You read the post title right–this wine is from Idaho. In fact, I toyed with the idea of naming this post "Who Da Ho? I Da Ho." but thought better of it.
It’s been a long time since I have made a tour stop in my 50 States. 50 Wineries. project, but I stumbled upon this wine at a small little wine shop in upstate New York. It was nestled in a display rack next to several Finger Lakes rieslings, and for $11 bucks, I thought "It’s worth a shot."
And indeed it was.
Of course, most people think of potatoes when the think about Idaho, but apparently there was quite a wine industry there pre-Prohibition. And, with the success of wines from Washington and Oregon–Idaho’s western neighbors–it shouldn’t be surprising that wine is making a comeback.
Having never been there myself, I don’t have any first-hand experience with Idaho’s weather, but apparently, Idaho has very cold winters, but a moderate growing season, with a combination of cold nights and warm days. Warms days lead to ripe grapes and cold nights preserve acidity.
Sounds good to me, and while this wine isn’t on par with the best U.S. rieslings I’ve had, it’s far better than many that I have tasted.
In fact, if you like the off-dry style of many Pacific Northwest rieslings, this is a great value at 10-12 bucks a bottle.
The nose is somewhat faint, but offers subtle peach, apricot and citrus zest aromas with a little minerality in the background. The palate is fruity and somewhat soft, but the 2+% residual sugar is pretty well balanced by acidity. This isn’t a racy, tense riesling (those are my favorites) but, again, if you like the softer, fruiter style of many U.S. rieslings, this is a nice example and a solid value.