Bitner Vineyards

With a youthful smile, graying hair and engaging eyes, 62-year-old Ron Bitner welcomed me to his vineyard and winery (as did his Jack Russell terriers, Jimmie and Brix, circling my feet with tails wagging in perpetual motion). With nearly 30 years in the grape-growing and wine-making profession, Ron knows a thing or two about wine making. However, he wasn’t always so informed. Back in 1980, when he bought the property, a grape grower suggested that he plant chardonnay. Ron’s reaction? “What’s chardonnay?” he asked.

Since their first Vitis vinifera plantings in the early ’80s, Ron and his wife, Mary, have nurtured the vineyard and expanded it to 16 acres of chardonnay, riesling, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot and syrah (which Ron refers to as shiraz, a holdover from his frequent forays to Australia over the years). At first, the Bitners’ goal was to grow first-class grapes expressing the terroir of the Snake River Valley. However, that goal morphed into grape growing and wine making when they engaged the wine-making services of their neighbor Greg Koenig of Koenig Winery & Distillery in 1995. Since then, the accolades and awards have mounted. Note the fact that Bitner Vineyards was honored with the title of 2009 Wine Press Northwest Idaho Winery of the Year. That’s not bad for a couple who once found themselves wondering what to do with a hillside full of tumbleweeds.

The Bitners’ Mediterranean-hued tasting room offers a friendly space to sample wine and choose a favorite to enjoy on the generous deck outside. In the June sun, the rows of emerald vineyards gave way to the bountiful valley and the Snake River, with the Owyhee Mountains in the distance. The scenery is quintessential southern Idaho and truly defines Canyon County.

While snapping pictures during my visit, I asked Ron about the bee on the Bitner logo. “I’m a bee biologist,” he confided and went on to explain that he earned his doctorate in entomology at Utah State University. In fact, his doctoral thesis has the page-turning title “Ecological Management of the Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee, Megachile rotundata.” His interest on bees would explain 24 separate trips to Australia over the past 10 years to consult on bee-related projects. As educational as his thesis surely is, this WineTrail trekker will forgo reading it and make a beeline for a bottle of Bitner Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon instead.