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
Read MoreTopics: Winemakers & Growers Feature
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.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Local Cider, Wine Travel
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.'
Read MoreTopics: Wine Education
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.
Read MoreTopics: Winemakers & Growers Feature
Topics: Support Local Wine, Idaho Wine Events, Local Cider, Wine Gifts
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.
Read MoreTopics: Winemakers & Growers Feature
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.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Local Cider, Wine Gifts
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.
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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.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Idaho Wine Events, Wine Education, Winemakers & Growers Feature
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.
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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 its presence wasn’t felt. For the 11th edition of the event hosted by Great Northwest Wine, the judges were respectfully spaced at least six feet apart from one another, per social distancing safety guidelines, at Koenig Vineyards in Caldwell, Idaho.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Idaho Wine Events, Local Cider, Wine Education, Wine Gifts
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 Peninsula in Washington State.
It was a vacation worthy of the firefighter-cum-college professor-cum-cidermaker, whose company motto “To adventures big and small” is printed on every bottle and can.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Local Cider, Winemakers & Growers Feature
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 clubs were the OG subscription service?
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Wine Education
You don’t have to speak French to enjoy wine from Pend d’Oreille Winery, but it does add a little je ne sais quoi (a certain something) to the whole affair.
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Topics: Support Local Wine, Wine Education, Winemakers & Growers Feature
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 only when you examine the wine list that you register the madness just under the surface.
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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 and a destination.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Idaho Wine Events, Wine Travel
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 are types of wines. But, with the right terminology, you can go far. Here are some basic lingo to help you sound like and expert.
Read MoreTopics: Wine Education
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, June is the perfect time to taste and explore the unique flavors that exist because of Idaho's distinctive terroir.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Idaho Wine Events, Local Cider
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.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Wine Education
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 an opportunity to plumb the many nuances and complexities of wine: its characteristics, its value, even its flaws. Drinking wine is just one part of the fun. Discovery is the other.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Wine Education
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 for decades—has lifted. Meanwhile in Venice, Italy, the once murky, polluted canals are crystal clear (the cleanest they've been in 60 years). And in our national parks, wildlife roams free and appears to be thriving without us around.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Wine Education
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 together this quick guide of Idaho wineries that are still very open and very essential. So you can restock without leaving home.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Wine Education, Wine Gifts
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 the vineyards for another important time for growers (maybe the most important): bud break.
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Topics: Wine Education
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, another activity has begun to define the region: sipping fine wines.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Wine Education, Winemakers & Growers Feature
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. (Is “dunch” a thing? Feels like it should be.)
So imagine how delightful it would be to join another kind of club that takes all the best elements of book clubs (lots of wine) and only requires you to read the label on a bottle.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Say Hello to Wine Clubs!
Topics: Wine Education
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 encouraged to pull the cork on that special bottle of wine you’ve been saving for “someday.” This unofficial (and glorious) wine holiday is the brainchild of former Wall Street Journal wine columnists Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher. Created in 1999, the idea came about when the two noticed there was one question readers always asked: “what bottle should I open?”
Read MoreTopics: Idaho Wine Events
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 and ricotta...
Read MoreTopics: Idaho Wine Events, Wine Gifts
Okay, we already know from last month's blog about ice wines that most wineries don't just shut their doors and go into hibernation for the winter. But there has to be more to the story than that, right?
Well, yes, there is.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Wine Education, Wine Travel
Baby, it's cold outside. Which means it's the perfect time for ice wine – one of nature's coolest (and sweetest) discoveries!
Read MoreTopics: Wine Education
It may be a tradition to leave milk and cookies for Santa. But for the rest of us, it's wine please! Everyone knows wine is the best holiday gift.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine, Idaho Wine Events, Wine Gifts
The holidays are upon us, and with them comes holiday travel. Whether you're bringing a bottle of Idaho wine to your destination or sending visitors home with bottles of liquid treasure, you can't just drop them in your suitcase and hope for the best.
Read MoreTopics: Wine Education, Wine Travel
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year. It’s a day to give gratitude for your loved ones, to feast (and drink) with family, and to try and avoid awkward questions from your cousins. The day after is a different story—Friday is totally up to you.
Read MoreTopics: Idaho Wine Events
Have you ever heard a wine lover talk about ‘vintage?’ That’s not code for an old bottle of wine (or pair of jeans). It refers to the year grapes were harvested.
Read MoreTopics: Wine Education
Kate Ledbetter, co-owner of Meriwether Cider Co. explains why cider tastes best during harvest season.
Read MoreTopics: Local Cider
One of the premier events for lovers of Idaho wine is just a month away. The ninth annual "Sippin' in the City" takes place Thursday, November 7, from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. and tickets are going fast.
Read MoreTopics: Idaho Wine Events
France. Italy. California. For most people these are the first places that come to mind when they think about wine.
Read MoreTopics: Support Local Wine
By this point we all know that Idaho makes fabulous wines, right? Well sometimes, it’s good to not only know it, but also prove it. That’s why for 10 years Idaho wineries have participated in an independent judging competition cleverly called “The Idaho Wine Competition.”
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Have you talked yourself out of visiting a nearby winery? It’s more common than you think. Let’s answer some of those roadblock questions and get you to the grapes.
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Buy local. Shop small. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We hear this so much it’s become a cliché. But sometimes people talk a good game about eating local while forgetting to drink local.
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