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HISTORY:
If you think Idaho's wine and
vineyard industry is part of the new
frontier in U.S. wine-growing areas, you probably will be surprised to
hear that the history of winemaking in the state
 dates back to at least 1865, as
evidenced by news stories of that year in The Idaho Statesman.
In fact, the first wineries in the Pacific Northwest actually were
located in Idaho.
In the year 1862, vines were
planted in the Clearwater Valley by two French and one German
immigrant, credited with bringing cuttings from Europe. The
expertise of these immigrants paid off, and by 1872 a thriving new region became known
nationally for its
wines, taking gold medals at expositions in Omaha, Buffalo, St. Louis
and Portland. At the 1898 Chicago World's Fair a Clearwater
River Valley wine won acclaim, and at the 1904 International
Exposition, a local wine placed second behind Chateau Cheval Blanc.
Those early beginnings halted
abruptly in 1919 when a state ban on the production of liquor was
enacted a full year earlier than passage of the federal Prohibition
Act of 1920 -- the United States' 18th Amendment to its Constitution.
The 13-year period that followed -- until the 1933 repeal of the
Prohibition Act -- shut down wine industries all across the country.
Most state wine industries rebounded quickly; Idaho struggled.
Anti-liquor attitudes remained prevalent within Idaho's state
government, no doubt influenced by a large, temperate population
of Mormons throughout the state.
In 1971 the seriously damaged industry began to
recover from its second handicap by gaining freedom from the
state-monopoly liquor stores. Wines could then be sold in food
outlets, and grape growing was re-established... this time along the
Snake River Valley in the
southern part of the state.
Ste Chapelle (now owned by
Canandaigua Wine Company) produced Idaho's
first commercial wines of the post-prohibition era in 1976, pioneering the re-emergence of
the state's
wine and vineyard industry. Following Ste Chapelle's lead, several other
wineries ventured into production during the1980s.
Today,
23 commercial wineries
are located in Idaho, with a possibility of three more within
the next year or two.
RESEARCH
Canyon County, where most of
the 2,000 vineyard acres of Idaho are located, now has two full-time wine scientists working out of the
University of Idaho Research and Extension Center in Parma.
Krista Shellie,
USDA-Agricultural
 Research Service viticulturist
who began work in 2001 on a wine-grape research project. The
focus of her work is on irrigation management of wine-grape vineyards. Food
technologist Jungmin Lee joined Shellie in 2004 and is currently analyzing factors that
influence the quality of wine produced from grapes grown in the
region.
"When an industry
becomes aware of the
potential contribution research can make, that awareness is a clear
step toward industry maturation," concludes Shellie.
"Recognizing the potential benefit for their industry, members of the industry organized to
request a research program. That took place before I got here."
Shellie's
position was created and authorized in 2000.
“The relatively low rainfall here means we must deal with fewer fungal
diseases
in our vineyards, but
irrigation must be done right,” she said. “My first research project
involves imposing different degrees of water stress on a small part of
a commercial merlot vineyard near here to see what happens to berry
composition and vine physiology.
“Historical
climate data, the formation of the Snake River Plain by a series of
lakes that filled and drained, plus volcanic action, all make this a
unique area. Idaho has a good story to tell,” Shellie said.
Lee's newer research
project, focused on wine and grape composition, will complement
Shellie's field studies. Hired by the University of Idaho Research and Extension Center in
Parma, Lee works from a laboratory, and she will be an important
component of the Wine Grape Program (established by Shellie in 2001). Lee,
who has a doctorate in food science and technology from Oregon State
University,
will investigate a range of factors that influence the quality of wine
produced from grapes grown in the Inland Northwest.
Although the Wine Grape
Program started in 2001, research on grapes best suited to Idaho's
Snake River Valley growing region began in 1997 when Essie Fallahi,
fruit physiologist at the University of Idaho's Parma Research and
Extension Center, started testing predominantly European grape
varieties acquired from a University of California-Davis foundation
block for their cold-hardiness, fruit quality, growth habits, and
irrigation and fertilizer needs. To date, Fallahi has tested 37
varieties in the University of Idaho's experimental vineyard.
Each year, even though there are only small lots harvested from the
vineyards, the grapes are made into wine. In 1999 this was done
by Brad Pintler, of Sawtooth Winery; in 2000 it was performed by Dick
Dickstein of Parma Ridge Winery, the next year it was taken over by
the A.R.S based at the Universtiy of Idaho, Parma. At the annual
meeting of the
Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Commission,
the wines are tasted and evaluated. The results of these evaluations
are made available to growers and assist in their decisions about
which varieties to choose for new plantings.
Sawtooth Winery winemaker
Brad Pintler and Skyline Vineyard's viticulturist Dale Jeffers are
evaluating the experimental varieties both in the field and in the
bottle. Pintler reports several varieties "have a lot of
potential," and that the reds malbec, petite verdot and petite syrah
"have a lot of color and really intense flavor." Among the white
grapes, Viognier is a standout for the Snake River Valley region.
Pintler says it has "incredible citrus and light tropical fruit
flavors."
All this research is bound to pay high dividends to Idaho and other
Northwest growers, helping them match their growing conditions to
their most promising varieties and rootstocks. Oregon and Washington states'
wine and vineyard industries have benefited dramatically from similar
research programs and experimental vineyards in the past and the
present.
There is every reason to believe Idaho will do likewise.
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