that COVID would put a stop to the festivities before they even began....

Idaho winemakers hope 2021’s intense heat leads to intense flavors

Idaho saw its summer temperatures rise sharply in June and continue through the months of July and August with temps regularly over 90 degrees— often climbing to triple digits. Climate research has...

Ready, set, BINGO!

Have you recently drank wine or cider on a patio? How about gone on a wine tour? Or maybe even chatted up a local winemaker or winegrower? Well, guess what… any one of these activities could make you...

The ABCs of the IWC

So, you get our emails, read our blogs, and love Idaho wine. But how much do you know about us and the work we do? And more importantly, how can YOU help us help grow the popularity of Idaho wines?

We wrote the book on starting a winery in Idaho

So, you have an idea. You like wine. Maybe you even have a background in science or chemistry. Or maybe you’ve fermented a batch or two and just have a knack for it. Now you’re thinking about going...

May we see your passport? Now boarding for Idaho Wine & Cider Month

Okay, let’s get the bad news out of the way first: this year, there’s no Savor Idaho, the crown jewel of Idaho Wine and Cider Month. But here’s the good news… You can still have fun discovering Idaho...

Bottle of red. Bottle of Bleu. The story of Rolling Hills Vineyard.

When Mark and Lori Pasculli met, they were just a couple of kids from the country working in a restaurant in California’s central valley. Little did they know, some three decades later, they would...

New winery bottles and logos
New winery round up for the new normal

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...

holesinsky-winery-vineyard-tractor-in-vines
Holesinsky Vineyard & Winery: Of Chardonnay and hand sanitizer

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...

5 ways to wine it up this spring & summer

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...

Survey says? Come as you are!

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...

at-home-date-night-wine-pour
10 at-home, date-night pairings to heat up cold nights

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

Jovinea Cellars and the power of persistence

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,"...

wine-box-holiday-gift-set-cinderwines
Wine-themed gifts that'll really pop your cork

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...

split-rail-winery
Split Rail Winery is weird, wacky and totally rad

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...

harvest
Winemakers share their secrets about Harvest 2020

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...

Clearwater Canyon Cellars: a legacy of land and love

Her name was Irene.

She is the great grandmother and muse of Coco Umiker, co-owner, along with her husband, Karl, and head winemaker at Clearwater Canyon Cellars.

Idaho Wine Competition

The new gold standard

COVID-19 has spoiled so many events in 2020, but it couldn’t stop the Idaho Wine Competition from proceeding on a hot and sunny day in the middle of August. That’s not to say...

meriweather-cider
Gig Leadbetter and the search for new frontiers

When we caught up to Gig Leadbetter, co-owner and lead cidermaker at Meriwether Cider Co, his entire clan had just returned from a week of camping, hiking, bicycling (you name it!) on the Olympic...

wine-club
For members only...wine clubs!

These days, any number of online businesses specialize in sending subscription boxes of curated items direct to your door – including food, clothes, beauty supplies and more.

But did you know wine...

Lamb locavore burgers-Colter’s Creek-Arrow Rim GSM
Idaho Wine & Idaho Preferred — a perfect pairing
Today, we're going to talk about something you wouldn't expect on a wine blog: food. In retrospect, it's not that far of a stretch. Good wine and good food... rarely do you have one without the...
The wild and wonderful science of Potter Wines

Stepping into the tasting room of Potter Wines is a bit like going back in time. The art deco-themed space is more speakeasy than winery. Overall, the aesthetic is polished and sophisticated. It's...

Make your escape

With most big summer travel plans on hold, weekend getaways outdoors are becoming more popular than ever. I mean, who doesn't love a good road trip, right? All you need is a car, a quality playlist...

Wine 101: terms of the trade

The first step to understanding wine is knowing how to talk about it.

Wine is one part chemistry, one part art, and one part English class. It seems there are more ways to talk about wines than there...

Happy Idaho Wine & Cider Month!

It's one of our favorite times of the year. June marks the start of Wine & Cider Month — our homegrown celebration of Idaho libation.

As wineries all over the state reveal their new spring releases,...

The impact of Idaho's growing wine business

Make room, potatoes. The numbers are in, and one thing is clear: you're not the only thing in the ground people associate with Idaho.

How to build a wine collection from the ground up

You may have noticed our motto is "come as you are." It means, here in Idaho we take a more relaxed approach toward wine. You can forego the formalities and simply enjoy.

But for some, every glass is...

Raise a glass to Earth Day

There is some good news in this pandemic.

With most of humanity in lockdown, Mother Earth is already showing positive signs of recovery. In Los Angeles, the notorious smog—which has defined the city...

7 ways to support Idaho wine from home

Are the contents of your wine rack dwindling faster than your stash of toilet paper?

Well, you've come to the right place! While maintaining the appropriate amount of social distance, we've put...

Breaking bud

ICYMI, earlier this year we looked at what wineries do in the winter, a period of dormancy that is anything but unproductive. Now, as signs of Spring are beginning to appear, we wanted to return to...

Spiral Rock Vineyard: breaking new ground in pioneer country

Amid the rugged and scenic landscape of the Lewis-Clark Valley, people can take advantage of year-round adventure: hiking, kayaking, fishing and hunting, and other daring pursuits. But recently,...

Group of five drinking wine at Coiled Wine Bar
The first rule of wine club is…

Have you ever been part of a book club? Well, everyone knows the best thing about a book club is the fantastic assortment of wine and snacks! Every month it's like an after dark version of brunch....

Corkscrew inserted into cork
RAISE YOUR CORKSCREWS! Open That Bottle Night is here.

If you’re like us, Open That Bottle Night (OTBN) occurs on every day ending in “y.” But for many wine lovers, it’s an annual event that takes place on the last Saturday of February where you’re...

White wine and red wine cheers
Will you be my Valen-wine?

Here at the Idaho Wine Commission, Valentine's Day is one of our favorite times of the year. Wine and romance just go together like Cabernet Sauvignon and filet mignon, Champagne and caviar, Riesling...

Bottles of ice wine, corked and unlabeled.
Ice wines are winter's hottest drink

Baby, it's cold outside. Which means it's the perfect time for ice wine – one of nature's coolest (and sweetest) discoveries!