Snake Valley Weekend

I really like the idea of giving "experiences" as opposed to presents for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, etc. So for Rodney's 36th birthday we went to Idaho to do a Snake Valley Region wine tour. I didn't have high hopes for the weekend based on some other "less than perfect" weekends away..... which was probably good in retrospect. We had a GREAT weekend. We left early Friday and leisurely made our way to Boise. We stayed at the Best Western Northwest Lodge in South Boise. The best thing about the hotel is it was cheap-ish but there were other good things about it.. .such as a 24 hour indoor pool, continental breakfast, wine and beer social from 5 to 7 every night and cookies and milk from 5:30 to 10pm. :D The beds were pretty comfy too!

So Friday night we decided we wanted to splurge and go to the Melting Pot in downtown Boise. Money was not an object! Or so we thought! The very CHEAPEST meal for both of us would have been around $80 not including drinks, tax, etc. So instead of splurging on a meal of dunking various meats and vegetables in melted cheese... we made our way around the corner to the Spaghetti Factory. It was a wonderful choice! All appetizers were half off and they had beer and house wine for $2 a glass if you sat in the bar area of the restaurant... which we were HAPPY to do! :D We had a delicious olive tapenade with bruschetta, yummy wine and delicious spaghetti. We made our way back to the hotel where we fell asleep fairly early.

First thing Saturday we woke up and after having a mediocre continental breakfast at the hotel, headed out to the first winery in Kuna, Idaho. We were a little early so we sat next to the river and enjoyed some beautiful Idaho scenery, shared a diet pepsi and discussed life. ha ha. Finally, it was time to head out to Indian Creek Winery.

It was pouring rain and very cold out so we were pleasantly surprised that Indian Creek had a big pot-bellied stove radiating heat. We got to meet Dahlia, Indian Creek's wine dog. She was happy to see us too, jumping up on me and leaving a muddy mess on my shirt :). Indian Creek is a small, family-owned vineyard and winery so it was great fun talking to the owner as we sampled some delicious wine. Before leaving we purchased a white pinot noir and a muscat. Both are mild, sweet white wines. We also decided to buy a wine glass at each winery as a souvenir.

Next was Sawtooth. It was a much larger winery and a tad more commercial. By the time we got there it was really coming down so we took our time in the tasting room and tried everything on their tasting list. While there, Sawtooth's winemaker, Bill Murray came into the tasting room and chatted with us for a few minutes. Their wine dog, Earl, was happy to have us scratch his ears and love on him as well. I just love dogs.

Our third stop was Davis Creek Cellars. This was only a winery, not a vineyard and so was in downtown Marsing, ID. They buy all of their grapes from other vineyards such as Sawtooth. This was probably my least favorite stop. The staff wasn't as personable and their wines were much more expensive and I didn't think the wine was any better than Indian Creek. Neverthless, we bought a Tempranillo and a glass.

When you taste wine they give you a very small amount in a glass. You sniff and swirl, taste and then you either spit or swallow. When I see shows about Sonoma County wine tasting, there is always the option of spitting the wine out after you taste it but I didn't see anything to spit into so all the wine we tasted was swallowed. So by the time we left the third winery, it was time to take a break.. lol. Rodney asked at Davis Creek Cellars where a good place to eat was and they immediately said, the Orchard House. After getting directions we headed out to get some lunch.

The Orchard House was a perfect, little, quaint diner in the middle of Idaho farm land. The first thing we noticed as we were waiting to be seated were some news clippings about Guy Fieri of Food Network's, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visiting the Idaho Restaurant. That's really all the recommendation we needed. Rodney had their famous steak fingers and I had hand dipped halibut fish-n-chips. NO WINE!

Then it was off to Ste. Chapelle which was the catalyst for the trip in the first place. My friend Amy turned me on to Ste. Chapelle Riesling years ago and I have loved it ever since. We decided to take this trip since it was so close and we loved the wine. I have to say Ste. Chapelle was one of my least favorite winery's that day. It was much more commercial than the smaller, more intimate settings we had visited. We did buy a delicious Late Harvest Cabernet Franc. The wine is still great - the atmosphere just doesn't quite match that of the smaller, family owned vineyards.

The next winery was Koenig Distillery and Winery. This was a fun winery and they had spirits as well. We bought a bottle of Late Harvest Riesling and a bottle of Grappa. We had a sip of that when we got home - it's strong!

Our final destination was Bitner Vineyard. It sat high on a hill overlooking the Snake River. As soon as we walked in, the owner made her way over to us to give us our first taste - a delicious Chardonnay. The place was packed! A tour bus had arrived sometime before us and it was difficult to make it even to the counter. This was probably the most intriguing for Rodney as well since we had learned that Ron Bitner was an entomologist who specialized in bees and the study of bees. After things cleared out a bit, Rodney was able to talk to him a bit about the bees. They were the sweetest couple. We bought two bottles of wine from them and as we were leaving Mary Bitner told us to come back soon and bring a picnic basket and enjoy the day.

It was one of the most fun and relaxing weekends I have had in a long time and I wish I could have stayed longer. You can bet I will be planning an autumn trip!