After my first wine tasting experience at Cinder at the end of March, where we liked three out of the four wines we tasted, I was eager to taste more local flavors. So hubby's first weekend off, one late May Sunday afternoon, armed with my GPS (I call my GPS Sandy which stands for Satellite Navigation Device: SND and my hubbys GPS is Emily which stands for Electronic Mother in Law: EML) my hubby and I journeyed into Idaho Wine Country. We were headed to one of the first Idaho Vineyards, Hells Canyon. We, well not really we but hubby, chose Hells Canyon because it is family owned and has a small wine bar. But like all things family, life is what happens when you are making other plans and we were bummed to discover that they were closed due to a family matter.
We were not to be deterred, after all, we were in Idaho Wine Country. After driving around with no clear destination for about thirty minutes, we finally realized Sandy was with us, which has a “Points of Interest” feature. After a quick u-turn we were headed towards our new destination, Sawtooth Winery.
Sawtooth is extremely impressive as you drive up the hill on the dirt road through the expansive vineyard. The building and grounds are extremely beautiful. There is a gazebo on the west side of the building surrounded by trees and roses. I immediately began to imagine all of the wonderful summer weddings they must host. We walked up the stairs to the tasting room and were greeted by a fabulous view of the Snake River Valley.
Sawtooth presented several tasting options: their Main Line, their Reserves, and a Chocolate Pairing. Still new to wines, we chose their standard selections. I have to say we were disappointed. I felt bad being in this beautiful location and feeling like I really wanted to enjoy the wines, but just couldn't. I did, however, buy a bottle of their Late Harvest, a terrific sweet dessert wine, that I knew would pair nicely with a peach cobbler. That's how I know I like a wine, I start to imagine the food I can't wait to serve it with.
We couldn't end our first journey into Idaho Wine Country feeling disappointed so we conferred with Sandy and found another winery nearby, Indian Creek.
Like Hells Canyon, Indian Creek is one of the original family owned wineries in Idaho. The grounds are beautiful, perfect for a picnic. The tasting room at Indian Creek is extremely inviting, it's like walking into a friends house. We were greeted by Tammy Stowe-Mclure, the daughter of the Indian Creek founders Bill and Mui Stowe, the tasting room general manager. Her husband Mike is the wine maker. We were also greeted by Dalia Dog, a very friendly four legged member of the Indian Creek family. Tammy is a wealth of wine knowledge. She walked us through all of her wines, I could imagine an entire feast with her wines, and she gave us a history lesson on the vineyards in the area. I was so impressed with Tammy and the Indian Creek wines I joined the “WineThirty” club and purchased an entire case of wine at a discount of course because I was now a member. I was also excited to learn that my membership included free entry to their upcoming Happy Pappy Day celebration (I'll tell you about that experience soon).
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