A visit to St. Rule winery

St. Rule's tasting room is off the beaten track in Weiser
Photo by Meg McKenzie

St Rule … St. Regulus … Seventh Son … Fiddlers Three … I look at the variety of labels on the bottles lined up on the bar in Judy Rule’s compact but comfortable tasting room far off the beaten track in Weiser, and wonder which wine I should try, as Judy’s corkscrew hovers nearby. 

I decide to go with this year’s model, a 2009 Syrah with an impressive-looking neo-Gothic St. Rule winery label. It’s a great choice, it turns out. Fruity, bold, with some kick to it … in fact, I might even go so far as to say it's the best Syrah I’ve ever had. Not that I've had that many: It’s a varietal that has always struck me as the shy half-sister to the big, deep Cabernet. In less-assured hands, it’s a grape that, dare I say, seems almost weeny. But this wine, I love. 

The Rules – Judy and husband, Dave, have run the winery in Weiser, a good hour’s drive northwest of Boise, for the past three years – don’t grow their own grapes, though St. Rule sits in the middle of farming country. Instead, they use the time-tested product of the Snake River vineyards of Caldwell and Nampa. And they don’t use oak barrels. As Judy generously shows me around their property, I stare at the  huge, white, cylindrical objects. What are they? 

Judy Rule with her lineup of wines
Photo by Meg McKenzie

  “These are our patented fermenters,” Judy tells me. As we pass through the enormous shed, several workers are retrofitting a tank for a customer. Judy seems more relaxed showing me the molds, the tanks and various machines they use in their business, than she had in the tasting room. Like most winemakers in southwestern Idaho, the Rules have a second -- "real" -- job. Creating the stainless/polyethylene tanks with patented refrigeration process in the plant behind the tiny tasting room pay the bills that the wines don't. And chances are, if you drop in unannounced -- or even if you call ahead -- you'll find a handwritten note on the door telling you to call Judy "and I'll be there in 2 minutes." In fact, she was there in under one. But don't expect to drop by on a weekend. Judy's only nearby when St. Regulus Fermenting is open during the week.

Exterior of the tasting room
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Another problem is the lack of signage. Though the Rules are less than a mile off U.S. 95, the main north-south highway in Idaho, regulations don't let them erect a sign unless it's on their own land, Judy says. In addition, the map provided by the Idaho Wine Commission has you getting off at the wrong exit,
leading you on a time-consuming detour through the farms of Payette and Fruitland. Judy talks about putting up sandwich boards out by the highway, "but the county keeps removing them."

And about all those labels? Judy said that the Fiddlers one was created to sell wines at the big bluegrass fiddle festival that basically put Weiser on the map. The St. Regulus one was an early, homemade effort that effectively kept the Rules' wine off state liquor store shelves -- "I guess they thought it didn't look professional enough," Judy says. 7th Son was a collaboration with a local winemaker who went out of business. And the St. Rule label occurred just as the Rules were preparing to sell the winery -- a sale that fell through at the last minute. 

It's something you can tell knocked the wind out of Judy and Dave Rule's sails. Asked if her wines are available elsewhere, Judy says she's not sure. It's a shame. At $16 a bottle, that big, earthy Syrah is a revelation.

St. Rule Winery
407 River Dock Road
Weiser, ID 83672
(208) 549-8040, (208) 739-0231

Just look for the big white tanks
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Owners: Judy and Dave Rule
Winemaker: Dave Rule

☻☻☻☻  It's a long haul to get to Weiser from Boise (about an hour), but since the St. Rule winery is right off U.S. 95, it's convenient if you're coming back from parts north. Just remember to take a right off Airport Road (going south), because there isn't a sign to guide you, thanks to weird federal laws, apparently. The tasting room is tiny with zero atmosphere, but is nice and cool thanks to a cranking air-conditioner, and Judy Rule is a sweetheart, enthusiastically opening bottles for you to try. The wines are good, too. Open Monday-Friday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Ratings are based on one grape for poor to five (excellent), and are awarded for accessibility, ambiance, overall experience and of course, the wines.

A visit to Fujishin Family Cellars

Fruit and wine for sale at Fujishin's
Photo by Meg McKenzie

I visited Fujishin Family Cellars – OK, some big-city snobs MIGHT mistake it for a fruit stand, but they’d be foolish to zoom by on Sunny Slope Road (aka Route 55) in their haste to get to Ste. Chapelle. 

Entering the produce stand, which is owned by Robison Fruit Ranch, you dodge crates of peaches and pears to get to the counter along the back, which is manned by Martin Fujishin and his girlfriend Teresa’s daughter, who’s helping out for the day. Through an open door, you spy farm machinery in the barn adjoining the 65-year-old building. It’s all so quaint and, well, basic: Can the wine be any good?

Martin Fujishin, high-tech and Old School at the same time
Photo by Meg McKenzie

As Rachael Ray would say: Yum-oh! Martin fills you in on his background as you swoon your way through a pour of his 2008 Reserve Merlot (retailing for about $22). Unlike the Algers down the road, who lucked into starting Huston's Vineyard by scoring big in the real estate boom, Martin’s story truly is a Horatio Alger one.

