Idaho Wine Shops Weigh In on the 2020 Vintage
Photos Courtesy of Lex Nelson
Story by Lex Nelson
2020 was a terrible year for restaurant owners and healthcare workers — but how was it for grapes? Wines bottled during the pandemic have started to appear on store shelves in Idaho, and as with every other vintage, the flavors and circumstances they capture are unique.
Ilene Dudunake, the owner of A New Vintage Wine Shop* in Meridian, said she has tasted predominantly roses and whites so far of the 2020 vintage, but already has a few favorites from Caldwell wineries.
“The Hat Ranch [Winery]* 2020 Sémillon — I poured that by the glass last month because it was Idaho Wine Month — was phenomenal. Nice and crisp, very elegant, very easy-drinking, with great fruit,” she said, adding that as of July 1, she only had two bottles left in stock.
Another favorite of Dudunake’s was the 2020 Albariño from Williamson Orchards and Vineyards, which was voted Best of Show at the 2020 Idaho Wine Competition for its 2019 vintage.
“It was really nice and crisp,” she said, adding she’d recommend it “if you like lemon-lime, zesty [flavors], and if you like seafood like shellfish.”
At the Boise Co-op Wine Shop,* Wine Shop Manager Marcy French noted that for some grape-growing regions outside of Idaho, the signature taste of 2020 is smoke.
“They had really bad fires in California and Oregon, so right now we’re making all of our suppliers taste-test anything that is switching to the 2020 vintage because a lot of them are smoke tainted and they’re still putting them in the bottle,” she said, adding that the Co-op won’t sell such wines.
Tainted wines have a smoky taste that lingers on the palette. This problem has impacted several best-selling wineries, and French said some chose not to bottle at all in 2020 as a result. Here in Idaho, however, most vineyards escaped smoke damage.
At the Co-op Wine Shop, the Sawtooth Winery 2020 Chenin Blanc crafted in Caldwell was marked as a staff pick and labeled, “Best white wine made in Idaho ever!” The shop also has a small selection of 2020 Burgundies and several Austrian and German 2020 Grüner Veltliners in stock.
“2018 was a really hot vintage, so a lot of our Grüner Veltliners out of Austria were a little riper, which is nice, but we like kind of that crisp acidity, and the ‘19s and ‘20s seem to be each along that line,” French said.
At Bitner Vineyards in Caldwell, we tasted a 2020 Tempranillo Disfrutar and 2020 Dry Rose that both lived up to 2020’s growing reputation as a year for bright, crisp wines. The lightly oak-aged Tempranillo was tart and smooth, and the Dry Rose was floral and easy-drinking — all appealing qualities in the midst of a summer heat wave.
*Businesses marked with an asterisk are FARE Idaho members. To see our full member list, click here.
