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I've spoken to a half-dozen winemaker in the past two days and asked each how the grapes were looking. I heard a lot of long sighs followed by concerns about when - or if - the grapes would ever ripen in the Northwest.
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates’ operating profit rose 30 percent to $14.8 million in the second quarter, according to a securities filing by its Connecticut-based parent company, UST.
Many people move to Idaho for the skiing.
Scott DeSeelhorst leaves the slopes of his family’s Utah ski resort to make wine in Idaho.
“I try to ski everyday, so I miss the mountains when I’m up there,” DeSeelhorst said from Solitude Mountain Resort near Salt Lake City. “The hardest time is February and March when we get so much snow here and I’ve got to be there (in Idaho) pruning.”
DeSeelhorst, 37, gets away enough to craft some showy wines. His Snake River Winery 2000 Merlot from Idaho rated an Outstanding from Wine Press Northwest last fall.
“My wife’s family is from Boise,” he said. “Five years ago during non-skiing season, I was looking for something to do. I knew they grew grapes in Idaho and knew Ste. Chapelle, so I was looking for a nice 10 acres with a south-facing slope out near Ste. Chapelle.”
A friend of his brother-in-law soon learned of a 75-acre vineyard about to come on the market. It was Arena Valley Vineyard, which some consider the finest site in the state.
“It looks like a big bowled stadium with one end open, where the Snake River is,” he said.
Upon closer examination, he found grapes grown for quantity, not quality. The trellising system “looked like a big Chia pet,” he quipped. “They were growing Riesling at six, seven, eight tons per acre.”
This amateur gardener became a farmer with his first crop in 1999. As a graduate of the Scottdale (Ariz.) Culinary Institute, he already knew food and wine. As a former commodities broker in Chicago, he knew economics. And he learned viticulture and winemaking thanks to courses at UC-Davis and advice gathered from Idaho winemakers.
He and wife, Susan, finished building the winery during the 2000 harvest. Three crushes later, they are no longer encumbered by the grape contracts that came with the vineyard. He produced about 3,000 cases from the 2001 and 2002 vintages, but he’s looking to do more.
“We’re shooting for 5,000 as a minimum,” he said. “Potentially, we could go much bigger. Right now, I’m the winemaker, owner and marketing director. When we get to 25,000 cases, then it will have to be different. We’ve got the vineyard to do that much.”
The current releases are 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2001 Chardonnay, 2001 Riesling and his standout Merlot, which the Sun Valley Lodge is serving as the house Merlot. None costs more than $15 per bottle. He’ll added Syrah and Zweigelt with the 2002 harvest, and he’s toying with Barbera, Cabernet Franc and Malbec.
Fifteen years ago, he joined his father and brother as business partners at Solitude. Now his role at the resort includes “administrative nonsense” as well as overseeing the restaurants for which he once was executive chef.
“My philsophy isn’t to ram my wine down their throats,” he said. “We have only one of my wines by-the-glass, so I’m promoting it, but I’m not holding anybody hostage.”
On the other hand, DeSeelhorst plans to incorporate some food at the winery.
“I want to put in some sort of demonstration kitchen and do classes. There’ll be full landscaping and a garden with fresh herbs,” he said. “I love food and wine together.”
There’s evidence of that on the winery’s Web site, which includes a recipe to pair with each of his four current releases.
So he stays in Idaho from the end of April to mid-November until Utah’s famous powder brings Solitude back to life.
“I would miss the mountains if I moved to Idaho full time,” he said. “My life is wine, work, my wife and skiing — hopefully not in that order.”
Snake Rivery Winery, 24013 Arena Valley Rd., Parma, ID, 83660. 208-722-5858. www.snakeriverwinery.com. Tasting by appointment only.
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