As his countenance suggests, he’s a blend of heritages: of Japanese, German, French and Norwegian stock. After farming for six years, the Oregon native seems to have done it all in the local wine world: being tasting room manager at nearby Koenig Winery and Distillery for three years, running the harvest crews at Williamson’s and helping out at Bitner Vineyards up the road. He says his tasting room experience taught him what sells, and working in the fields educated his palate and his eye. Now he can choose grapes for his own label, which he started in 2009, as he directs the hand-picking for other wineries.

Fujishin/Robison's front porch
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Like most knowledgeable vintners, he took viticulture and enology classes through UC-Davis (he also has a degree in business from the College of Idaho), and now teaches others at Treasure Valley Community College, which recently celebrated its first student to get his AA in viticulture (the program also offers a 1-year certificate).  

Martin’s easygoing, knowledgeable manner suggests he’s probably a popular teacher. It also has helped him to forge important alliances in the insular wine world of southwest Idaho. He belongs to a group of Sunny Slope winemakers, which meets for breakfast once a week to figure out how to promote their vineyards. Festa, the September event that I heard about from Ron Bitner and Beverly Williamson, is one fruit of their brainstorming. And for the past two years, he's been managing the stand for Robison's, affording him an ideal venue with which to reach potential wine customers. 

Martin’s wines include Viognier, Syrah, Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer and range in price from around $14 up to $21.95 for the reserve labels.

 Fujishin's award-winning wines
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Fujishin Family Cellars
15593 Sunnyslope Road
Caldwell, ID 83607
(208) 649-5389

www.fujishinfamilycellars.com

 

Owner/Winemaker: Martin Fujishin

 

☻☻☻☻

A rustic low-key atmosphere, which is welcome after the high-pressure temple of the grape up at Ste. Chapelle. But as he shares the space with Robison’s farm stand, Martin Fujishin’s open-air business doesn’t encourage much dallying (there’s nowhere to sit except out on the porch). But Fujishin’s approachable manner – and his equally approachable wines – make up for that lack. Open Tuesday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the summer. No tasting fee.

Ratings are from 1 grape (poor) to five (excellent) based on accessibility of vineyard, ambiance, and of course the wines. 

A visit to Williamson Vineyards

Williamson is unique in the AVA, in that it grows grapes for its own wines but also supplies them to 11 other wineries, in addition to growing cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, nectarines and apples. Though they have hundreds of acres of orchards, 42 acres are devoted just to grapes:Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Sangiovese (Italian, used for Chianti), Mourvedres (a red grape used in blending, mainly in Australia and New Zealand), Petite Syrah, Riesling and Viognier.

When I visited, I chatted with tasting room manager Beverly Williamson. Friendly, candid and down-to-earth, she was very generous with her time.

Beverly Williamson, co-owner of Williamson Vineyards.
Photo by Meg McKenzie

"Idaho," she said, "became known for Riesling, a varietal from the Rhone Valley, because the wine industry grew up in the Seventies, when that was a popular wine. The new favorite is Viognier, for which the Snake River AVA has the perfect growing temperatures. I would call it 'the new Chardonnay.' Skyline also grows it, as do the Koenigs and us."

According to Beverly, the member wineries of the Snake River AVA (which was approved only in 2007, work together, sometimes even trading grapes and services. The Williamsons own one of the few grape harvesters in the region, and the Koenigs one of the few de-stemmers and crushers.

Entrance to the tasting room.
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Beverly explained that one reason Idaho wines may be relatively unknown is because of the taxes and fees that other states charge, starting in the 1990s, to sell wine there. The hardest states to crack? Kentucky (the bourbon lobby) and New Jersey, for some imaginable reason. She said Williamson has been trying to sneak into the Ketchum/Sun Valley area, and has had some success in the Coeur D’Alene/Sandpoint lake district 400 miles to the north.

In addition to making and selling wine, the Williamsons broker their fruit all over the world. One surprising customer is in Thailand: The white-flesh peaches are popular there during their local moon festival -- "I guess because they look like moons," Beverly said.

An Idaho tradition
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Beverly is a fourth-generation Williamson. She graduated from the University of Idaho with a marketing and graphic arts degree and designed the labels. Her brother Mike went to horticulture school and manages the vineyard.

Of the wines I tasted at Williamson, the 2009 Viognier ($15 a bottle) was my favorite.

Williamson Orchards & Vineyards
19692 Williamson Lane, Caldwell, ID 83607
(208) 459-7333 www.willorch.com

Owners: Roger, John, Mike, Beverly Williamson
Winemaker: Greg Koenig

☻☻☻☻☻ Points for a nice wine-tasting experience, the good wine, the winery's accessibility (right off Route 55 (Sunny Slope Road, going toward Marsing) and its plentiful hours. No tasting fee. Gently priced wines. Closed Sunday, open pretty much every other day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (till 4 p.m. on Saturday). Visiting Williamson’s is literally like going down on the farm – the look is rustic, turn-of-the-century barnyard, and you have to dodge Lexuses coming at you on the one-lane road to the tasting room/fruit stand. But it’s definitely worth a visit. Located in a narrow space inside an actual working barn (watch out for that forklift!) and across from the tree-shaded produce stand, the tasting room is nevertheless cool and comfortable with high-top tables, a granite pouring bar and soothing green-painted walls. If you’re lucky, the manager, Beverly, will be there.   

My ratings are on a scale of one grape (poor) to five grapes (excellent) and based on my overall experience, the winery's accessibility and the wines.