The Selway River tumbles at the Montana/Idaho border and later meets the Clearwater River, down the hills from Coco & Karl Umiker's century farm in the Lewiston Orchards. Coco's approach to this is Meritage in style, and while her 2017 led with Carménère from Washington's famed Phinney Hill, here it is all from the Umiker estate, so there's a special sense of pride in this … [Read more...] about Clearwater Canyon Cellars 2018 Umiker Estate Vineyard Coco’s Reserve Selway, Lewis-Clark Valley $45
Idaho
Chicken Dinner Wines 2019 White Wine, Snake River Valley, $16
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 … [Read more...] about Chicken Dinner Wines 2019 White Wine, Snake River Valley, $16
Lindsay Creek Vineyards NV Irresponsibility Red Wine, Washington, $20
The McIntosh family in Lewiston, Idaho, sources much of its fruit from Washington state, and they've taken a different approach to this delicious and affordable blend of Merlot (37%), Cabernet Sauvignon (16%) and Malbec (17%) with Petite Sirah (20%) and Grenache (10%). The influence of oak shows in the nose of blueberry malted milk shake with secondary notes of toast and mocha. … [Read more...] about Lindsay Creek Vineyards NV Irresponsibility Red Wine, Washington, $20
Bitner Vineyards 2016 Petit Verdot/Merlot, Snake River Valley $40
While Syrah, Tempranillo and Malbec are rightfully viewed as the red varieties that producers in Idaho's Snake River Valley are most bullish on, Petit Verdot recently became part of that discussion. In fact, a Petit Verdot was selected by a panel of judges from beyond the Gem State as the best red wine at the 2019 Idaho Wine Competition. Greg Koenig, the longtime winemaker for … [Read more...] about Bitner Vineyards 2016 Petit Verdot/Merlot, Snake River Valley $40
Camas Prairie Winery 2019 Raspberry Mead, Idaho, $14
Best Buy! The beat goes on for Jeremy Ritter, who burnishes the history surrounding this Idaho Panhandle producer as perhaps the Northwest's leader for mead. He continues to follow the delectable tradition established in 1983 by founder Stuart Scott, and the work with berry-influenced honey wine remains stellar. The latest example with raspberry brings a big nose of hard … [Read more...] about Camas Prairie Winery 2019 Raspberry Mead, Idaho, $14