It’s finally here!  Our tasting room is ready to open, and we are ready to celebrate.  Join us for our Grand Opening event, December 14th-16th.  Enjoy complimentary wine tasting, including 2 recent releases, sign up for our wine club, and check out our newly restored tasting room (a 100+ year old building in Juliaetta, Idaho).  Also available – wine glass pours on tap at a great price!  Enjoy an afternoon of tasting, eating, and purchasing some wine for those on your Christmas list.

We hope to see you there!

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And it started with a bang!  So far, we have brought in some stellar Syrah from both Southern Idaho and Central Washington, Viognier from Southern Idaho, and we just finished pressing the last of our estate Chardonnay today.  The verdict?  Things are looking gooood this year.  Flavors are developed, sugars are right on par, and acid levels are balanced.  What more could a winemaker ask for?

We had a great group helping us pick Chardonnay this weekend.  The UIdaho cycling team returned for their second year of Colter’s Creek harvest, and even stuck around to learn about fermentation science (yes, I think the word ‘glycolysis’ was used more than once because, hey, we pride ourselves on being nerds here at Colter’s Creek).

Several WSU rowers turned out the next day to help finish picking the Chardonnay.  They even had energy left to load up on brownies and cookies before heading to practice after a full day of picking.

The Juliaetta Elementary School teachers came out once again to pick, earning money for their school!  How many teachers spend their day off doing physical labor for their students?  These teachers do, and they kick butt at picking to boot!  With several friends added to the bunch, we had a great time picking grapes.  Thanks all!

Be sure to watch our Facebook page for more updates on picking opportunities. Next up: Merlot!

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This post comes a little late in the season, but I thought it worthy of a post regardless of the weather outside.  The issue: wine and temperature.  I’m not talking about long-term storage, but rather how to handle wine when it is 90 degrees outside and you need to get wine from here to there.

Why is this an issue?  First off, extreme heat and direct sunlight can ruin a wine by creating off-flavors and “cooked” aromas, characteristics you are probably not looking for in your Riesling.  These off-components usually develop with more prolonged exposure to heat and sunlight (improper cellaring of a wine).  On the short term, heat causes dissolved gases within a wine to expand, which pushes the cork and causes wine to leak from the bottle.  This compromises the seal on the bottle and, well, makes a mess.

The most common scenario I see at the winery?  Leaving wine in a hot car.  That’s right, once summer hits and temperatures start to creep up, it’s best to leave Fido and your wine in a cool place.  That means postponing wine purchases until the end of your errand run, bringing along a cooler to keep the wine cool during your day, or bringing it indoors if you expect the temperature in your car to warm up over 75/80 degrees F.

So what do you do if your wine gets too warm?  If you notice the wine leaking or the bottle feels excessively warm, it’s best to drink the wine within a couple days.  You probably won’t notice much change in the wine if consumed shortly after heat exposure.  Don’t cellar the wine – there is a good chance the wine will not store well as the closure may have been ruined, and your best bet at consuming a good wine is if you do so within 48 hours.  Shucks, right?  Drink up and go buy yourself another bottle, and this time, keep it cool!

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Lately, our customers have been asking us a lot about wine trends; in particular, about naked Chardonnay. Since we have been playing around with unoaked Chardonnay in the winery, I figured this was a perfect topic for a blog post.

Naked Chardonnay is unoaked Chardonnay. Traditionally in the States, Chardonnay is either fermented and/or aged in oak barrels. The oak imparts the smokey and vanilla notes that you often pick up in many Chardonnays. Furthermore, Chardonnay is put through malolactic fermentation, or an additional fermentation in which malic acid is converted to lactic acid by a particular strain of bacteria. In Chardonnay production, this step can create butter, butterscotch, or in extreme cases, popcorn notes, while smoothing or decreasing the acidity in the wine.

A new American trend in Chardonnay production is fermentation in stainless steel, followed by partial or no malolactic fermentation. The result? A crisp, fruit-forward Chardonnay without the oak and butter.

Our Chardonnay block rests in high pH soils (mimicking the limestone soils of the Burgundy region of France), creating fruity wines with of hint of minerality. We choose to let the wine shine through and try to minimize its time on oak, and have started to process about half of our Chardonnay in stainless steel, depriving it of any oak contact. Additionally, we don’t put our Chardonnay through a full malolactic fermentation, maintaining a bit of crispness in the wine (something I love about North Italian and Spanish white wines).

“So which is better,” I’m often asked, “oaked or naked?”. It’s all about personal preference. I’d say half of our customers are seeking that big, buttery Chardonnays popularized by California; the other half is looking for the light, fruit-forward Chardonnays made in a can. Still undecided? It’s probably time to do your research – start drinking!

Coming Soon....

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I was craving a brothy, hearty, soup and this did the trick! Just got this month’s Food & Wine magazine – which includes some nice quick meals among other fantastic recipes. This is one of the quick ones and it was so yummy!

