The Desert Wine Guy - An Introduction To Idaho Wine

   Today I am pretty excited. Today I will post the first guest article on my blog. This article was written by Michelle who operates her own site entitled WineDineDIY (http://winedinediy.com/). I want to thank her for excepting my invitation to swap articles.  I hope both Michelle's readers and mine can appreciate and benefit from a different perspective or style of writing about wine. I hope you enjoy the article Michelle has written as well as her site.

An Introduction to Idaho Wine

When people’s thoughts turn to American wine regions, they usually think of Napa Valley and other California American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) such as Sonoma or Lodi.  Outside California, other sites like Walla Walla in Washington and the Finger Lakes AVA of New York make the list.

I'm guessing that unless you’re an Idaho resident or a total wine nerd you probably haven't heard of the Snake River Valley, which is Idaho's first and only AVA.  

As someone lucky enough to live (and drink!) in the great state of Idaho, I'm going to let you in on a little secret:  Idaho wine is kind of a big deal.

Why? Because the pieces that could motivate wine lovers enough to get the Gem State on the map are coming together right now.  First come the growers, then the winemakers, then the ever-growing customer base.  People start drinking, talking and writing. Awards and acclaim follow.  This IS happening and it's an exciting time!

So let's talk about Idaho for a minute.  The following is an excerpt from my blog post about terroir (http://winedinediy.com/defining-explaining-terroir/):  "It's in the Pacific Northwest, but it's not a coastal state. We experience four full seasons.  Weather in Idaho can be kind of weird, cloudy morning, sunny afternoon or vice versa.  We can have warm days and cool nights.  Summer months are H-O-T! Rain and snow levels tend to be moderate (mountains excluded).  Huge swaths of the state are maintained as arable land to support numerous farming operations, while other geographic areas have been clearly marked by a history of volcanic activity.  Lots of rivers and lakes can be found, as well as a vast flood plain."

In other words it's ideal for grape growing. 

Recently Idaho held its 5th annual Idaho Wine Competition, held by Great Northwest Wine (http://www.greatnorthwestwine.com/) at Ste. Chapelle Winery in the heart of the Snake River Valley (to see a complete list of winners please see this article (http://www.greatnorthwestwine.com/2014/09/23/malbec-tops-5th-annual-idaho-wine-competition/).

I'd like to share a few of my favorites that claimed top awards. 

                                              
 

Huston Vineyards 2012 Malbec

Winner Best Red and Best in Show.  Huston Vineyards 2012 Malbec is 14.3% alcohol.  Fruit, spice, and earth revealed on the nose.  These transfer nicely on the palate with subtle tannins and a spicy mouthfeel.  Lingers on the tongue well after the swallow with a solid finish.  

Coiled Wines 2013 Dry Riesling

Winner Best White Wine. Coiled 2012 is 13.1% alcohol by volume and has less than 1% residual sugars, making it dry by definition.  It has floral fruity scents, particularly melon and citrus.  That fruitiness translates to the flavor which is wonderfully tangy with just a bit of acidic bite.  The strong finish clinches my A rating. Retails at $17.00.

 Sawtooth Estate Winery 2013 Classic Fly Series Cinsault Rose'

Winner Best Rosé.  Sawtooth Cinsault Rose' is 13.30% alcohol by volume, 95% Cinsault and 5% Muscat Blanc.  This is a dry delightful Rosé with a sweet strawberry-peach smell and vague floral notes.  Though it has definite fruit flavors, it is quite dry with a crisp mouthfeel and smooth finish.  Retails at $15.00.

I hope this inspires you to look for a little bit of Idaho in your next bottle of wine!

                                                          

Michelle Leonardson lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband Nick and giant dog, Lindsay.  She blogs about her favorite interests: wine, food, and do-it-yourself projects.  Connect with Michelle:

Website: http://winedinediy.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winedinediy1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WineDineDIY

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/1/+MichelleLeonardson/posts

