The Mysteries of the Wine List: Idaho Restaurants Offer More Local Varietals
Wines can intimidate. Varietals like Viognier and Gewürztraminer are tough to pronounce. Recognizing what wine pairs well with what dish may imply a special kind of knowledge known only to chefs and wine gurus.
For some, selecting a wine at a restaurant has a mystique; for others it may seem pretentious, but increasingly the question is resolved by asking for what is local.
Moya Shatz Dolsby occupies a unique perch to view Idaho wines. As the executive director of the Idaho Wine Commission, she oversees marketing of the state’s wines. Since taking the job in 2008, she’s presided over remarkable growth in the state’s wine industry:
In 2010 there were 40 wineries, now there are more than 50.
Once she had to beg restaurants to serve wines produced in Idaho. No longer, Dolsby said.
“It’s abnormal to see a restaurant without an Idaho wine on its list. Consumers have helped change the perception of Idaho wine. I am not the only one going into restaurants asking for a glass of Idaho wine. When you have hundreds of people each week asking for it, then the restaurants give the people what they want.”
Consumer tastes go through phases. Remember the Chianti straw baskets of yesteryear? Idaho winemakers and grape growers pay attention to trends. Note the use of wine by the barrel supplied by Cinder and Split Rail and second labels from Hells Canyon, Huston, Fujishin and Vickers. More acres are now being planted in red grapes, and wineries are bottling less familiar single varietals such as Cabernet Franc, Petit Syrah and Primitivo. Restaurants from the Canadian border to the banks of the Snake River are offering wines from fermented Gem State juice.
Idaho’s Sunny Slope (the heart of Idaho wine country) is located just north of the long and winding Snake River. The Orchard House on busy Highway 55 is the home away from home for the Sunny Slope–based wine industry. This casual eatery serves up three meals a day and if you want to see those who tend the vines, crush the grapes or work in the tasting rooms then stop off here.
The pastoral patio with its fruit trees, lavender, sunflowers and meandering water feature provides a harmonious atmosphere to dine and try one of the more than 90 selections of Idaho wines. The Orchard House does a brisk business selling wine by the bottle, too. Owned by locals Kris Thomas and Sherri McCoy, the concept is to serve local food, made from scratch with produce from their own garden or from nearby growers.
One of Canyon County’s most renowned restaurants resides in an old red brick building on 11th Avenue in Nampa. Chef Dustan Bristol’s Brick 29 has one of the state’s most varied lists of Idaho wines to accompany his locavore offerings. Bristol also operates the deli On the Fly (now closed) in Boise’s Eighth and Main Building, where he takes a more minimalist approach to Brick 29’s menu and wine list.
“For us it is important for the wine to work with our food,” he said. His concept is to create a bistro “serving great food without a lot of flair, having great value using as much local and seasonal products as possible.” With his and Brick 29’s emphasis on local, he naturally gravitated to Idaho’s vintners and vintages: 25% to 30% of his wine list comes from Idaho, and he serves only Idaho microbrews.
Bristol’s goal is to make the best representations of Idaho’s wine, so the list changes every other month. He said Brick 29 employees meet pre-shift every day to discuss “what can best be paired with the menu.” He believes his restaurant is “helping create awareness of and education about Idaho wine.”
Asked what grapes are doing well in Idaho, he points to Sawtooth’s Tempranillo, Snake River Valley’s Barbera and said Riesling still prevails but adds wryly, “I don’t think we do a good job with Pinot Noir, nor should we.”
In Boise the Cottonwood Grille, which has 300 wines on its list, serves numerous Idaho vintages. Restaurant manager and wine buyer Amy Wood tries new wines two or three times a week and is a certified wine specialist who has bottled, done crush and has been to a wine boot camp. She represents “eight to 10 Idaho wineries on her list at any given time,” and pours six Idaho wines by the glass.
Wood said that Cottonwood customers ask for Idaho wines and microbrews (of their six “handles,” five are Idaho). Business tourists from Asia often begin their meals with an Idaho beer then have Idaho wine and regularly order Koenig’s Huckleberry Vodka. One change that she has seen is that about a half dozen local wineries now use distributors, which simplifies orders. She also does Idaho wine pairings, such as Cottonwood’s Seafood Pasta Salad with Sawtooth Pinot Gris, and she holds an Idaho Wine Dinner in June.
Boise’s Barbacoa, Idaho’s leading restaurant for sales of alcohol, does a substantial wine business. The high-styled establishment has a uniquely designed wine tunnel storage system that stores about three thousand bottles of wine. Bar manager Anthony Lipparelli said in a week, the restaurant goes through 30 to 40 cases of wine and does two or three wine tastings. And in his seven years at Barbacoa, he’s seen an increase in interest in Idaho wines.
Barbacoa offers Three Horse Ranch, Hells Canyon, Coiled, Cinder, Koenig, Bitner and Sawtooth. Lipparelli points to Idaho wineries winning awards and improving quality. But he warns, that given the quality of the competition, some Idaho wines are overpriced. He also wishes that Idaho winemakers would “blend a little more.”
David Carey is a member of the family who owns the Hotel McCall and Rupert’s, its restaurant. He believes Idaho wines are important.
“We love our Idaho wines and Idaho winemakers,” Cary said. “We have been having wine dinners with Cinder for over five years now and more recently Telaya, Coiled, Vale, Periple… It is in keeping with the local food movement and in general supporting local businesses.”
Rupert’s offers 12 options from Idaho vintages and Cary notes overall presentation, branding, sophistication and business practices have really improved.
Idaho Wine Commission’s Dolsby said that Idaho wine now sells itself.
“We started doing a restaurant boot camp last year where we take chefs, waiters and buyers out to wine country” Dolsby said.
It worked.
Idaho Wine Commission | @idahowines
Cinder Wines | @cinderwines
Split Rail Winery | @splitrailwinery
Hells Canyon Winery
Huston Vineyards | @huston_vineyards
Fujishin Family Cellars
The Orchard House
Brick 29 Bistro | @brick_29
Sawtooth Winery | @sawtoothwinery
Cottonwood Grille
Koenig Vineyards
Barbacoa Grill | @barbacoa_boise
Three Horse Ranch
Coiled Wines | @coiledwines
Bitner Vineyards | @bitnervineyards
Rupert's at Hotel McCall | @rupertsrestaurant
Telaya Wine Co. | @telayawine
Vale Wine Co.
Periple Wines | @periplewines
