A visit to Cinder

Welcome to Cinder
Photo by Meg McKenzie

I was pumped about visiting Cinder. Despite its somewhat off-putting name, I had heard many tales of wonder about winemaker Melanie Krause, who makes award-winning wine for Huston Vineyards as well as her own label. I knew that she was a chemist and had been described as "very shy" but that her outgoing husband Joe had personality enough for two.

Naturally, according to the unwritten rules of my wine quest (so far), by the time I got to the unprepossessing warehouse off Chinden Boulevard, Cinder was closed. In fact, after driving around back to scope things out, I almost spent the night there, since a woman (Angie Reff from Periple, the adjacent winery at the front of the building, it turned out) was just locking the gates.

The following weekend I returned, just in time to see a big black party bus roll up. Great, I thought grouchily, not looking forward to an elbowing shoving match a la the ever-popular Ste. Chapelle tasting room. But luck (sort of) was on my side this time, as the party bussers trooped in to Periple first, leaving me with the lovely Cinder tasting room all to my little self.

Don't let the industrial vibe fool you.
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Let me say this: It's one of the most compelling tasting rooms I have ever been in. Beautifully and dramatically lit, it had a soaring ceiling and a concrete-y SoHo gallery kind of feel, but with rustic French oak barrels, wine racks and workers' galoshes lining the walls instead of avant-garde artwork. Two attractive, blonde pourer-people, Kristen Laurence and Adele Nyqvist, welcomed me with friendly smiles and talked knowledgeably about the various wines that Melanie had crafted. Alas, however, neither Melanie nor Joe was there, which bummed me out. But the delicious wine almost made up for it. I wasn't feeling the dry rose, but immediately warmed to the dry Viognier, which is aged in steel tanks, as opposed to the off-dry Viognier, which is aged in new French oak.

While I was tasting, we chatted. Melanie, Kristen told me, attended Washington State University and had worked at Ste. Michelle, the ne plus ultra winery of Washington state. I also tried her Cabernet Merlot blend, which has won a bunch of awards and was very good but up there in price (for poverty-stricken types like myself) at $27 a bottle.

Not the winemaker, but friendly pourer Kristen Laurence
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Next-door, I could hear the party bus people being herded out for their attack on Cinder, so Adele took the opportunity to show me around the wine-making room, which was enormous and very interesting. I felt like I was being taken backstage, which was a very nice feeling indeed.

Cinder

107 E. 44th St.

Garden City, ID 83714

joe@cinderwines.com; (208) 407-4347

Owners: Melanie Krause and Joe Schnerr

Winemaker: Melanie Krause

The party bus has arrived!
Photo by Meg McKenzie

☻☻☻☻- Located a stone's throw from downtown Boise, down a tree-lined lane (East 44th Street) just off the mishmash of commerce that is Garden City, Cinder Winery appears to be a shabby, weird warehouse on its face. But once you climb up the metal steps and step into the tasting room, it's like entering another world. Beautiful! Even though the winemaker was MIA, the pourers were so charming and affable, it almost made up for my disappointment. Plus the wines are really very good. No tasting fee. Open Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. (One grape deducted for absence of winemaker/owner and for having extremely limited hours; otherwise, it's a full-on five-grape experience).

A visit to St. Chapelle Winery

Vineyards (above) and tasting room
Photos by Meg McKenzie

My first visit to Ste. Chapelle was back in June. My expectations were high: “Have you been out to Ste. Chapelle?” new acquaintances would invariably ask me when I told them I was a bit of a grape head. And this, after all, was the winery that put Idaho on the wine map (it's not the first in Canyon County but puts out the largest number of cases per year, topping 150,000). Thus it was with mounting excitement that I turned at the sign that said “Ste. Chapelle, ½ mile” and, in my usual fashion, found myself in somebody’s backyard on the edge of a field. Duh, I realized too late: The sign meant it was ½ mile straight ahead, not to the right. So I took the scenic route, bumping along through rutted orchard roads to come in through the back door, so to speak.

Be prepared for a bit of a wait (and this was a slow day!)
Photo by Meg McKenzie

The arched iron sign was a welcome sight indeed – and very grand, as was the large, octagonal building at the top of the hill. A gurgling waterfall next to the entrance, which was decorated with an arbor loaded with grapevines, were two nice touches. Inside it was high-ceilinged, cool and dim, with the chapel theme apparent from the stained glass windows and rather hushed atmosphere.

But the tasting bar was crowded about three deep, and once I elbowed my way in, it was hard to flag down a pourer to give her my five bucks so I could get my keepsake wineglass and start the tasting. After I had established a rapport with one of the three ladies behind the bar, however, she came by pretty regularly.  

