Sawtooth Winery: A Quiet Oasis in the Desert

I was able to "go home" to Boise, Idaho for a week for Christmas and since it is usually a once a year event I try to pack in some fun activities. This year one of my sisters, my mom and I visited some near by Idaho wineries.  I had brought home a bottle of Virginia wine to share for the festivities, Pearamund's 2007 Ameritage actually, but I did not expect to bring home triple that in Idaho wines!

While there are only 33 vineyards in the state they've been producing wine since the 1970s after the prohibition shut down the earliest vineyards in 1919. As of 2007 the Snake River Valley was designated as Idaho's American Viticultural Area (AVA).*  Hailing for the Pacific Northwest I knew there were wineries in Idaho, and have tasted several of them, but never visited a winery until this winter. Unfortunately it was a very, very dry winter in Idaho so there was no snow to be found, not even on the foothills so the wineries looked very stark with their brown vines contrasting with brilliant blue skies. Every time I visit in the winter I am pleasantly reminded of how often they get sunshiny days in Boise.

Our first stop was to Sawtooth Winery in Nampa, about 30 minutes from Boise.  You've probably seen these wines around, mountains on the label with a fly fisherman, they can be found across the country. Unlike the DC metro area once we got out towards the winery we passed no one, not a single car. I started to wonder if we were going the right direction, but sure enough the signs started popping up and we were the only visitors.  The mainline tasting fee was $3 and the reserve tasting was $8, but waived with a purchase. We opted for the mainline tasting which included 3 whites and 5 reds. Our server was very friendly and poured their 2009 Chardonnay, 2010 Gewurztraminer with 2% rs, a not so sweet 2010 Riesling with 2% rs. Mom picked up a bottle of the Gewurztraminer and as I quickly learned she likes the sweeter wines.

For the reds she poured their 2010 Rose, 2006 Skyline Red (blend of Cab, Merlot, Syrah & Cab Franc), 2009 Merlot, 2009 Cab Sav that you could really taste the Bing cherry in, and 2009 Carmenere. My favorites were the last 3 and I walked away with the Merlot, which was almost a surprise to me, often times Merlots are too dry for my taste, but this one was great.  Overall the tasting went pretty quickly even though we chatted with our hostess for a bit. It usually doesn't work this way, but this first stop was my favorite of the day-wine, service & tasting room! If you are in southern Idaho, stop in, but don't worry when you start driving out towards the mountains surrounded by desolate vast fields, Sawtooth pops up like an oasis with great mountain views.

 *Idaho Wine Commission

Vines and Mountains from the tasting room

Cozy tasting room, there are tables behind me

Yes, this is a real road and yes, we had to take it to get to our next stop!