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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. But with an abundance of caution, the fun and games went off without a hitch. Records were broken. Medals were given. Drama filled the air. And the glasses. No, we’re not talking about that other competition, the Olympic Games. This was the 12th annual Idaho Wine Competition, a celebration of Idaho wines and winemakers.

As you read this, the Dixie Fire in Northern California rages on, having scorched more than half a million acres of land and becoming the second-largest blaze in California history—its noxious smoke unfurling as far east as Denver, more than 1,000 miles away. For Idaho wine growers, like Mike Williamson of Williamson Orchards and Vineyards, the heat and smoke of the past few summers are a growing concern. “I kind of obsess a little bit over the 10-day forecast,” he says. “So, if something’s on the horizon, we start taking action to get ready for it now.”

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 a winner when you play Sip Local Bingo—summer’s best reason (25 reasons actually) to #DrinkIdahoWine all summer long.

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?

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 into the wine biz. But how to begin? Well, you’ve come to the right place. When it comes to starting a winery in Idaho, we wrote the book.

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 wines all month long with the Savor Idaho To Go Passport. The passport is your ticket to visit as many Idaho wineries and cideries as you can for special events, tastings, promotions and prizes!

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 found one of Idaho’s newest vineyard and wineries, Rolling Hills Vineyard, with their kids and two dogs, Bandit and Bleu.

The dream of owning a winery may have been far off in the future. But a shared love of the land was always in their hearts. “We're both drawn to agriculture,” says Mark. “We were raised in the country. Even as a kid, I never lived on a paved road until I moved to California.”

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.