Vale Wine Co.

After 2 1/2 weeks of surgery recovery at home, I was starting to feel like I was under house arrest – minus the ankle bracelet- so this past weekend I decided it was time to leave the confines of my house and take a little road trip. I persuaded my daughter Amanda to act as my chauffeur (payment was lunch at Olive Garden) and we set off to the east down I-84. After some retail therapy at a great little consignment shop in Eagle (I don’t want to tell you the name because then everyone would be there) and a brief stop at Michael’s Crafts to pick up some art supplies we headed over to Olive Garden for an all-you-can-eat lunch of soup, salad and breadsticks. Our final stop for the day before heading west again was in Caldwell at the University of Idaho Wine Campus on Chicago Street, where the Vale Wine Co. was having an open house and tasting.

I found the Vale Wine Co. quite by accident a couple of months ago. Truth be told, I don’t even know what I was looking for on the Internet (I’m sure it had to be something to do with wine) when I ran across the Vale Wine Co. My first thought was I was quite excited there was a winery in Vale, Ore., just a mere 20 minute drive away from my home and my second thought was why the heck didn’t I know about them since I try to keep up with all things wine-related in my little part of the world.

After reading through their Web site, it turns out the winery itself isn’t in Vale after all. The tie to Vale is that some of the grapes are grown on land located north of Vale – the Vale View Vineyard. The U of I Wine Campus location is where the grapes are crushed and the wine is bottled.

According to the Web site, Vale Wine Co. began three years ago as a dream for five guys who wanted to own a vineyard and a winery in the Snake River Valley AVA. John Danielson, the winemaker, went from a 20-year career with Albertsons to an independent business-consulting job, which then led him, in 2005 to the job of finding a vineyard site and planning a winery for a group of “five enthusiastic wine lovers.” John traveled all over Idaho, Washington and California to learn about the winemaking process and eventually planted a vineyard. To further his education he completed a certification in Oenology and Viticulture from the University of California at Davis.

I had the opportunity to meet John at the open house in Caldwell as he gave my daughter and I a personal wine tasting that began with a nice glass of champagne to celebrate the occasion. John is very charming, but true to his Cambridge, Idaho roots, very down-to-earth and he poured us Cabernet Sauvignon, two different Rieslings, a Chardonnay and a Syrah.

The 2007 Limited Edition Cabernet Sauvignon was released in November 2009. It was very smooth and I tasted blackberries and cherries.

I’m a big fan of Rieslings, so I was very excited to taste the 2008 Dry Riesling and the 2009 Estate Riesling. The Dry Riesling was crisp with just a hint of sweetness and I tasted green apple and peaches. I especially enjoyed the Estate Riesling, which was much sweeter and featured the flavors of Gold Delicious Apples and pears. It’s the first Vale Wine Co. offering from grapes grown out at the Vale View Vineyard.

The 2008 Chardonnay was nice and had a buttery taste and I also enjoyed the 2008 Syrah, which had hints of vanilla and a nice mouth feel.

As we were enjoying his wine, I asked John if he thought the Snake River AVA would ever become another Napa.

“I hope not,” he answered, handing me a glass of the Syrah. “Napa is just so glitzy. I see this area maybe becoming another Walla Walla – another Washington – but not Napa.”

John said at this point, there are no plans for a tasting room at the Vale View Vineyard, but for those who would like to give Vale Wine Co. a try, their wines can be tasted and purchased at Coyote Fine Wines on the Creek, located at 217 S. Kimball in Caldwell. Wine can also be purchased from the Web site www.valewineco.com.

I left the open house with two bottles of the Estate Riesling and the nice feeling of knowing that the Snake River AVA is coming along and good things can be found in my own little corner of the world.