Gregg and Mary Alger launched Huston Vineyards near Idaho’s Sunnyslope in 2011, and perhaps their biggest stroke of marketing genius was to develop a second label named for the Canyon County road their farm is along — Chicken Dinner Road. The white wine they produce from Sawtooth Vineyard and nearby Williamson Vineyard starts with a variety that the Snake River Valley excels with, Riesling (83%). The secret sauce comes from the sexy influence of Muscat Blanc (13%) and Roussanne (4%), which makes for a flirtatious nose that does not yield. A breath of petrol leads to a fruit bomb of sweet Honeycrisp apple, honeyed peach and a note of baking spice. Don’t expect a sweet summer sipper with this wine. It is a bright, fruit-driven, fresh and lean delight that finishes with a touch of fresh-cut grass, orange peel and rose petal. Last fall, it capped a remarkable string of gold medals in 2020 with a best-of-class award and double gold medal at the Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition, a judging staged on behalf of some of the Northwest’s leading wine buyers, merchants, sommeliers and writers at the Columbia Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River, Ore.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 1,300 cases
Alcohol: 13.6%
Leave a Reply