The Wine Knows - Idaho

NW winery search

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:55:00 -0400

Over the past few months, we've been working on a better way to provide information on Northwest wineries. Our old Web site had a searchable database, but it was difficult to maintain. Our new system will provide a way for site visitors to provide updates, which then will be easy for us to upload.

We know we're missing a fair bit of information in this first release, which is why we're counting on all of you to take a look at your favorite wineries and provide us with any updates you might have.

Take a look:

Constellation sells Columbia, Covey Run, Ste. Chapelle

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:08:24 -0400

Three of the Pacific Northwest's largest wineries have new owners.

Constellation, the world's largest wine company, sold several of its properties to newly formed Ascentia Wine Estates, including Columbia Winery, Covey Run Winery and Ste. Chapelle. All three were owned by Corus Brands before being sold to Constellation in 2001.

Breadth of Northwest Riesling production

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:17:53 -0400

One item of note as we prep for our Riesling competition this weekend: The noble white wine grape of Germany and Alsace is produced throughout the Pacific Northwest. In fact, I'm a bit amazed at how many various appellations are represented on wine bottles.

And the winner is ...

Fri, 02 May 2008 19:03:39 -0400

For the second consecutive year, a wine from British Columbia has won best of show at the annual Northwest Wine Summit. This year, however, the victorious wine was more "traditional."

The winner was Mission Hill Family Estate for its 2006 Select Lot Collection Riesling Icewine.

Mystery of Ste. Chapelle's Sparkling Riesling solved

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:03:54 -0400

Up here at Timberline Lodge, we ran into a bit of a mystery over Ste. Chapelle's Sparkling Riesling. On the bottle, it is listed as a nonvintage American wine.

Northwest Wine Summit Director Parks Redwine bet me $1 that it used California grapes, based on the fact that it says in small type on the back of the bottle: "Vinted & bottled by Ste. Chapelle, Madera, Calif."

Marketing works for, er, Snake River Valley wines

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 21:59:26 -0400

The other evening, I was pouring wines at a charity event. It's safe to say that most of the folks there did not know a lot about wine, so part of my job was to make it educational as well as entertaining.

I brought a couple of bottles from Sawtooth Winery near Nampa, Idaho. A woman came up to the table looking for a glass of red.

"How about a Syrah from Idaho?" I asked with enthusiasm.

Two superb reds from opposite spectrums

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:51:53 -0500

Two red wines I've tasted in the past three days have been especially remarkable.

Tasting Pinot Noir

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:10:38 -0500

Wine Press Northwest is tasting 133 Northwest Pinot Noirs today and Saturday. In the magazine's 10-year history, this is our third "big Pinot tasting" - and some of these Pinots are big.

Said one judge after the second flight: "Some of these folks sure aren't shy with the alcohols."

Inside Camas Prairie Winery

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:21:28 -0500

We recently caught up with Stu Scott, owner/winemaker for Camas Prairie Winery in Moscow, Idaho.

Stu is quite a character with a fascinating background. He makes a dizzying array of wines - everything from a Champoux Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon to a mead that uses Ethiopian hops (and it is really, really good). He also has an intriguing military history. All of these factored in when we selected Camas Prairie as our 2007 Idaho Winery of the Year.

New blog for Treasure Valley wine

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:58:11 -0500

I ran across a new blog that focuses on the area known as the Treasure Valley in southwestern Idaho, heart of the Idaho wine industry.

This is the first blog I've run across that focuses specifically on the food and wine of Idaho, so I'll definitely keep an eye on it.

Win copy of 'Northwest Wining & Dining'

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:49:41 -0500

We are giving away four copies of Braiden Rex-Johnson's latest book, Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining. Braiden, our longtime food-and-wine-pairing columnist, has penned a beautiful book that helps to further define Pacific Northwest cuisine, especially as it relates to Northwest wine country.

Platinum Judging results

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:10:39 -0500

Most wine publications have year-end top 100 lists, etc. We do it a little differently at Wine Press Northwest. We invite Northwest wineries to send their gold medal-winning wines to us, then we bring in top judges from around the country to evaluate them.

Idaho winery changes hands

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:33:19 -0400

The Winery at Eagle Knoll in Eagle, Idaho, has been purchased by a local businessman and developer.

The Winery at Eagle Knoll was Wine Press Northwest's 2004 Idaho Winery to Watch because of the high-quality wines it produced in its first couple of vintages.

Cruisin' for a bruisin'

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 18:50:34 -0400

One of the folks who works with us at Wine Press Northwest went on an Alaskan cruise recently on Princess. The ship left from Vancouver, B.C. When he got the wine list the first night at dinner, he was shocked and saddened - dare I say angry? - that no Northwest wines were offered.