Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/91577
winters are surprisingly mild, summers are hot. Our water source is right here next to us, the mountains. I think it's absolutely beautiful for growing wine specifically." The veteran winemakers have stayed. After spending 11 years as the quality control supervisor and enologist and another stint as assistant winemaker, Maurine Johnson, a beloved wine- maker in the region, was promoted to head winemaker at Ste. Chapelle in August 2011. Meanwhile, families that started winemaking in the early 1980s, like the Indian Creek Winery, are seeing the second generation take over business operations. They have also diversified, such as the Koenig Vineyards making vodkas and eau-de-vies. "We have a very bright future in Idaho wine," Johnson pronounces. In May, Ste. Chapelle was purchased by Precept Wine, whose ownership of Skyline and Sawtooth vineyards in Idaho provides much of Ste. Chapelle's fruit. Producing the majority of the state's wine, Ste. Chapelle sells about 130,000 cases a year and is available in all 50 states. Riesling is the winery's most widely known varietal, and Johnson says she's disappointed Syrah doesn't sell better. "I make wine Krista Shellie is a USDA research horticulturist who is looking for answers on mak- ing Idaho an even better place to grow grapes. for our local market first," she says. "Gewürztraminer doesn't sell because people can't pronounce it, and this market likes sweet wine." But that is changing. The investment of Precept has brought wider interest in the area's wine industry. And as Idaho emerges, so does the science evidencing its viticultural strengths, with the USDA holding experimental trials in Sawtooth Vineyard's select plots. Dr. Krista Shellie, a USDA research horticulturalist, is study- ing the Riesling trellis system by comparing the minimally pruned, spur-positioned, high cordon with the common industry standard of vertical shoot positioned, spur-pruned, bilateral cordon. She's also experimenting with a dozen grape varieties, from Graciano and Grüner Veltliner to Aleatico and Montepulciano. Amid about ten inches of rain a year at 3,000-feet elevation, Idaho does not yet have phylloxera, and it is Shellie's mission to find answers that can lead Idaho to grow grapes better. "It's a process," she says. Friends As in the first days of Napa Valley, Idaho winemakers don't look at each other as competitors. They let each other borrow equipment, share winemaking ideas and even tell wine writers about other wineries, despite the possibility of hindering their own exposure. "When you look at a young wine region, there is camaraderie with friends. It's very open as far as shar- ing ideas and being very helpful," Murray says. "If Melanie called me in the middle of the night and needed something brought in to help her out with her wines, I'd do it in a heartbeat. She'd do it for me, too." november 2012 / the tasting panel / 103