The Desert Wine Guy - The Wineries Of Jerome Arizona

Passion Cellars

                                                                                                        
    Today's article is going to be about some small Wineries located in a small, tiny, kind of creepy, but yet nice town named Jerome Arizona. Jerome is located in the Black Hills of Yavapai County in Arizona. It is a 5 hour drive from Las Vegas and is 100 miles North of Phoenix. There will actually be a surprise ending to this review so read on. The town is actually built on the side of a Mountain and is 5,000 above sea level. It was built in the late 19th Century and when you arrive you will verify that this is accurate right away because it doesn't appear that anything has changed since then.....at all. There are actually three levels to the town and everything is within walking distance. There also seems to be this macabre fascination with The Day Of The Dead....all year long. Every shop you go into has Day Of The Dead memorabilia and from what I understand during Halloween the town explodes with activity. I guess that my daughter (A.K.A Angel Vineyard) and I are the last people to know about this town because when we arrived the town was very busy with plenty of Tourists walking around and shopping. One resident I talked to told me that the town was an "artsy town" and is well know for its artists and being "free spirited". On to the Wineries now.
   From what I saw there are actually 4 Wineries located in Jerome, this was a pleasant surprise because I had only heard of one being there. We visited all four wineries and they were all fairly  nice inside  and up to date. None of the Wineries grow any grapes in Jerome so don't expect to see any Vineyards. Two of the wineries are actually next door to one another and all are within walking distance from one another. All the wineries however seemed to be way overpriced and the wine for the most part was really nothing to speak of. I did however find a nice 2012 Black Hills Zinfandel at Passion Cellars http://passioncellars.com/ that I purchased for $27 . There was also a Winery located right next to Passion Winery. I actually don't recall the name of it (sorry by this time I was tired) but if you find Passion Winery you cant miss this one, as I said it's right next door. When we walked in I noticed there were wines lined up on the counter all of the 2004 vintage and when I talked to the person behind the counter who, by the way is also helping in Passion Winery he informed me that hey had just taken over for the owner who had owned the winery for a long time but injured himself and is selling off his wines. I tasted some of their wine and I decide to purchase the 2004 Echo Canyon Estate Syrah. This wine was one of only two wines that struck me as something more that ordinary and so I had to buy a bottle. The people working there also seemed to be the friendliest and more open to talk then the other two wineries. The other winery there that my daughter and I went to was Cellar 433. This places prices were crazy with wines starting in the high $20 range and topping out at $52, yes that's right $52 for a wine with grapes grown strictly in Arizona. The wine was nothing special and certainly not worth $52. To make matters even worse I believe there was a $12 tasting charge that was NOT given back if wine was bought and the glass was NOT yours to keep.  The other Winery was nice inside buy again they must have thought they were selling Gold or something because once again the prices were out of this world high.

Passion Cellars

   In finishing this article I wanted to say that I am in no way saying that Arizona can't grow great wine grapes or make great wines for that matter. What I am saying is that Arizona is not Napa or another area that is well known for it's wine and to charge from the high $20 up to $52 dollars for a wine, along with that kind of tasting fee and on top of that be stingy and not give a tourist a memento like a cheap glass is to me, crazy. By the way to be fair all the wineries in Jerome have what I think are high tasting fees and no free glass nor do the tasting fees go toward a purchase. I think this is without question out of line. Bottom line here is the drive is way to long for wine that for the most part is not that good along with prices that are way to high. Now for the surprise ending that I promised you. I definitely recommend that you visit the town and when you are there hit up Passion Cellars and the winery next door but hurry because when the wine they have is gone at the winery next to Passions it is gone and you must have the 2004 Estate Syrah. My Daughter and I had lunch at Bobby D’s Bar-B-Q Pit http://jeromechamber.com/businesses/bobby-ds-bar-b-q-pit/ and the service and food was AWESOME. We also had some Espresso drinks at The Flatiron http://jeromechamber.com/businesses/the-flatiron/ where the service was VERY friendly, the Espresso very good and the ladies were very pretty might I add. I recommend that you also visit this town for the experience there are some museums and some nice shops and the few people we talked to seemed to be friendly. The drive itself was long yes, but from Vegas it was surprisingly green with areas of lush rolling hills and there are small towns along the way to stop. The temperature actually averaged in the low to mid 80s and  was nice. O.k, here is the warning. The town is big on The Day Of The Dead and the town and goes nuts for Halloween, I think ill leave before night fall thank you. Just kidding, it is a nice place to spend the day.

Cellar 311

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                                                                                                                    The Desert Wine Guy

The Desert WIne Guy - Sanders Family Winery - Serenity White Table Wine Blend

  

Serenity White Table Wine

                                                   