I kept to my regimen of dry whites moving down to Cabernet. Problem was: Ste Chapelle’s wines were so sweet and oaky (at least the ones I was tasting) it was hard to clear my palate for the next pour. I finally asked if they had any crackers, and a bowl of pretzels was produced, which the other tasters descended upon eagerly. I will say this: At around $7-$9 a bottle (depending upon whether you’re a wine club member), the wines are fairly priced. But, chapel theme aside: A divine wine experience? Not really.

A mellow crowd enjoys a Sunday concert at Ste. Chapelle
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Deciding to give Ste. Chapelle another shot, I returned on a Sunday to see whether the concerts I’d been promoting in the Events section of my blog were any good. The music runs from 1 to 4 p.m., and I got there around 3. I paid the $10 admission at the iron gate and got a tasting menu worth $5 at the winery. At the top of the hill, the huge parking lot was full to bursting. The band was taking a break but some rock music played from the speakers on stage, and the large crowd seemed mellow and having a good time. It was about 100 degrees on this hot, sunny July afternoon, but the large trees shading the natural outdoor amphitheater on the side of the hill did a good job of cooling things off. I took my tasting menu over to a busy concession stand that was selling beer, soda and wine, but learned that to get my free tastes, I’d have to climb further up the hill to the main building. 

"Going to the chapel..."
By Meg McKenzie

Which I did. It was packed inside, five deep this time. I waited to get up to the bar while chatting with a cute young couple from Boise who had obviously tasted a lot of wine already. When it was my turn I realized, again, that most of the wines were too sweet for me. But lots of people were buying bottles, so I guess I was in the minority. Afterward, I went back down to watch folks dancing to the soft rock that a local oldies band was playing, but I felt no need to stay after the song ended.

Ste. Chapelle Winery
19348 Lowell Road
Caldwell, ID 83607

www.stechapelle.com

mary.sloyer@ascentiawinesestates.com

Owner: Ascentia
Winemaker: Maurine Johnson

View from the winery
Photo by Meg McKenzie

☻☻☻ Ste. Chapelle is the biggest and best-known winery in Idaho, selling 160,000 cases a year. Its prices are the lowest in town and the quality is predictable. Not to say that their vineyard isn’t beautiful, but the ownership by Ascentia in California/Washington seems to imbue a certain, shall we say, lack of intimacy to the proceedings. The Sunday concerts are probably a lot of fun if you go with a friend, a lover, or a large family gathering (and a designated driver!). A picnic lunch can be purchased onsite for $8. Also for sale: Coors in the can ($2), bottles of microbrew ($3) and glasses of wine ($7). You can bring your own food but not alcohol (though the guy sitting in the lawn chair at the gate didn’t exactly search the car). Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. You can book a tour of the cellars by appointment.

September update: Seems Ste. Chapelle is shaking things up, with the (late-August '11) exit of longtime winemaker Chuck Devlin and ascent (no pun intended) of longtime assistant winemaker Maurine Johnson. Looking forward to what happens next at this granddaddy of all Idaho wineries!

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

A visit to Sawtooth Winery

Up rustic Surrey Lane to Sawtooth
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Ah, Nampa. I’d been putting off visiting the Nampa and Kuna wineries for a while because, judging by the map, it seems as though they are far apart and out in the middle of nowhere. And you know what? This time, the map did not lie.

Of course, I managed to get kind of lost several times in my quest to reach Sawtooth Winery. After exiting off I-84 at Garrity Boulevard, and blundering down Nampa’s quaint cowtown-like main street (2^nd Street), I headed south for many miles, which reminded me of my marathon journey to 3 Horse Ranch, except in the opposite direction, and instead of acres and acres of hills, there was acre upon acre of farmland (though at least there were no vultures circling this time). 

I missed the left turn for Missouri but found my way back, and soon the orange-and-white sign beckoned for Sawtooth down Skyranch and then Surrey Lane, which is a dirt road going up a hill with vegetables and then grapevines lining it. As I bemoaned the wash and wax my car had recently enjoyed, I did thrill to the sight not only of the onions and carrots of the tenant farmers, but also of tiny green grapelets forming on the vines. There are a lot of grapes here; I had already learned that Sawtooth (and its associated vineyard, Skyline) produces grapes for a lot of area wineries, including the big dog Ste. Chapelle, and while started in the '80s by local legend Brad Pintler, it is now owned by Seattle's Precept Brands.