Since I am vegetarian (this is Beth writing) I used my mom’s dumpling recipe in place of the meatballs. My husband made little pork sausage balls and we added that to his. I also made a beautiful veggie stock in the crock pot that cooked slow all day (this crock pot recipe follows) – if you have fresh stock there is just no comparing. I also did more of a mirepoix saute before I added stock and brought it to a boil – used onion, carrot, celery, and then also even added a small crushed garlic clove. At any rate it was delicious! And particularly good with the KoosKoosKia!

Italian Wedding Soup (Minestra maritata)
~ Food & Wine February 2012
~ Grace Parisi
Total: 40 Min. 6 Servings

2 quarts homemade chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 celery rib, finely diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup orzo
1 pound ground pork
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
5 ounces baby spinach, chopped
One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1. In a large pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil with the carrot and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Add the orzo and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, knead the pork with the 1/4 cup of cheese, the bread crumbs and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Form the mixture into 1-inch balls.
3. Drop the balls into the boiling soup and simmer for 5minutes. Stir in the spinach and chickpeas and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through. 5 minutes longer. Serve, passing extra cheese at the table.

Enjoy!

Light and Easy Vegetable Stock

~Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker (this has been a great book!)

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium-size onions, quartered
2 large carrots,, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 celery rib, cut into 1-inch pieces
2-3 garlic cloves, left unpeeled and crushed
Peels from 2 well-scrubbed potatoes
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 large bay leaf
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
8 cups water
2 tsp tamari or other soy sauce
1 tsp salt

1. Drizzle the oil in the bottom of a 4 to 6-quart slow cooker. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, potato peels, parsley, bay leaf, and peppercorns, pour in the water, and add the tamari and salt. Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours.
2. Allow the stock to cool slightly, then strain it through a fine-mesh sieve into a pot or bowl, pressing the vegetables against the sieve to release all the juices. Store the cooled stock in tightly sealed containers where it will keep for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Why I hadn’t thought of doing stock in the crock pot before, I don’t know. You of course can do any variation you like. I added coriander seeds, peppers, sage, thyme, even cilantro. It was wonderful!

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Every time I visit my friend Kristi Fountain at her home, what is intended to be a craft day usually digresses into drinking wine and looking at cookbooks.  Hours go by and we are lucky if we accomplish anything beside planning out meals for a lifetime. She spoils me and cooks the most amazing lunches ensuring that I come back again for “craft day” and get nothing done. This is Kristi helping out at the vineyard last year (her husband Jeff in the background to the left).

Kristi showing off the grapes

This recipe I took from one of her books.  I neglected to copy the title of the book and will add that in as soon as I get it, but this recipe is a wonderful, hearty, and pretty healthy winter meal.  The wine suggestions for this were a full-bodied white wine or various reds. I enjoyed my dinner with the 2009 Syrah and found it a delightful accompaniment!

Fresh chicken eggs made this such a beautiful color!

Brown Rice Cheddar Tart with Roasted Tomatoes & Broccoli

For the Brown Rice Crust

• 1 cup (250mL) cooked medium-grain brown rice
• 1 cup (250mL) shredded Extra-Old Cheddar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• (I also added salt to taste)

For the Filling

• 6 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 9 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 2 Tbsp (30mL) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 + 1/2 cups (375mL) broccoli florets (i used a combination of fresh blanched green beans and sauteed leeks)
• 2 oz (50g) Le Pampille goat cheese, crumbled
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup (60mL) milk
• 3 green onions, sliced
• tarragon (I used thyme and dill)
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• (I also added salt to taste)

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F (200C) and place the oven rack in the center position. Spray a 10-inch quiche dish with cooking oil. (I used a 10 inch cake pan – it worked great! I just didn’t pull the crust up the side.)
2. In a bowl, combine the rice, cheddar cheese, and the 2 beaten eggs, mixing well. Spread the mixture over the base and sides of the prepared dish.
3. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F.
4. Combine the tomatoes, garlic, and oil in a bowl and stir to coat well. Place in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes and garlic become soft. Remove the pan from the oven, let cool slightly, and peel the softened garlic.
5. Arrange the broccoli over the bottom of the rice crust. Top with the tomatoes, garlic and goat cheese.
6. In a bowl, stir the remaining eggs, milk, green onions, tarragon (or herbs of your choice), and pepper; pour over the tomatoes.
7. Place the dish on a baking sheet and bake for 60 minutes, or until set.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

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What with the lateness of harvest this year, we rolled directly from pressing grapes into the hustle and bustle of the holidays. We now find ourselves back at a normal pace, watching the vineyard tuck deep into a well deserved sleep while preparing this year’s whites and last year’s reds for bottling.

Snowcapped vines

We are currently renovating a structure in Juliaetta built in 1905, a building that has housed several businesses over the past 100+ years. Originally a pharmacy, the building has also hosted an automotive shop, a cafe, and a tavern. Once our renovation is complete, the building will be home to our tasting room and wine bar, which will not only feature our own wines on tap, but will showcase other local wines, beers, and products from our region as well. Our ultimate goal is to create a beautiful and cozy atmosphere for people to hang out and try some great local fare! Stay tuned for updates…

Starting from bare bones, home of our future tasting room

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