Savoring Idaho

Savor Idaho 2012

Boy, this girl loves food! And wine! I wish I could convey my passion for these things to every person I meet. Not surprisingly, I love nothing more than watching what happens when Foodies unite! Unless it's watching Wine Lovers unite. Luckily I had a wonderful opportunity to see both this past weekend at Savor Idaho, Idaho's Premiere Wine and Food Event.

  In its fourth year, and held at the beautiful Idaho Botanical Garden, Savor Idaho is put on by the Idaho Grape Growers and the Wine Producers Commission. The event allows consumers a wonderful opportunity to "savor" the best of Idaho wines and local foods. This year's event featured twenty eight wineries and seventeen restaurants or catering companies, all with plenty of delicious samples.


It turns out that as part of my wonderful life, I am blessed to know some wonderful Idaho winemakers who were kind enough to ask me to help pour some of their award winning wine at this great event. I met these fun folks (who rock climb all over the world when they're not making wine) a few years ago when I wrote a magazine article about their winery. So pour I did - for 900 plus vino lovers over the course of the afternoon. It was so much fun to be able to chat with enthusiastic people about such extraordinary wines. Next time... I'm pretty sure... I won't wear high heels.

ICW's Winemaker Mike McClure

Indian Creek Winery is well known for being the only winery in the Snake River Valley Appellation that's been consistently growing and producing Pinot Noir since the 1980's. Their 2008 Pinot Noir has won medals (beating out many of Oregon's famous Pinot Noirs) in the Northwest Region and their 2010 White Pinot Noir is equally as popular with the wine lovers. We also poured Indian Creek Winery's 2011 Pinot Noir Dry Rose. It is ... frankly, my new favorite summer wine.

If you're a food and wine lover and you like to spend lovely afternoons in a phenomenal garden, I highly recommend trying to get a ticket for next year's event. Meanwhile, if you're interested in finding out more about Idaho's Wine Country I would suggest getting your feet wet by taking a tour of some of our great local vineyards and wineries. Whether you're visiting the area - or if you perhaps didn't know that there was wine country thirty miles from your front door - I know you'll enjoy getting out and meeting some wonderful people who take wine making seriously. My friend George at Idaho Winery Tours would love to show you around.

Who knows, you may even see me out there. I'll be the girl with the big smile and the glass of wine who wants to talk  to you about what you've been eating.

Foodies Unite!

I love food! A certain amount of my time has been dedicated to talking and writing about food and what it means to me. These conversations are sure to take place when I am with members of my family or fellow foodies. Posting observations or obsessions about what I am cooking or craving on any given day, or what yummy, fresh ingredient I picked up at the market or picked from the garden, has become the norm. I'm always amazed at the number of people who respond to these food posts. It seems a lot of my friends are food and/or wine lovers. I love that! I do! Thinking about it makes me happy... and, actually, a wee bit hungry.

Recently I made some new friends who love food as much as I do. Their kitchen is definitely the heart of their home, and when I'm there, which is often, everything seems to revolve around what we are cooking. Time spent with them looks a little like this. Cook, eat, share a bottle of wine, talk, go to bed, get up, drink coffee, make breakfast together, eat, drink, talk about what we will cook next, discuss who gets the hammock, take a nap and then cook again and eat some more. It doesn't get much better than that.

I realized recently that the creative energy that is present in this relationship is what stimulates our appetites and is also a huge part of our fondness for each other. When inspired,foodie types get together you can expect some excellent meals, inventive new recipe ideas and stunning food photos. This creative energy is what happens when "Foodies Unite."

Great Expectations

I love making new friends! Meeting people and getting to know them, in most cases, is a joy and a delight. I find it interesting that fellow artists and gardeners and other creative types come practically knocking on my door on a regular basis. Amongst my newest group of friends that I have become acquainted with in recent months are a book editor, an attorney, a photographer, a couple of graphic artists, a chef, and ... wait for it.... a lovely fellow who leads wine tours. I'm not sure what I've done to deserve these new friends, but I am grateful to have them anyway.

My new friend, whom I call George, because ... well, that's his name ... was kind enough to take me on a winery tour this past weekend. What great fun we had! We are blessed to live in a region of the country that is making some wonderful wine. I've had the privilege of writing about Idaho wine in the past, and am constantly amazed at the talent of some of the local winemakers. Wine lovers are starting to realize that Idaho has a growing region like no other. Idaho wines are winning awards and the region has officially become more recognizable since 2007 when the Snake River Valley was named Idaho's first appellation. I truly expect great things to happen in the future of Idaho wine making.

Winemaker Ron Bitner of Bitner Vineyards and George Condit from Idaho Winery Tours

We had a wonderful day. The winery tour included about ten local wineries where in most cases, we had a few samples and some nice conversation with the winery folks. We also had a wonderful lunch at The Orchard House, a quaint and charming restaurant located in the heart of Idaho wine country. They serve excellent food with a smile, and lunch with them is always included on a winery tour with George.

Sherri McCoy and Kris Thompson of The Orchard House

If you've never had the pleasure of drinking Idaho wines, or you are looking to expand your experience, a tour with Idaho Winery Tours is a recommended way to try a variety of wines with friends, without worrying about who gets to be the designated driver. It's also a wonderful opportunity for photographers. The Idaho wine country is lovely and a great place to break out the camera.

Who knows? You might even make some new friends...

A Little Miracle

"A grape harvest is a little miracle" ~Robert Mondavi

I concur, Mr. Mondavi. A grape harvest is a miracle; it's also a whole lot of hard work. I know this because I have had the pleasure of participating in a local winery's harvest this past month. I, a long-time lover of the vino, was luckily able to convince the editor of the gardening publication that I am a sometimes contributor to, that the wine harvest would be a great story for me to write. The editor, being a lover of the vino himself, agreed... and I found myself returning to the winery again and again to shall we say, drink in the experience.

Day 3:

My mission: Stomp some grapes with my bare feet. The winery is having its annual Harvest Festival and I figure I better not miss the opportunity to put my bare feet in a barrel of grapes
ala Lucille Ball. It's freezing cold today with highs in the 40's... I'm not looking forward to the bare feet in the cold bit, but adventure is my mission. My photographer is late. He's apologetic on the phone, while I'm just...well...impatient. I'm hoping he shows up before the snowstorm does. I love the vino, but certainly don't want to die of frostbite with my bare feet in it.

He arrives, and wearing my old khaki gardening pants, already stained with a few seasons worth of mud and grass, I eventually venture into a half barrel full of pinot grapes. Someone yells "go" and I lose all trace of the fact that I am really there for a photo opp. I literally forgot to look up and smile...I was too busy trying to win. Yes, that's right, the grape stomping was actually a competition. Whoever could fill up a glass with the juice that was pouring...okay, dripping out of the hole near the base of the barrel would win a prize. Every bit of my competitive nature kicked in along with some adrenaline and a little bit of the wine I'd already sampled, and the next thing you know I was IN IT.... The competitive spirit, I mean.

In the end, I didn't win. Some guy who outweighed me by 75 lbs. did. And we didn't get a good photo for the magazine article...just me with head bent, stomping furiously until I couldn't feel my frozen toes anymore...Photo taken by Kenneth James Photography