KUNA, Idaho — Some may view Bill Stowe as the Don Quixote of the Idaho wine industry.
However, his enduring Indian Creek Winery validates the romantic vision Stowe holds for the state he was born and raised in.
“Without Bill, we wouldn’t have a wine industry in Idaho,” said Greg Koenig of Koenig Vineyards in Caldwell. “He’s the godfather for a lot of us. I’m tremendously grateful to Bill.”
In 2007, Stowe observed a milestone at his winery with “Cheers to 25 Years” printed on labels. And despite a devastating winter kill, Stowe’s commitment to quality and consumer-minded prices led to Indian Creek receiving our 2008 Idaho Winery of the Year.
“It’s hard to believe I’m still here, to tell you the truth,” Stowe said. “Idaho is a hard place to start at. Laws were not favorable, and half of our population base is of the faith that they don’t drink alcohol. Interest rates were 21 percent under Jimmy Carter, and you could not get a bank loan.
“So I’ve been fighting the demons for about 25 years, and I didn’t start this when I was young,” Stowe said with a chuckle. “I’m kind of old now. I’m almost 69.”
And yet he and his young winemaker, Mike McClure, continue to produce some of the best values in the Northwest wine industry.
“I have a hard time shooting up the price, but we’re inching them up,” Stowe said. “Just having ‘Idaho’ on the label all those years has been kind of hard. Distributors sometimes are hard nuts to crack. The Snake River Valley AVA already is helping a lot.”
His 2005 Ruby Port won gold at the Northwest Wine Summit. One of the top values in the Northwest each year is Indian Creek’s Star Garnet ($14), and the 2005 earned our top rating in 2007. It’s a Bordeaux and Syrah blend of estate fruit and grapes from best friend Dennis McArthur’s Wood River Vineyards.
The Indian Creek 2005 Wood River Vineyards Merlot ($13) received an Excellent in our Merlot judging. The 2005 Malbec — Indian Creek’s second bottling of the variety — was voted Best Red at the 2007 Idaho Wine Festival.
“We priced the Malbec at $29,” Stowe said with a tone of embarrassment. “I’d never had a wine even in the $20s before. The new (2006) Malbec will be down to $21.”
The awards helped soothe the brutal blow that came with the reawakening of spring at Stowe Vineyard, which sits at 2,626 feet elevation.
“We only got bud break in about 10 percent of our vines,” Stowe said. “Trunks and arms were cracked open, so we proceeded to chop the vineyard down. We were left with about 10 percent of a crop. The strange thing was the Riesling was totaled. And my Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are pretty much site specific, so there was not any way we could replace that production.”
Production at Indian “Crick” — as Stowe pronounces it — was 3,800 cases in 2006. Last year, it fell to 1,800. He’s hoping for 5,000 cases in 2008, and so he’ll lean harder on McClure, 25.
“He’s been going with my daughter Tammy for six years and working for me for four years,” Stowe said. “They both are good tasters, unlike the old man. Mike is pretty much making the winemaking decisions. I’m still putting in the hours, I’m just not doing the heavy lifting.”
Unfortunately, 2008 didn’t start off well, either, as a January windstorm damaged his house, which is part of the winery’s picturesque grounds.
“The first 22 years, I worked in the Air Force for other people. That was my vacation,” Stowe quipped. “The second 25 years? That’s been my punishment. I saved my marriage, though, when I bought an automatic bottling line.”
* Indian Creek Winery, 1000 N. McDermott Road, Kuna, Idaho, 208-922-4791, www.indiancreekwinery.com. The winery’s recently launched blog is at www.indiancreekwinery.blogspot.com
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