Today's review is on a small boutique wine that I did a tasting on while visiting The Sanders Family Winery http://sanderswinery.com/ in Pahrump Nevada. Sanders Winery is a very small winery but manages to put out 6 wine varietals including a Cabernet Sauvignon as well as a Merlot. They also have a Cream Sherry and a Port. The Sanders Family Winery is owned by Jack Sanders who came to the Nevada from Napa, California. Jack did a lot of consulting work in marketing for Robert Mondavi as well as as BV (Beaulieu Vineyard) and others. Jack was also instrumental in having the law NRS 597.240 (Nevada Revised Statute) passed that bans the selling of wine that is made “on premise” in Washoe and Clark County. Only counties with 100,000 or fewer residents can host a winery. This was done because a popular casino owner was looking into opening a Winery in Las Vegas and he admittedly didn't want it interfering with his Winery. The Winery itself grows Zinfandel & Petite Sirah. Today's wine review is on a wine blend that Jack himself put together. Today's wine is the "Serenity" White Table Wine. Let's go ahead and see what the story is on this wine.
    The wine being reviewed today is a semi fruity white wine blend that doesn't take itself to seriously and I don't believe is meant to be. This wine knows it's place in the pecking order of wines and is content where it is, not looking to be anything it's not. What exactly is it's place you might ask. That place is Barbeques, Picknik and parties of all kinds. The wine takes you back to those special times when the weather was hot and the smells of the plants, fruits and pool were all that mattered. It is a perfect, and I do mean perfect Spring / Summer wine. Just how perfect is it? Read on and you will find out.
   Let's start at the wine in the bottle. Looking at the wine while it rests in the bottle it is almost clear but does exhibit a slightly pinkish, slightly yellowish appearance in color and with the appearance also of a nectar. To the nose it is simply Pear. simple and plain in bouquet but please don't let that fool you this wine has so much more to offer. The appearance is really not an indicator as to what is inside so again, don't be fooled. In the glass the wine is a light golden in color. Placing the wine in your mouth allows the fruit to mix together and might surprise you as to the different fruits you will taste. Peach hits the palette first followed by Pear and a Nectarine or two thrown in for good measure. There was also a taste of something I couldn't put my finger on and it bothered me. I had to sit on this review because that aspect of the wine had to be in this review simply because it was such an important part of the wine. Well I finally figured out what I was looking for, Jasmine. There is nothing heavy or a certain flavor that takes over the wine but the Jasmine is well placed here. The wine is balanced, subtle but has a fruitfulness to it and at the same time and has has a softness to it that I appreciated and "hits the spot" when the heat of the Summer is present. The wine finishes on your palette with a hint of acidity but goes down very easily and is noticed only as a positive aspect to this blended wine. The wine is more on the mellow side and while it is fruit forward simply by its nature it is not what I would call sweet or sugary. Here you have a wine that simply shows all it's card at once as a White Wine should. The wine doesn't open to anything other than what it is which is a simple, very good, on the fruity side wine.

Sanders Family Winery

                                                      


   Imagine. Here is what I imagine myself doing while drinking this wine. "Picture this if you will". The sun is setting on the beach. I am wearing a pair of soft, baggy White Linen, Ralph Lauren pants with the cuffs rolled up and a pair of Sandals (Ralph Lauren also)  on. A White Linen button down hanging loosely not tucked in of course. If the beach is not available I am wearing the same type of outfit with my feet hanging in the pool. I hope this gives a sense or feel of what this wine makes you want to do. This wine is all about relaxation, water and sun fun.
   In summary what we have here is a white wine blend from Jack Sanders and his Sanders Family Winery with Peach, Pear, Nectarine and to seal the deal we have Jasmine. Now there are many wines that have the combination of the first three but to have the Jasmine with that depth is rare and totally places this wine over the top. I normally don't like my wine cold or chilled but in this case it is a must. I would give it an hour in the fridge. I can imagine Jack just wondering thru the Vineyard one hot summer day and thinking this combination of a wine blend up then going into the winery and simply pouring different whites into a glass until he said "that is it, the perfect Summer wine". I'm sure there was a lot more to it but when you drink the wine those thoughts  popped into my mind. Go out before the Summer is over and try this wine. Find a Ralph Lauren store and a beach or a pool and live the Summer dream. 
   One last thing that I think will be of interest to those of you with kids and are worrying about bringing them to a Winery. I brought my two 4 year olds and Jack and his son welcomed them as he did my wife and I and as he welcomed everyone that came thru his Winery doors and that is like family. Yes this is a winery but Fruit Punch and Water were offered to my children and wife who doesn't drink. They were even invited to walk the Vineyards. Jack and his son treated my children as if they were adults who came to share the day with them. YES bring the kids. I also wanted to add one last thing. Jack and his sun were so open and willing to share their love of not just the wine they are making and selling but their love of the Vineyard as well. Jack took about a half hour to talk to me about my vines and actually looked at pictures of the vines and gave me tips on pruning and care for them. Jack actually drew diagrams for me on forming Cordons as well as other growing tips. Jack is a wealth of knowledge and is more that willing to share that knowledge.
   My rating on this wine is 92 points

Sanders Family Winery

                                                      

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                                                                                                                    The Desert Wine Guy