Tiffany assists a guest at Sawtooth Winery in Nampa
Photo by Meg McKenzie

The winery building was reminiscent of Koenig, a few miles to the north, with its balcony of chatting guests, sign-in table and stairway to heaven, so to speak. At the top, a granite tasting bar confronted me, along with Angie and Tiffany, two of the sweetest gals I have ever met. The room itself is decorated with Sawtooth merch, and has a view, to the south, of the surrounding fields; to the north, of the fermenting tanks; to the east, a barn and machinery; and to the west, the wedding venue, with its attractive gazebo, rose garden and antique streetlamp. It must be a popular setting, as several engaged couples trooped through for tours while I was there. Though I must add I was there a lot longer than I planned to be – simply because it was so pleasant.

I was in a chatty mood, so when she could shut me up, Tiffany presented me with a double-sided menu: the $3 “mainline” tasting, and on the back, the $8 “reserve.” Of course, I went for the mainline wines, reasoning that these were the bottles I would be able to afford in the supermarket – and I had already established that Sawtooth wines (named for a nearby mountain range) were available at Albertsons, the chain that dominates Boise.

Entrance to the Sawtooth "chateau"
Photo by Meg McKenzie

After I paid my three bucks, the wines started coming, and kept coming! In all, there were eight tastes of wines that ranged from $8 to $13 a bottle (the reserve range is $15-25). Of course the tasting price is refundable with a purchase. My favorite of the whites was a fruity Muscat Blanc, which had huge citrus aromas and was as sweetly refreshing as lemonade. And of the reds, the 2008 Cabernet hit all the right fruity, spicy notes (though of course it was the last wine I tasted and I was feeling pretty good by then). The accompanying bowls of herbed popcorn helped with palate- and head-clearing.

Though he wasn't there to talk to, the current winemaker (since 2009) is Bill Murray (not the actor, Tiffany hastened to say). It was so sunny and relaxed on the Saturday I visited, I ended up chatting at the bar with a couple from Eagle who sprang for the Reserve menu and seemed to be doing a wine tour that day. I learned a little more than I needed to about her impending first grandchild and his feelings on the subject, but it also spiced up the day. As I left, Tiffany (who though hailing from Texas seems to know a lot about Idaho wines) invited me to wander around the vineyards and take as many pictures as I wanted. Which I did.

The rose garden
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Sawtooth Winery
13750 Surrey Lane
Nampa, ID 83686
www.sawtoothwinery.com; 208-467-1200

Founder: Brad Pintler

Owner: Precept Brands of Seattle
Winemaker: Bill Murray

☻☻☻☻ If only I didn’t take so long to get there, I’d award Sawtooth the full 5 grapes. The pourers were excellent -- Angie was busy leading tours for the wedding customers, but both young ladies were warm and welcoming. The wines were uniformly good, and at $3 for eight pours, and with gently priced bottles, are a bargain. Though owned by a big conglomerate, it doesn't read "commercial vineyard." Wandering through the orderly rows of grapes was, for me, like going to Disney World -- I got to see what Chardonnay and Merlot look like in their infancy. Set at the top of a hill, the winery looks like a fun place for a wedding, though the dirt road is a bit of a serious bummer if you've just washed your car. Open Tuesday-Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

Ratings go from one grape (poor) to five (excellent) and are based on a winery's accessibility, ambiance, overall experience and, of course, the wines.

A visit to Syringa Winery

Welcome to Syringa
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Why does this Sauvignon Blanc have to be so gosh-darn good? The 2008 vintage took a bronze in the state competition, and you can see why: it’s light, flowery and downright tasty. But why does Wine Girl seem so grumpy about this fact? Because of her visit to the Garden City tasting room, that’s why! 

The whole Syringa experience is a bit of a paradox: Named for the beautiful state flower, the tasting room sits on an ugly stretch of Chinden Boulevard among the used car lots and convenience stores just west of Boise. So it’s close and convenient to downtown, with ample parking. But loaded with vineyard ambiance and charm? Not so much.

Owner/winemaker Mike Crowley
Photo by Meg McKenzie

I stopped by on a Thursday afternoon about an hour after the tasting room opened, and walked in on owner Mike and his retail manager, Ina, having lunch with a friend at one of the tables out front. Oops. They hastily reconnoitered behind the counter, and then we all dealt with the fact that I had come unprepared with a five-dollar bill to pay for the tasting. I smoothed over the awkwardness by agreeing to buy a bottle – because, in fact, after tasting the Sauvignon, I wanted some more. At $16, it wasn’t cheap, but not crazy expensive, either.

