Idaho wine industry seeks its place in the sun

Article published Aug 28, 2006
by Joe Estrella @ Idaho Statesman

Idaho wine industry seeks its place in the sun
Federal AVA designation would recognize Snake River Valley's unique conditions

Idaho wine makers want to make the Snake River Valley as recognizable to wine aficionados as the Napa and Sonoma valleys in California.

For the last year, the Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Commission has been waiting for a decision from the U.S. Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau on whether a portion of Southwest Idaho — defined as the prehistoric Lake Idaho area — will be designated as Idaho's first-ever American Viticultural Area, or AVA.

An AVA designation, also called an appellation, would declare 8,263 square miles beginning outside of Twin Falls and ending just over the Oregon border as a region where geological, topographical and climate conditions produce grapes for wines with distinctive flavors that cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the United States.
"It (the AVA) would mean that the Snake River Valley would be known for grapes would have a unique characteristic, leading to wine that would have a unique personality," said Lloyd Mahaffey, owner of the five-acre Casa D'Aguila vineyard near Eagle, which expects to have its first production harvest next year. "And that would prove that Idaho is an up-and-coming wine-growing region."

Over the years, the government has issued 172 AVAs, including 93 in Cali-
fornia. They range from the 62-acre Cole Ranch AVA in Mendocino, Calif., to the 26,000-square-mile Ohio River Valley AVA.

The Snake River Valley appellation request encompasses 10 Idaho counties, including the cities of Hagerman, Glenns Ferry, Boise, Eagle, Caldwell, Nampa and Weiser. It reaches into two Oregon counties.

Wine production is relatively new to the Treasure Valley. Commission Chairman Brad Pitler said Ste. Chapelle opened the area's first winery in Emmett in 1982. Before that, the industry was centered around the Lewiston area, until Prohibition and the difficulty of growing grapes in a cold- winter climate put most operations out of business.
The commission filed its request a year ago. Approval can take 18 months to two years. That means the green light on Idaho's first AVA could come in early 2007, says Ron Bitner, former chairman of the wine commission.

Mahaffey said an AVA designation would also be a powerful marketing tool. The serious wine drinker is often drawn to a label indicating that a bottle of wine comes from an AVA, he said.
Wine industry officials in Washington, which has nine AVAs, including three added in the last year, say it's impossible to determine whether the appellations have been responsible for the industry's runaway growth in that state. But Robin Pollard, executive director of the Washington Wine Commission, said that since 1983, when the Yakima Valley became the state's first AVA, the industry has grown from 19 wineries to 400.

"An AVA clearly denotes a distinctive style and taste for your wines," Pollard said.

The economic impact
Idaho officials have already taken note of the Idaho wine industry's impact on the economy.

Tourism officials say wine-makers will play a big role in a promotional campaign the state is planning around the food and beverage industries, with an eye toward increasing Idaho's reputation as a destination stop for wine enthusiasts.
"We want to emphasize what the wine industry can add to the tourism experience," said Carl Wilgus, administrator of the Tourism Division at Idaho Commerce and Labor.

A 2002 study by the University of Idaho said the industry injected $40 million into the Idaho economy that year, including $20 million in the Treasure Valley.

"And there has been a lot of growth since then," said Pitler, who is general manager of the Sawtooth Winery south of Nampa.
The U of I study also found that 14 wineries and 900 acres of land devoted to growing grapes produced 165,000 cases of wine. By 2006, unofficial industry statistics indicate, the number of Idaho wineries has grown to 25 and acreage to 1,600. Production is estimated at 250,000 cases at 2.4 gallons per case.

The second time around
Bitner, who owns Bitner Vineyard in Eagle, said Idaho wine makers have been trying for an AVA for the Snake River Valley for five years.

An earlier application was sitting in Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's office when it had to be destroyed along with other potentially contaminated documents during the 2001 anthrax scare in Washington D.C., he said.

The delay in filing a second application was partially caused by the fact that it took a year for the government to inform the commission that its application had been destroyed, Pitler said. It took another two years for geoscientists at Boise State University to complete a study by designed to establish the Snake River Valley's grape-growing credentials once and for all.
"You have to show the feds why your region is distinct from other regions," Bitner said.

BSU professor David Wilkins said the study found that Idaho's grape-growing season is shorter than California's, but that brevity is offset by the state's longer and warmer summer days. The extended heat produces optimum sugar levels that account for the unique quality of Idaho wines and can't be duplicated elsewhere, he said.
He said the quality of Idaho grapes is also the direct result of the south-facing slopes in the Snake River Valley, where the grapes are planted. The southern exposure provides more direct sunlight, while the slopping ground allows cold air to drain away from the grapes, thereby preventing frost damage.

At times, Wilkins said, Idaho's cold winters can work to the industry's advantage.

"Because we have cold winters, we can produce what's called 'ice wine,'" he said. "You simply let the grapes stay on vine until later in the season, which produces high-sugar grapes that are then picked and processed while frozen. You couldn't do that in California. It's another way we benefit from our more variable climate."
The Snake River Valley's elevation of about 2,800 feet is better suited for operating a vineyard than drier, colder and windier areas of eastern Idaho, Wilkins said.

Meanwhile, Bitner said a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research speculates that the global warming problem could ultimately elevate wineries located in the northernmost part of the nation to a greater prominence. He said the study's conclusion that rising temperatures could scorch grapes in hotter climates means Idaho's grape crop would be even more valuable.