CALDWELL, Idaho — A career as a Boise State University geoscientist who spent 20 years of summers teaching in Sardinia led C.J. Northrup to create an Italian-inspired gem in Idaho’s Snake River Valley — Famici Wine Company.
Northrup’s notion and inspiration became reality after he married Janet, a lifelong educator and self-described “rock hound.”
“We both love Italy and Italian culture and art and wine,” he says. “A common question in the tasting room is if I’m Italian? Well, my body is of Viking heritage, but my heart is of Italy.”
Based on early body of work as a winemaker and grower, including the Sardinian white variety Vermentino, made Famici a rock-solid choice as the 2024 Idaho Winery to Watch.
The Northrups branded their estate winery and vineyard as a portmanteau of the Italian words for family — famiglia — and friends amici. And it’s no coincidence they have a knack for creating award-winning proprietary blends.
Last fall, Famici used the 2020 Vineyard Blend Red Wine ($45) to win its first Platinum during Great Northwest Wine’s 24th annual Platinum Awards.
That Bordeaux-only estate-grown red, led by Petit Verdot, earned a spot at the Platinum via a gold medal at the 2023 Cascadia International — the largest international judging of Northwest wine staged in the Pacific Northwest with a slate of winemakers as the majority of that judging panel.
This panel also awarded a double gold to the Famici 2020 estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon ($45) and a gold to the estate-grown Vermentino ($26).
“In the world of science, the gold standard is the peer-review publication — it’s not a friend who read your manuscript,” he says, “so these types of awards mean a lot. And the Vermentino and Cabernet Sauvignon are the wines I’m most proud of.”
At the 2023 Idaho Wine & Cider Competition, Famici earned a best-of-class award after its Meritage-inspired 2018 Winemaker’s Reserve Vineyard Blend Red Wine ($68) received a double gold medal. At this point, the Northrups have planted seven varieties across their 6-acre parcel that was purchased in 2012.
C.J.’s study of geoscience, his desire to become an educator and some parallels between the Snake River Valley and where he grew up in New Mexico made a 1998 job posting at Boise State appealing.
“I was a casual and sporadic consumer of wine up to that point,” he says. “My interest and passion for wine really developed from my time in Italy. It’s very much a part of the culture. It seems that every little town has their own unique varietal.”
Planting for Famici began in 2014. Bordeaux is represented in Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot. There’s the Spanish grape Graciano, and Italian varieties Primitivo and Vermentino.
“I taught a geology class in the summers for years in Sardinia,” he says. “We planted Vermentino because of the Vermentino di Gallura in northern Sardinia where we enjoyded conversations over calamari and a glass of Vermentino. I joke with my friends there that because we got a gold medal on our first Vermentino that a DOCG of Idaho is on the way.”
The two most popular varieties in Sardinia now have a history of success in the Snake River Valley — Vermentino and Grenache, aka Cannonau.
“We would need to use Grenache or Garnacha on the front label because Cannonau is not approved for use in our country, but we could tell our story about Cannonau on the back label,” he says. “That would be fun.”
Sangiovese is another variety that’s done well for the Northrups, as has Primitivo.
“I’d say Primitivo has the most natural affinity for our site,” he says. “I just get out of the way and let it make the wine.”
However, it was an estate 2021 rosé from Graciano that led to Famici’s first gold medal via the 2022 Idaho Wine & Cider Competition, a panel that included noted judges from California and Florida.
“When I was a kid, my folks encouraged us to be curious. Being a scientist is asking questions and then trying to find the answers to those questions,” C.J. says. “Geology is really a combination of physics, chemistry and biology applied to the history of the Earth. My training in chemistry factors into winemaking really well.
“The gold for that rosé was very reaffirming that we’re on the right track to make reasonably quality wines,” he adds.
When Janet met C.J., he already had a vision for Famici after taking winemaking classes at Treasure Valley Community College from Martin Fujishin of Fujishin Family Cellars. Hands-on training began by working at Hat Ranch Winery for Tim Harless and with Will Wetmore at their production facility in downtown Caldwell.
“Martin is a fantastic winemaker and viticulturist, and he’s also just a great human,” C.J. says. “And it’s been an incredible opportunity to be a small part in helping Will and Tim at Hat Ranch and Vale through the years and learn the ropes.”
Famici opens in 2022 with gold medals in its cellar
Janet, a third-generation Idahoan, spent three decades as an educator, first at the middle-school level and later training teachers to use technology in their classrooms. Now that she’s retired, she runs the tasting room they opened in fall 2022 and helps with the vineyard and in the cellar.
“The vision and energy for Famici didn’t arrive until after Janet and I got together,” C.J. said. “We have built the brand as a joint, creative effort.
“It’s been a whirlwind couple of years, but dust doesn’t gather under Janet’s feet,” he added.
That’s proven by the time she carves out to lead the Sunnyslope Wine Trail.
“We need better signage and more vineyards on Highway 55,” Janet says. “Even though we are only 30 miles west of Boise, 50% or more of the population has no idea there is an award-winning wine region so close.”
And she is now also one of the winemakers for Famici, starting with Cabernet Franc in the 2022 and 2023 vintages.
“She will add a few other wines to her portfolio starting next year,” C.J. says. “I’m available as a consultant, but she is the winemaker for those projects and makes all the decisions.”
At this point, the tightly planted vineyard — with a spacing of 6 feet between the rows and 4 feet between the vines — accounts for about 800 cases of wine each vintage.
“That’s the tightest vineyard density that I know of in Idaho, but it’s very common with the small, family-owned vineyards in Europe,” he says.
They will contract with folks such as the Williamson family for the rest of their projected annual production of 1,800 cases.
“We think that the sweet spot for our winery in order to maintain the quality with the estate wines,” he says. “We have a small area yet to plant,” he says. “It hasn’t been determined if it will be Sangiovese or Grenache.”
He also wonders about the potential of the Sicilian star Nero d’Avola in the Snake River Valley because of the increasingly warm summers.
“It’s a good time to be in the Idaho wine industry, and we’re standing on the shoulders of some giants,” he says. “There is a growing awareness of Idaho wines.”
As far as joining Janet as a retired educator, CJ hasn’t begun making plans for that yet.
“One of the first words of advice Martin Fujishin gave me was, ‘Don’t quit your day job,’ ” C.J. says. “There is so much reinvestment that happens in the first years of a winery, so we’ll see — maybe in a relatively small number of years — working in the vineyard is a nice, therapeutic way to finish up a day.”
- Famici Wine Company, 21026 Hoskins Road, Caldwell, ID 83607, FamiciWine.com, (208) 991-1152.
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