Owner/winemaker Craig Davis was inspired to enter the Idaho wine industry after a trip to Italy, which also helps explain the menu of wood-fired pizza that he offers to his by-appointment visitors each weekend at his Sunnyslope estate along Frost Road west of Ste. Chapelle. Beyond his Sangiovese program - which earned best-of-class acclaim at the 2023 Cascadia International - … [Read more...] about Kindred Vineyards & Winery 2021 Mamas Merlot, Snake River Valley $36
Idaho
Koenig Vineyards NV Riesling Ice Wine, Snake River Valley $30
One of the premier examples of ice wine produced in the Pacific Northwest — particularly in the U.S — continues to come from the cellar of Koenig Vineyards in Caldwell, Idaho, and nearby Williamson Vineyards. These two Snake River Valley farming families partner on many projects, and while 93% of this is ice wine from the 2021 vintage, the blending trials for the traditional … [Read more...] about Koenig Vineyards NV Riesling Ice Wine, Snake River Valley $30
SCORIA Vineyards 2022 Grüner Veltliner, Snake River Valley $18
Best Buy! James Nederend of Koenig Vineyards also crafts the wines for the Williamson family, who earned a double gold medal at the 2023 Great Northwest Invitational in early October for the Grüner they grow, so it makes sense that judges would think so highly of the Grüner under his own label. The Williamsons picked it Oct. 7 at nearly 23 Brix, and it’s a classic example of … [Read more...] about SCORIA Vineyards 2022 Grüner Veltliner, Snake River Valley $18
Clearwater Canyon Cellars 2021 Phinny Hill Vineyard Coco’s Reserve Spice Market, Washington $38
The Queen of the Platinum — Coco Umiker — has spotlighted the Beightol family’s Phinny Hill Vineyard in Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills for nine of her 46 career Platinums. Her latest is for this stunning Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (56%), Carménère (42%) and Merlot. It’s heady stuff with aromas of dark cherry, cigar box and leather precede a palate of fig, strawberry … [Read more...] about Clearwater Canyon Cellars 2021 Phinny Hill Vineyard Coco’s Reserve Spice Market, Washington $38
Clearwater Canyon Cellars NV Waha IV Red Wine, Washington $28
For the second straight year, Coco Umiker’s fascinating Waha program has received a Platinum, and here is her first Double Platinum for the multi-vintage blend. Its legacy harkens back to when she held back several barrels of red wine from the 2015 vintage. Later, she sent wine from those selected barrels through fresh lees from some 2016 reds and returned that wine to barrel. … [Read more...] about Clearwater Canyon Cellars NV Waha IV Red Wine, Washington $28