The Chinden Blvd. ambience
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Mike told me the grapes were sourced from the Snake River Valley, but wasn’t much more forthcoming than that. In fact, I felt like I was keeping him from checking his iPhone messages, which he did the whole time I wasn’t trying to converse with him. 

Mike gave me a sample of the Fume Blanc, which tasted kind of sour after the sweet notes of the Sauvignon (though the wine course tells you they are the same wine, apparently they're not). I guess since I had already committed to buying a bottle of white, it wasn’t deemed practical to open a bottle of red for me. So I can’t report on Mike's Cab, his Merlot or any of his other red blends. 

According to his website, Mike has a degree in enology and viticulture and makes the wines himself. Syringa, it says, was conceived out of his love “for wine, for winemaking and the winemaker lifestyle,” whatever that is. Ina said the tasting room has been open about a year. You can find Syringa wines at some local grocery stores, including Fred Meyer and the Albertsons on ParkCenter.

Owner/winemaker: Mike Crowley
Retail manager: Ina R. De Boer 

Syringa Winery
3500 Chinden Blvd.
Garden City, ID 83714
208-433-1616
www.syringawinery.com

☻☻☻ Syringa gets points for being close to town and for having a nice Sauvignon Blanc. But I didn’t get a good warm feeling from my tasting room experience – in fact, I felt like I was bothering the owner and store manager after I interrupted their lunch. I was offered tastes of only two wines, both white, even after I bought a bottle. I wanted to tell Mike, “Dude, you’re representing the Idaho wine industry here!” Open Thursday and Friday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. $5 tasting fee.

Ratings range from 1 grape (poor) to five (excellent) based on accessibility, ambiance, tasting room experience and, of course, the wines.

A visit to Huston Vineyards

The tasting room at Huston Vineyards
Photo by Meg McKenzie

Driving up to the tasting room at Huston's takes you down the lovely country roads of Caldwell, where in summer the scent from the mint fields is intoxicating. Signage brings you down the improbably named Chicken Dinner Road to a 1920s farmhouse and a windowless corrugated tin shed, which at first did freak me out a little.

"Watch your step," Mary Alger called out as my eyes took a minute to adjust from the bright sunlight to the dim, air-conditioned coolness of the wine room and I stepped over a raised sill.

Once I acclimated myself, though, I found myself in great company, drinking some nice, bright wines and having a conversation with Mary as though we'd known each other for years. With her porcelain doll features and friendly manner, she's a lovely host.

Huston Vineyards owner Mary Alger
Photo by Meg McKenzie

She told me the amazing story of how she and her husband, Gregg, and their two kids came to live out on the Huston farm (Huston being a tiny hamlet in Canyon County). Mary and Gregg are both from Meridian and grew up on farms. But they were helped into wine growing by the real estate boom. As Mary tells it, one day a man knocked on their door in Boise, where they lived on 6 acres, and made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. It allowed them to live their dream of working the land and giving their sons Jacob and Joshua the rural childhood they had wanted for them. 

They own 32 acres. Gregg attended viticulture classes remotely from OSU at Treasure Valley Community College. 

Unbelievably, their first vintage of 100 cases of Private Reserve Red, which came out last year, won a double gold at a Wine Press Northwest competition. Which attests to the skills of their winemaker, Cinder's Melanie Krause.

Entrance to Huston's
Photo by Meg McKenzie

They grow Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah. They source the white grapes for their Chicken Dinner White from Skyline, one of the biggest vineyards in the area. Their barrels are new oak, new American and new French.

I tried their Chicken Dinner White ($16, excellent), Chicken Dinner Red ($18, a blend of the Cab, Merlot and Syrah) and Reserve Merlot ($27, outstanding). Mary explained that the youngness of the vine creates the thinness of the wine. And I've gotta say, that Chicken Dinner Red is pretty thin -- what some might term an entry-level wine.

 

They age their Merlot in New American oak. The grape loves the hot days, and gives it a big fruity jam, Mary said, and the tannins develop during the cool nights. The grapes in that wine are 30 percent grapes from the nearby Skyline, Sawtooth and Williamson vineyards.

Huston Vineyards
16473 Chicken Dinner Road
Huston, ID 83630
(208) 861-8511
www.hustonvineyards.com

Owners: Gregg and Mary Alger

Winemaker: Melanie Krause

☻☻☻☻

Easy to find, Mary is fabulous, and the wines are good. The tasting room is cool and comfortable. A boutique experience, not high-volume. Take your time getting across the tire-crunching gravel parking area. Limited hours, open only Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 5. No tasting fee.

Rating system goes from 1 grape (poor) to five (excellent) based on accessibility of vineyard, ambience, and of course the wines.