Clearwater Canyon Cellars

“It may not be too visionary to dream of the slopes and hillsides of the Snake and Clearwater rivers being covered with vineyards.” These are the words of award-winning vintner Robert Schleicher in 1906 when the Clearwater Canyon area was emerging as premium wine grape country. Then Prohibition came, and the fledging wine industry died a quick death.

Thus, it seems only fitting that in 2005, Clearwater Canyon Cellars released its first vintage under the name Renaissance Red. Eight Lewiston-based people — Coco and Karl Umiker, Gary Rencehausen and his spouse, Barb Nedrow, Joann Cole-Hansen and her spouse, Jerome Hansen, and Patty and Tim Switzer — came together to form the winery after attending a grape-growing class in nearby Clarkston. Like a Bordeaux blend, the winery is a result of the fine mix of each person’s set of skills and experiences. However, for the actual winemaking, the group relies on Coco. Despite her 20-something youth, she possesses considerable experience in winemaking from a stint in Walla Walla as well as an advanced degree in winemaking from Washington State University.

In time, the Clearwater Canyon area may become a designated American viticultural area. Starting out in 2004 the winery had to rely in large part upon grapes from Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills AVA and other Columbia Valley vineyards. However, with each vintage, an increasing percentage of the grapes are locally grown and now compose approximately 85% of Clearwater Canyon's total production. As Patty Switzer pointed out, “Our goal is to use local fruit. Increasingly, our grapes will come from growers here in the Lewiston Clarkston Valley.”

During my visit to the winery, Patty, with thief and wine glass in hand, created a blend of locally sourced syrah and merlot for my tasting pleasure. As I stuck my nose into the wine glass and took a whiff, I couldn’t help but think of how those early winemaking pioneers would have slapped high fives at seeing the reemergence of the Idaho wine industry in the Clearwater Canyon area. It’s clear that Clearwater Canyon Cellars honors the past but looks resolutely to a bright future

Currently, the winery is only open to the public on Saturdays from October through December. This is due in large part to fact that the winery sells out of its limited supply. As my dad would say, “That’s a good problem.” At 600 cases per year, there’s only so much wine to go around!